Autism Awareness

April is
Autism Awareness Month.

"WASHINGTON, DC (March 27, 2014)—
Today, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued the newest autism prevalence statistics. 
 For children born in 2002, the prevalence of autism was 1 in 68; 1 in 42 boys.  
Almost 60,000 US 12 year-olds likely have autism.  
Thirty years ago, autism affected 1 in 2,500 children; there has been a 37-fold increase."
-National Autism Association

We live with autism everyday.
Our son has Asperger's Syndrome,
which means that although his intellect is above average,
he struggles with social skills and relationship issues.
He wants to have friends, but he must learn how to do it.
I never really considered how important social skills were
until it became a problem for us.
It's been difficult for him to maintain friendships with kids his age.
He's always done better with younger children or adults.
So, we capitalize on that asset,
and give him opportunities to be among those age groups.
Adults are pretty amazed at his astounding vocabulary.
And wee ones just think he's funny.
You gotta make things work in your favor.

Homeschooling has been a blessing for us.
Instead of being sequestered with a limited age group,
and learning what someone else thinks is necessary,
we can concentrate on learning real-life skills.
His focus on Lego, electronics and robotics
keeps him fostering that love of learning.
What a great gift.

His success with verbal interactions has been due
in large part to the accessibility of practice time.
Whenever we are out in the community,
we coach him on appropriate behavior and conversation.
He understands that we are there for him, no matter what.
Because we chose not to have him spend his childhood
in the unnatural atmosphere of conventional schooling,
he has not only improved on those areas in which he needed assistance,
but he feels safe, secure and loved every single day.
That's no small matter.

We will be working on acquiring these skills as long as it takes.
Every new experience is an opportunity to learn, grow 
and become better versed in social communication.
Lest you think he's the only one learning,
I can assure you that his parents have benefited greatly.

Having a loved one with autism is never easy,
but it's the only life we know.
The world is not made for families like us.
Thankfully, God's given us the ability 
to create a world that does.



Here are past posts about autism:

2013
2012
2011