25 Things, Autism Style

IF YOU HAVE A CHILD OR CHILDREN WITH AUTISM, PLEASE ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS AND TAG YOUR FRIENDS WHO ARE FELLOW PARENTS. YOU KNOW THE DEAL!

1. WHERE DO YOU CURRENTLY LIVE?
Knoxville, TN

2. WHAT IS YOUR CHILD’S NAME, AGE AND DX?
a. The Elder, 5, Aspergers Syndrome
b. The Hub, 37, Aspergers Syndrome

3. WAS YOUR CHILD PROPERLY DIAGNOSED?
a. Yes and then No and then Yes
b. No and then No and then Yes
Oi! It’s complicated, but that is the autistic world, eh?

4. WHAT DID YOU THINK WHEN YOU FIRST LEARNED YOUR CHILD HAD AUTISM?
a. I thought the OT was nuts. I was in denial for months before I agreed to have him evaluated.
b. I was actually relieved at first and then had to grieve for a long time and again on a couple of occasions as new “never gonna change” situations arose and I had to come to terms that they were “never gonna change.” I anticipate there being future situations where my preconceived ideal will be far from the actual. But I’m prepared.

5. WHAT IS THE HARDEST THING ABOUT HAVING A CHILD WITH ASD?
a. The lack of empathy, not from my child but from other people. If I had to hear “boys will be boys” or “all 4 year olds do that” or “My son does that too” or “That’s normal” ONE MORE TIME. I might have just imploded with frustration and the feeling of insanity. Even from those who have accepted his diagnosis and wanted to understand. They just could not.
b. The hardest thing about having a spouse with ASD is that often it is like having another child. I’m very fortunate that The Hub is much more aware and accepting of his Dx than one would expect, however the down side of that is the helplessness we both feel when we both realize that things are “never gonna change.”

6. WHAT IS THE BEST THING?
a. OMG. That’s hard to pick. I love his personality and his sense of humor. Not only is it something that maybe only a mother could love, but I think the whole autism community rallies behind. I am so amused, fascinated, and entertained by him, like seeing him making new friends and instead of small-talking to them he just walks up to them and starts going on and on about Thomas at 80 decibels within 5 inches from the poor child. He’ll just follow him around continuing with his narrative. The best thing is that often the child still will play with him because they are too young to judge.
b. I can count on his routine. If I can work something into his routine…It’s as good as gold that it will be done! The Hub and I have an absolutely amazing relationship. I couldn’t have asked God for a better partner and I wouldn’t trade him for the world. The multitude of lessons we have learned from each other and our children couldn’t have been taught to a PhD student in psychology.

7. HAVE YOU TRIED THE DIET AND DID IT WORK?
Yes, the whole family took gluten out of the house in June 2007. About 6 weeks later, about a week after his 4th birthday, The Elder said his first appropriate complete sentence, that not only made sense, but was a QUESTION. “What are you doing?” I realize that it might have been a script, since he didn’t wait arounf for the answer, but it was used appropriately and that was an amazing feat. About a month later before he started the CDC preschool under his first IEP (so overwhelming and confusing btw) we took casein out of our diets. Didn’t see as huge of an improvement in behaviors but did see an improvement in digestion and elimination. Today we do let him have cheese every so often, like at mcdonalds or if I have a salad. And he eats chocolate. But he has gotten used to not being able to have ice cream and cow’s milk and those things that would put his GI tract in overdrive, and that he can’t have gluten. Pizza was a hard one to give up, but Amy’s has a gfcf Spinach Pizza that they love and it is THE only green thing (other than m&ms) that The Elder will eat.

8. WHAT ABOUT OTHER BIOMED TREATMENTS- HBOT, CHELATION, ETC.?
No. I don’t feel like he needs to be medically “fixed.” Only properly nourished and trained to adjust to the world. Hmmmm, just like all humans?

9. WHAT METHOD OF ABA/Behaviour Therapy DO YOU LIKE BEST?
Social Stories, Hand over Hand, and regular sensory diet has been the most effective for us. The PECS didn’t work very well. He was too enamored with the velcro!

10. IF YOU COULD MAKE EVERY PARENT TRY ONE THING- WHAT WOULD IT BE?
To just TRY the diet. Yes, it’s hard, yes, it’s inconvenient, yes, it’s expensive, yes, it is worth knowing if will work for you. It’s hard to believe that a year and a half ago, The Elder only uttered 2 words phrases and a few 3 word phrases, which often were perserverations so you couldn’t really understand what he was trying to convey. Today you can’t shut him up.

11. WHAT DO YOU THINK THE RATE OF AUTISM REALLY IS?
I’m not sure. I look at every child (and adult actually) as if they might be on the spectrum. It helps me understand others, gives me insight on how to help others, helps me monitor my reactions to what others say or do, and helps me move on in moments that I have been hurt or angered by something another person said or did. The rate I guess doesn’t matter if you look at it that way.

12. HOW MANY KIDS WITH AUTISM LIVE ON YOUR BLOCK?
Don’t think we have blocks in TN. Just “round the curve”’s. lol. But if you go “round the curve” in my neighborhood, we have 2 adult twins about 4 houses down, a brother and sister at the end of the street, another boy that I’m not sure of his dx but he has ASD traits, and in my opinion, a un-dx child. So that’s 5-6 children all within half a mile from my house. Oh I didn’t count mine, so throw him in there too.

13. HAVE YOU EVER MET A RECOVERED CHILD?
What’s that? Is that like a recovered Caucasian? Puhleez. I’ve seen improvements in children, but if people expect their child to recover, then I imagine that those parents don’t enjoy their children as much as I enjoy mine. That makes me sad for them AND for the children because they can pick it up AND they can FEEL it. Even if it appears as if they don’t.

14. WHAT KIND OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM DOES YOUR CHILD GET?
He was enrolled in a pilot preschool classroom specifically tailored for ASD. There were only 7 kids in the class. It was THE BEST blessing in our journey. Without that, I’m not sure the blessings that followed would have been as effective. This school year, he had been transferred to the cdc preschool at our zoned school, but was moved to a mainstream kindergarten with resource support. He is the youngest male student in his class but the smartest with an IQ in the 99.99th percentile. There is talk about him repeating Kindergarten next year. Hmmm, we’ll see.

15. DO YOU GET SERVICES/TREATMENTS THROUGH YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE?
We get Occupational and Speech Therapy through our insurance but we haven’t used it in a long time. His IEP covers what he needs in those departments.

16. DO YOU THINK THE DIVORCE RATE IS REALLY 80% FOR ASD FAMILIES?
Probably, but I think that is the case for most marriages.

17. DO YOU HAVE A GOOD POOP STORY?
Hmmmm, which one do I share here????? I guess the messiest one was when he was up from a nap and had dug into his diaper for some sensory exploring. It was smeared on the wall, floor, crib, in between the railings, in the threads of the bolts that held the crib together, etc. Not to mention himself. ALL over himself. He went straight to the tub and got a hose down. Every hair was washed, finger/toenails scraped, and teeth brushed. Yeah…that was memorable. Meanwhile The Hub had taken the crib apart to detail it to avoid future surprise aromas.

18. WHAT IS THE STUPIDEST THING ANYONE HAS EVER SAID ABOUT YOUR KID?
“I think…” when they telling me their opinion of his behaviors after I have explained to them the series of events that led to the meltdown. hmmmm, because they know my child and how autism affects him better than me? It’s even funnier when they insist that they are right because I wasn’t there to witness what happened. I don’t need to…it is what he does…everytime…in those circumstances…don’t challenge me.
The other thing is “He looks so normal to me.” I’ve finally given up my crusade on this one and just smile and say, “Thanks!”

19. WHAT DO YOU SAY WHEN SOMEONE ASKS “WHAT IS AUTISM?”
A combination of common development disorders. When you have enough of the ones on the “autism checklist” then you win!

20. WHO IS YOUR “AUTISM COMMUNITY HERO”?
Our psychologist, The Super Doc!

21. WHAT GROUP/ORGANIZATION DO YOU THINK HAS DONE THE MOST FOR THE COMMUNITY?
The Pro Parents. They believe in quality of life and don’t focus on who to point the finger at.

22. DID YOU VACCINATE YOUR CHILD AND DO YOU CONTINUE TO DO SO?
Duh. Who wants a deadly disease?

23. DOES YOUR FAMILY ACCEPT YOUR CHILD HAVING AUTISM?
For the most part. Move on…

24. WHAT LESSON HAVE YOU LEARNED AFTER ALL OF THIS?
ASD is a part of my life and always will be. Everyone has issues to deal with in their lives. My issues don’t make me better off or worse off than the next person, which is what I try to remember when I do a regular “attitude-check.” I hope that my life is not identified by ASD. I am an advocate and will always promote awareness. That is my responsibility as a member of the community. But it’s not about who understands me, but about me understanding others. Not about being loved but loving others. When someone thinks of me, I don’t want them to think of autism, I want them to think, “I’m loved.” Easier said than done, I know. That reminds me of The Elder ’s special song, which happens to be The Prayer of St. Francis. Picked out and sung to him before he was even born. Calmed him when he was an infant, and named as his special song by himself. Hmmm, God’s plan can be freaky.

25. IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME. WOULD YOU CHOSE FOR YOUR CHILD TO BE NEURO-TYPICAL?
No. My life would be boring, and I would have less friends. My kids wouldn’t be who they are today: sweet, respectful, polite, and logical.

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