Just reading this title makes me want to scratch my head and say, “Well, I never thought those words would ever come out of my mouth!”
Is there anything to like about autism? We sort of cringe when we hear, “He was diagnosed with autism.” Or maybe our hearts feel sad because this family has no idea what roads they will have to travel.
Well, there is some good news! Yes, I said, “Good news!”…..Go along with me for a moment and pretend I am the future looking back at the past. If I knew BACK then what I KNOW today, I would not have feared or dreaded AUTISM so much.
Gosh, in the beginning years of the diagnosis and wondering for hours what happened to make the “light of autism” click on in our child or “Am I being punished for some past mistake?”…. it all goes back to thinking negative about autism. Yes, our dreams of possibly having a superstar basketball or football player may have just been altered, but it may not be permanently. Do NOT immediately feel because your child has autism that they cannot become all that GOD wanted them to become…they need you now more than ever to be their cheerleader and their advocate!
Since I am the future looking back in the past when my young boy was diagnosed with autism…I would sum it up “FRUSTRATED!” In those early days, no one could answer my questions, I was grasping at straws to see if something someone was doing would work well for my child, doctors giving us some glimmer of hope, doctors totally letting us down, etc. etc.
Be careful because your frustrated spirit will be felt by the child who loves you most- your child with autism.
Today, my son is almost sixteen and YES, oh YES, there are many challenges we still deal with, but overall, there are more days of laughter and less days of sadness. I FIND MOST that God has taught me how to PRAISE HIM more often….if I would have only had children labeled “normal” I don’t think I would praise him the way I do today….WITH AUTISM, we quickly learn that sometimes simple things in life are milestones when autism is mixed in. We should have bad knees when we have a child with autism because we have dropped to them so many times and said, “THANK YOU JESUS!”
What I like about autism?….For me, it has helped me become a better me! A better Mom, a better listener, a better encourager, a better motivator, PATIENCE, and too many “betters” to name….
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