Grandma on Autism
My grandson is autistic. This was a very hard concept for me to wrap my brain around. My precious grandson is autistic. When my daughter first suspected there was a problem, I could handle the idea of a problem, but when the label was finally applied, I sat down and cried. To me "Autism" referred to those children who stood in a corner and rocked back and forth. That label was given to my grandson 5 years ago and now I have learned more about the spectrum which includes so many levels of autism or delayed development.
Rationally I understand his problems and realize that he is improving with all of his therapies. He is very high functioning and is mainstreamed in a regular 2nd grade. Emotionally my heart breaks every time I see that he does not communicate with his cousin who is the exact same age, doesn’t interact with his brothers as much as he should and does not have the friends that call and want to play.
When a little boy, his friend, stopped coming for playdates because that boy's mother did not want her son to be friendly with my grandson, it broke my heart. They played beautifully and my grandson was so happy to have a friend. He cried when his mom finally told him that the child would not be coming to his house anymore. This was just another instance of prejudice in our world.
I want so much for his life to be normal. I want him not to struggle with the things in life that should come naturally to him. I want my daughter to be able to relax, and calm down. She is so hyper and constantly on the run with all the children and his therapies. The money that those therapies cost drains their resources so that they cannot go away on much needed vacations.
Autism is now found in one in 166 children. We need to find out what is causing this disease. We need to make everyone aware of early detection. We need to open our arms and accept these children, showing other children that it is alright to play with all children.
Rationally I understand his problems and realize that he is improving with all of his therapies. He is very high functioning and is mainstreamed in a regular 2nd grade. Emotionally my heart breaks every time I see that he does not communicate with his cousin who is the exact same age, doesn’t interact with his brothers as much as he should and does not have the friends that call and want to play.
When a little boy, his friend, stopped coming for playdates because that boy's mother did not want her son to be friendly with my grandson, it broke my heart. They played beautifully and my grandson was so happy to have a friend. He cried when his mom finally told him that the child would not be coming to his house anymore. This was just another instance of prejudice in our world.
I want so much for his life to be normal. I want him not to struggle with the things in life that should come naturally to him. I want my daughter to be able to relax, and calm down. She is so hyper and constantly on the run with all the children and his therapies. The money that those therapies cost drains their resources so that they cannot go away on much needed vacations.
Autism is now found in one in 166 children. We need to find out what is causing this disease. We need to make everyone aware of early detection. We need to open our arms and accept these children, showing other children that it is alright to play with all children.
