I have always told others who are in similar situations its a matter of the moment that you are in that dictates your perspective, actions, thoughts and emotions. I am quite sure that this true in the typical world for most people whether it is raising and rearing children or just people trying to muddle through life....However I do believe that when it comes to children it seems to be magnified simply because the added responsibility of how that "being",which is a part of you, projects and portrays him or her self to the world. Add to that there comes a time when most , NOT ALL, are ready to leave the nest ..... There's always that wonder and worry " will they be able to make it.." " how will they handle this or that situation." "Do I rescue them if and when the time comes? "
With our kids we ask our selves similar questions usually in a delayed state but overwhelmingly the questions from friends , family and even strangers is almost always " will they (our children) ever be able to be on their own?" "Will they grow out of this." HONESTLY there is no pat answer and for the most part it is a wait and see stance we take with cautious optimism that our greatest fears will never come to fruition..That they will always need care ...
There are all kinds of things being done to "intercept" Autism mostly with what is called Early Intervention Programs which just like everything else has its positive points yet still bears no real solid stats to prove or disprove its effectiveness. Add to that the wide spectrum of Autism it's all just a guessing game..don't mean to be a Debby Downer ....every kid is a different "bag of tricks" and we have to search for what works in each individual case.
Personal experience bears this out, I have seen and also know of numerous kids who have had "growth spurts" ( not of the physical kind ) at ages 7, 9, and 11. Once puberty hits the horizon not only is it pure hell on earth magnified 1000 times by Autism BUT it is also time time where we sweat bullets because it is known for a time when many Autistics revert . Many books, studies and parental observations have been written, how our kids lose a lot of what they have learned, can sometimes develop other maladies like seizures or other disorders worst of all they start going backwards developmentally.
Luckily for Dak we haven't had this experience .Although he is much more intelligent than we can prove on paper and appears to be communicatively awkward there is so much more I. There than most anyone gives him a chance to display...THAT'S OK Living with him 24/7 gives me a little broader view of what's going on in that head of his because it gives me opportunities to see the genial nuances of "lurks" in that brain of his...and certainly a way for me to ascertain his "growth spurts" .Once and autistic person hits puberty it's almost always considered an apex for learning and therapies...Try to get funding for programs or insist that you believe they can still benefit from interventions and you literally get laughed out the room . And try to tell someone at his age that he is experiences another growth spurt they might as well put a Jesters Hat on me and tell me to entertain the king and his court!
What I will say is just that, and laugh all you will , question my ability to recognize this type of progress, tell me I am crazy or imagining it or that because I am a mother just desperate to wish my son more progress that I am manufacturing it ....I DON'T GIVE A DAMN because I know what I see and what I hear....I am seeing another brain growth spurt...right now and for the passed several weeks. I will bore you with specific examples ..questioning bout words he has heard and wanting to know more about then ..when he never did before, reciting lines for a movie that he hasn't seen in 10 years , even more expressive language and his ability to speak an opinion or even say a sentence about wanting to do something where before it was more of a grunt or a physical reaction.
It's not rocket science and the fact still remains that he will need someone around most of the time for the rest of his life but it doesn't mean he should not be giving accolades when he is continuing to grow . Even more important is the message I am trying send to others which is Never Give Up and Never Give Up Hope...Don't let others talk you down from your stance when you know what you have seen or heard. It does happen and it can make a difference for your child's life because eventually someone will have to listen to your barking ....If you see GROWTH ; talk about it,document it and insist that whether some one listens or does anything about it THAT IT STILL EXISTS!
