Anxiety, Medication and the Dentist

Today is attempt three at getting a dental exam for my 9 year old, attempt THREE. Last year he was able to open his mouth enough so that the dentist could see two cavities, this was enough to qualify for sedation dentistry where one cavity was filled, one baby tooth was extracted, he received a full cleaning and a full set of X-rays. Pre-Op proved more traumatic than Post-Op and we considered this a success (with the qualification that there were no other options and given that, it turned out okay).

Fast forward six months and its time for another check-up. Full meltdown. He sat in the chair very briefly and put his head back and we left it at that. Second attempt went a little better, he opened his mouth and let the doctor look but it took 45 minutes, lots of screaming and calming and screaming again. The roller coaster left us both exhausted.

There's no question his anxiety is getting worse over time. We are working on it with a behavioral psychologist. From what I can tell, known issues are worse than un-known ones. He is curious enough to want to try something once, even if it is cautiously. It's the follow-up and repeat instance where he knows enough to make it bigger, more stressful, scarier in his mind. Its fighting against a known fear which, even exaggerated, is extremely difficult.

Tell me to stop being afraid of spiders. Tell me to stop worrying about things I cannot control.

Stop being afraid of spiders (or earthquakes or the vastness of outer space). 

Nope, can't do it. It would be easier to stop breathing.

So this is what I have, the tools at my disposal, going in to the dentist office:

• me
• my voice
• unconditional love
• noise canceling headphones
• a sleep mask that looks like robot eyes
• a dentist I like and trust
• medical and dental insurance
• unconditional love (its worth repeating)

And a new tool that has been added is a prescription in his name for 2mg extended release of Xanax. 

Believe me when I tell you that there is no part of my brain, heart and body that wants to give him this pill but as much as I do not want to, more powerful is the desire to help him in his fight against his fear and his anxiety. 

If you are a parent of a child with anxiety, irrational fears and Autism, I have no doubt that you have had to do a safe restraint on your child to complete an important blood draw or so that the doctor could complete an exam to identify an ear infection or strep throat. I know that you closed your eyes and willed the doctor or phlebotomist to hurry, to finish before you lost strength yourself. Because you know that you can only hold your thrashing and screaming child for so long, you can only hear them yell "PLEASE!!! STOP!!!" for just a second more before your own heart will shatter and you will let go. But you know, you hold tight because it will be over faster if you do, your child will be safer if you are the one doing it, you will stay just outside yourself long enough to get it done and then you will kneel before your baby and hold him, kiss away his tears, tell him you had no choice, apologize again and again, tell him that you love him and you are proud of him. You will snarl at anyone to tries to separate you before you are both calm enough to go back into the world. 

Then you will call your doctor and beg them for something to help your child cope with situations like this and you will receive a prescription for Xanax and you will be terrified to give it to him but you will be more terrified to not. As Mom there is no pain, worry or hurt I wouldn't put upon myself to help my child. Today I am adding a new tool to my toolbox, I'm going to try and take his anxiety and fear burden and add it to my own fear and anxiety of the appointment and my fear and anxiety of giving him Xanax. It is my most fervent wish that it helps him, that the appointment goes quickly so that we can put it behind us and grow from the experience. Maybe over time and with enough positive experiences, the Xanax will no longer be necessary. That will be a very good day indeed.   

Always know that these decisions should not be taken lightly and with much consideration by both you and your doctor. It is illegal to give your child medication that is not prescribed to him/her by a licensed practitioner, doing so can put your child's life at risk. 

An Idea That Saved My Sanity

I certainly don't take my sanity lightly, especially when it seems to be slipping away so frequently (admittedly *I* am usually the root cause, not my boys).  Back to school this year brought about an idea born out of sanity necessity:

How do I wake my child up at 5am for school in a way where he won't freak out with a loud alarm?

Reading through out the years suggests that its easier on the body and mind to wake up slowly, becoming aware of the light coming through the window is a way to do that. Just like in the good old days!!

Being the frugal person  I am  I try to be, I knew that the $99-150 light alarms weren't going to happen for us, (if you are interested see here or here)  so I set about finding our own solution for less $$$.

For this project I knew I wanted:

• The light to turn on sometime between 4:55 am and 5:05 am and stay on until he left on the bus at 6:00am,
• A soft light without an exposed bulb.
• Mounted above his headboard to as close as I could get it.
• While we're at it, lets have the light come on at the start of the bedtime routine at 8:00pm and have it shut off automatically at bedtime (8:30pm). 
• I didn't want to spend more than $30.

Really all I needed was a digital timer and a lamp!! 

The timer was the easy part although we tried an old fashioned Christmas tree light type timer first and it wasn't as accurate as we wanted, switching to digital was the solution. What we got was something very similar to this: 

The On/Off button has proved to be most helpful for days like today when we have a SNOW DAY!! (I didn't even think of that when we were searching for timers). These run between $10-20... Check your after Christmas sales now since they are mostly used for setting Christmas tree lights. 

Next up: A Lamp! Ikea to the rescue!! Long ago Ikea became my go-to for many of my zany ideas and this time they had *exactly* what I needed! 

I'm sad to report that this model is no longer available according to their website (but I've seen some on ebay), I loved it because the bulb was enclosed, it was wall mountable and the "canister" spun so I could use it as an uplight on really dark mornings when only a little light was needed or a downlight on mornings when the sun rises early and a little extra is necessary.  It's a soft light and not jarring in any way. 

You might not be able to find that exact light but never fear! There are more lights that I think will work just as well: 

This one is a great price at $8.99 but has an exposed bulb, a problem we had planned on solving by facing the light towards another wall or the ceiling. 

This one is pretty and will run you $20 but it's glass so beware if you have an ahem impulsive child like mine ;)

If table lamps work best for you, there are great options too:

This one is paper and costs $6.99

This one is plastic and costs $4.99, these were the first lamps we put in the boys rooms when they were toddlers because they couldn't touch the bulb unless they took apart the lamp first :)

Or maybe this is the perfect time to try out one of these in your decor. I've always liked them but never had a good spot for one! The shade is $4.99, the cord set to run it from the plug up to the ceiling is $5. 

Or in COLORS! ($4.99 for the shade, $5 for the cord set)

Obviously, I've had a lot of fun with the project. In the end it was because it WORKED that made it so much fun.  Each morning his lamp turns on at 5am and although it is not enough to wake him up fully, it is enough to start waking him up without that jarring alarm sound. Once he is out of that deep sleep, just moving around in his room or giving him a hug finishes waking him up and asking about what he wants for breakfast gets him out of bed and talking. The light turns itself off at 6am which is the time we are usually outside waiting for the bus. 

At the end of the day, the light turns itself back on at 7:00pm and shuts off at 8:30pm which has completely stopped any complaining or fussing about not wanting to go to bed or "but I was reading" pleas.  

This has truly saved my sanity, in addition to helping my 12 year old wake up and go to bed it also has the added benefit of being silent so it doesn't also wake up my 9 year old who has a wake up time of 7:00am, not 5:00am.  

Autism chic? Autism decor? Autism crafts? Whatever you want to call it, when I find something that helps I want to share it with everyone! Maybe it will save your sanity as well :)  

PS- I searched for lamps on Ikea's website but obviously they aren't the only place to go for inexpensive lamp styles! I would shop and compare prices on Amazon and Overstock as well.

ELF! Eyes Off My Child!

The Elf is on the shelf... NO! Not at my house, that thing is danged creepy! The Elf sits on the shelf in my son's 4th grade class.  This has created a host of issues.

About a week ago my 9 year old gets in the car and our conversation goes thusly:

Adam: Mom, there are some kids who have Elves in their house. 
Me: I've heard about that, what kind of Elves do they have? (already knowing the answer)
Adam: They are Elves that sit on shelves.
Me: What do you think about that?
Adam: I don't want that, promise me you won't buy any Elves to watch me. 
Me: Do you need someone watching you to make sure you are good?
Adam: No, you watch over me good. Those Elves freak me out, I don't want anything in the house that only comes to life while we are sleeping. Promise me, no Elves.
Me: I promise you there will be no Elves on shelves in our house. There may be some elves in some of our decorations but I assure you they are just decoration, like a figurine.
Adam: So it's like the cookie decorations, they look like cookies but they aren't cookies at all?
Me: Yes, exactly like that.

Then last Friday he comes home to tell me that he could not focus at school, he didn't learn anything. (We do daily discussions on focus because we are trying NeuroFeedback to help) I asked him why and he said that the Elf was watching him all day. He went on to explain that he needed to watch the Elf just in case he moved. He explained how the Elf reports to Santa and that he sometimes does naughty things in the night but he doesn't get in trouble for it.

Okay, lets deal with ALL that is wrong in that conversation one at a time starting with: WHY is there an Elf in the classroom?

In a time where Halloween parties are now Harvest Parties and Christmas parties are Holiday parties it seems to me that the idea of an Elf that reports back to Santa would fall under that umbrella. There are people in the world who do not celebrate Christmas, people who do not teach their kids about Santa Claus. I agree that the idea of Santa is now pretty far removed from any religious denomination these days but it does set up one of those "slippery slope" situations.

So first off, I was surprised that it was allowed in the classroom, not that it is directly applicable to the situation I have at hand though. My 9 year old has Autism, ADHD and Anxiety Disorder. The Elf is pretty much a combination of his worst nightmares. Not only is this thing 1) watching him 2) making note of him being "bad" and 3) reporting back to Santa he is also (and most importantly) 4) coming to life at only at night. We have had long discussions about figurines and transformers not being alive and not moving about the house at night and therefore cannot "get" him while he sleeps. We see a Behavioral Psychologist for this and this Elf has set us back.

So basically, my son is afraid of the Elf and cannot pay attention and focus while the Elf is present. He told the teacher he didn't like the Elf. It didn't help. He is currently behind grade level for most subjects and cannot afford to lose 2 weeks of instruction time for an Elf.

Additionally, his school is a PBIS School. Want to know what that is? PBIS.org

The school will focus on three to five behavioral expectations that are positively stated and easy to remember. In other words, rather than telling students what not to do, the school will focus on the preferred behaviors. Here are some examples from other schools:

• Respect Yourself, Respect Others, and Respect Property
• Be Safe, Be Responsible, Be Respectful
• Respect Relationships and Respect Responsibilities

We learned Positive Behavior Reinforcement a looooooong time ago, it is drilled into my brain. Catch your child being good!  Praise! Praise! Praise! Be consistent with rules. Be predictable. Be timely. The Elf monitors behavior, thats it's job. But instead of reporting to Santa the "good" stuff, he is reporting the "bad" and in doing so is in direct conflict with the school's own behavior plan and goals.

So my plan was to march into the school and remind them of the above reasons and demand, like the Scrooge I am, that the Elves on shelves be removed immediately!!

But I did not.

That isn't to say that I won't but I haven't.

This is an unfortunate situation where I am reminded once again that the entire world cannot change to meet the needs of my child. I advocate, I spread awareness but most importantly my job is to prepare my child for the world, not the other way around. Luckily, we had 2 snow days and we talked about the Elf and we didn't talk about the Elf and we tried to make peace with then Elf. In the end there is a price to be paid for this, as there is a price to be paid for almost every concession made.

The price we paid was one piece of holiday magic. For him to not be afraid I told him the Elf was fake. It did not come alive, it does not talk to Santa. I showed him websites of parents who plan their Elf on the Shelf activities to prove to him that the doll does not move around in the night time.  I told him this was an "Adult Secret" and that I trusted him to keep the secret so that his friends may still participate in the Elf stuff.

Did it help? I think he still wants to believe in the magic, he will tell me what the Elf has done that day, last week he was mad because the Elf messed with his "girlfriend's" desk (thats a whole other topic!). He has mentioned a few times that he wish the Elf would not watch him and that he will be mad if the Elf messes with his stuff.  (I pity the teacher who tries that one!) Is the issue resolved? No. Is it fixed? No. Is it being handled? Yes, to the best of my ability. I talk with him about the Elf as much as he wants and we handle each issue one at a time. He has missed instruction time and I don't love the Elf but since we have a pretty big IEP meeting on Wednesday, I'm going to save my fighting for that time. (And I'm pretty sure it's going to get ugly!)  The last day of school is Friday and the elf will be no more and I will cheer!

And now a story and picture. Here is Adam visiting with Santa at The Kennedy Krieger Festival of Trees, thankfully they had special hours for patients and students so we were able to attend without the massive crowds. Initially both boys said that they didn't want to visit Santa then when we were almost done Adam tells me that he did not want to tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas, he merely had a question.  So we got into a short line and watched as other children sat on Santa's lap and told him their wish list. I frantically gestured to my husband to be ready with the camera to capture this moment (I don't have any pictures of my kids with Santa, they have NEVER wanted to do it).

Adam was ready to go, he stepped right up and stood about 3 feet away from Santa and would not go any further. He put his hands out and asked his question, "Santa, have I been naughty or nice?". Santa assured him that he had been nice while looking past Adam to me with obvious confusion. Adam said, "Thank You" and walked away. Had I given it 2 minutes of thought, I could have probably guessed this was how the interaction would go. It was just so Adam and so perfect and made my entire day.

So... as our Christmas cards say, "No matter how many tries it takes... Have a wonderful holiday!"

I Don't Give a Flip What You Think of My Helicopter Parenting

Its been about a month now since my newsfeed lit up with links to "Helicopter Parenting" articles with my friends adding tags like, "This is the WORST" and "These parents make me crazy!". I pretty much thought, "don't care" and moved on. But since then this has been niggling in my brain and bugging me. So finally when Real Simple Magazine came out with the article, How, and Why to Stop Being Helicopter Parents, I decided to read it.

Now I've gone from "don't care" to "I care VERY much" and it's not that I'm angry per se, I'm frustrated.  You see, special needs parents have to be helicopter parents and this is just one more instance where we are left open to judgement and condemnation by the public who feels they get a say in how we raise our children.  It isn't enough to say, "well, its different for you, you are a special case" by those who know and love our children because not everyone does. The fact remains, in many cases our kids look very normal sitting in the sandbox at the park and I am the helicopter that is revolving around that box and you don't get to judge me because you don't know me or my child.

Would you rather I ignore him, have him mis-read a social situation and then haul off and smack your child?

Would you rather I have a conversation with you, pull my attention off of my child and then help me call 911 when I look up and he is no where to be found? (Do you NEED me to post every instance of child elopement from this summer alone? Sadly, there have been a lot and they haven't all ended well)

Does it bother you that I've sent snacks with my child because we've been implementing a dietary intervention 24/7 for the last 3 months to rule out food as cause for his constant stomach pain? Would you rather I send a list of things that he cannot eat and require that you adhere?

Does it make you feel like a better parent, chatting behind my back about how I called the school yet again to defend my child's actions because he was struggling one day? 

It has taken me 10 solid years to get to a point where I can ignore the stares and comments people make in my presence when my kids are having a tough time. On good days I can ignore them, on better days I can educate them, all other days I lash out at them and their ignorance.  But please, feel free America to hand them more ammunition. Go ahead and call me a Helicopter Parent, in time I will learn to let it bounce off of me like I have when I was called "over protective" and "overly worried".  My job is not to answer to you, my job is to keep my boys safe and healthy first and foremost and until they have learned the skills to do that on their own... I will continue to hover.

It is with frustration, not anger, that I send this blog out into the world. Frustration that so many people have latched on to this (not so) new parenting issue, that it has moved like wild fire across the internet and in doing so inadvertently ostracized entire swarms of parents world-wide who (for whatever reason) cannot or will not land their helicopter. This is not an issue of having a name for it, it is the issue of giving people free license to use it to judge or criticize someone else.

It hasn't been so long ago that mother's of children with Autism were called Refrigerator Mothers, the  idea that we caused our children to be Autistic because we didn't give them enough love and attention. Now we will be called "Helicopter Mothers" because of the opposite. I guess its just too much to hope that one day we will just be called "Mothers"


There are tons of articles floating around about this Helicopter Parenting stuff but I've chosen to only read the one Real Simple article and I want to state that I'm not angry at Real Simple, I am a subscriber and I will continue to be one. I don't consider the article to bad reporting because I am (again) a minority parent and they cannot write every article to take into consideration every single person.  In fact, Real Simple has done a few very good (and emotional) articles on Autism:

Portraits of Love: How One Father Captured the Essence of His Autistic Son

I Don't Know How to Love You

The Week (Month? Quarter?) In Review

It occurred to me a while back that I am online all the time (seriously, all the time), and I'm pretty okay updating the Rantings Facebook page but I never seem to find the time to write a blog post (at least not as good of one as I would like). To that end, I know some people read my blog only and some people read the Facebook page only and the only way I can think to cross the two is to do some weekly roundups! 

Welcome to my first roundup with additional pictures (when I have them), website links and all my witty banter (*snicker*) all in one convenient place!! 

Saturday/Sunday

Learning the real board game because he loves the iPad version so much. May cause flappiness 

Monday

(Morning)
My 9 year old with some serious anxiety issues has a well child visit this morning. This could go one of two ways but the likelihood of it end on the better of the two is pretty minimal. We did blood work for a titer check last week and that ranked in the top 10 worst ASD experiences of my life, it wasn't his first blood draws but it certainly was the most difficult. I'm pretty confident that his titers will show strong enough immunity to avoid any shots today, if they don't there will still be no shots today. First there will be much research (again since data changes) before I consent and create a safe schedule. That's just how this lunatic rolls.

(Afternoon)

Transparency + Predictability = Well Child Visit WIN! 

Adam did so well. I told him EVERYTHING the doctor was going to do and I discussed with him everything I was going to talk about with the doctor (vaccinations, anxiety, ADHD, school, stress). I assured him that even if his labs showed that he needed boosters, he would not receive them today. Thankfully, his labs came back with *very* high titers and no vaccinations are needed. There may be a push back from the school but my doctor is on my side on this one and is willing to fight the fight with me. She is also agrees that medicating is not a good idea since medicating for one issue would make the other worse. Recommendations: Healthy diet, exercise, continuing with Behavior Psych. So far today is a WIN 

(Evening)
This is so true. (link to a wonderful article about finding acceptance as the parent of a special needs child in a room full of moms of neurotypical kids)
The Invisible Mom

(later evening)

'Cause that's how I roll.

I have the *full* county IEP packet in hand to prep for our middle school placement meeting next week. I also have a half carton of Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Therapy and a container of Carmel sauce. I guess I know how my evening is going to go down.

Tuesday

(middle of the night)

Today I'm wondering... If I gave up a night of sleep and instead cleaned every room that does not contain a sleeping human, would I get caught up? I fear not.

(early evening)

I so very rarely make sweeping statements that start with "my child will never..." There is a guarantee within those words what mean, your child will absolutely... That being said, I hate Kidz Bop with a burning passion and I will do everything in my power to keep it out of my home and car. My take on it is, just listen to the REAL song by the ACTUAL artist! They do play it at school though, so my sons often give me updates on which songs have made it to Kidz Bop stardom. You can imagine how today has gone since my 11 year old learned that Kidz Bop 24 contained a song by his arch nemesis Demi Lovato... Yeah, it's gone about as well as the "music" on Kidz Bop 24 is good (which is to say, BAD!!)

Wednesday

(afternoon)

Online summer school is kicking MY ass. 9 year old really really just doesn't want to do it and constantly gives up. Giving up is my Lunatic Autism Mom red button #1. Never give up. Never ever.

(early evening)

Haircuts this afternoon. It used to be that I would look forward to lazy summer days with nothing planned, now I would kill for just one afternoon without an appointment of some sort. Forget mornings, we NEVER EVER get a morning off.

Thursday

(morning)

Can't walk to ESY today because of the looming threat of thunderstorms in the area. The extra :15 minutes that driving affords feels a little decadent.

(afternoon)

I've officially decided which part of the day I dislike the most! No, it's not morning (although they can really suck some days...). The part of the day I dislike the MOST is the first :15 minutes after we walk in the door and the boys are dumping all their stuff everywhere and I'm barking orders like, "hang up your jacket, put your shoes in the bins" and they are simultaneously asking, "Can I get on the computer? Can I play on wii? Whats for lunch?" and I'm trying to unload the perishable items from the grocery bags and the cat is on the table... Yes, that is the part of the day I hate the most.

(early evening)

I found an extremely interesting Smithsonian online exhibit, part of which is the "Ugly Law" of 1867. Wow. 

“Any person who is diseased, maimed, mutilated, or in any way deformed so as to be an unsightly or disgusting object, or an improper person to be allowed in or on the streets, highways, thoroughfares or public places in the City of County of San Francisco, shall not therein or thereon expose himself or herself to public view.” —San Francisco “Ugly Law,” 1867

People with disabilities have been present throughout American history.

(late evening)

My alter-ego decided to cop and attitude:

SOON. The county IEP looms, placement is imminent. 
I freaking hope so!!! We're running out of summer! I vow to put away my IEP Lunatic Autism Mom photo as soon as this fight is behind us. 
Until then we shall remain vigilant!!!

(very late evening remembering the conversations of the day with my 9 year old)

9 year old: Can you draw a star on my picture?
Me: Sure, where?
9 year old: In the vomit. 
Me: Of course.

Another gem from my 9 year old today (riding in the car to Target)... 
"Mom, I miss my friend Skylar."
Me: "I know, but summer is almost over and you will see him when school starts." 
"He's much smarter than me."
Me: "Skylar is a very smart boy and a nice boy too, but so are you."
"He likes girls. I like boys."
Me: "That might change some day, both boys and girls make excellent friends." *I'm soooo not going into the other meaning of that one!*

Friday

(morning)

Friday = NeuroBehavioral appointment.

(late morning)

We got a spot for ASkate next Thursday!!!

(afternoon)

Friday confession time: After an NBU appointment first thing this morning (plus the accompanying 1 hr drive each way), lunch with the hubs, a chiropractor appointment for all 3 of us and what should have been (but wasn't) a quick trip to the grocery store for a few items to make french bread pizza tonight... I've put one child on the Playstation and the other on the computer so that I can go upstairs, put on my comfy jammies and zone out for :15 minutes. Lets hope I don't fall asleep because they will totally remain quiet and on screens until the end of time if I let them.

(evening)

From My Life with an Asperger Syndrome Child

Breaking Me

I didn't even realize I was stressed out today. I mean sure, we had ESY plus 2 appointments at Kennedy Krieger which meant the hubs and I were juggling things. I really wanted to be with my 9 year old at his 1 hour drop-in ESY appointment (we walk together and I love it) AND I wanted to be at my 11 year old's NeuroBehavioral Unit appointment, but I couldn't be at both. NBU won and the hubs took the 9year old to ESY. We met up for lunch and then I continued on to Baltimore with both boys for my 9 year old's Behavioral Psych appointment and the Hubs went to work. Everything was okay, really, there wasn't any rushing, it all seemed planned perfectly until...

When Behavioral Psych was over I felt so relieved, like I had been holding my breath. I have no idea why. I declared it a milkshake day because it was snack time, it was hot outside and the boys had done an excellent job. Baltimore has ONE Sonic and if I drive just right, I can put it in my path on the way home. I ordered 3 small shakes and anxiously awaited our Choc covered Strawberry for my 11 year old, Chocolate for my 9 year old and Hot Fudge for myself. I figured it was a good day to splurge. Except that they got the order all wrong. They brought the 11 year old a small but the 9 year old a medium and me a medium. I kept my mouth shut and figured as long as the boys didnt notice, I wouldn't make a big deal out of it. (Except that I am really worried about my 9 year old's weight and he really shouldn't be having a milkshake much less a MEDIUM). The boys were happy so I tried my milkshake and it wasn't hot fudge, it wasn't even chocolate, it was vanilla (I hate vanilla).

I sat there stewing, I really don't need a milk shake, I really need to lose a lot of weight. But I wanted one. I NEVER EVER send anything back for myself, seriously, never. It takes more time and I am always weighing the boys ability to wait over whether or not I can just live with the mistake but today I REALLY wanted that milk shake. So I pushed the button and told them about the error. They said they would bring out a new milkshake ASAP. Except they didn't. I waited for 10 minutes at which point the boys were getting restless and wanting to go home and we still had about an hour drive ahead. So I left, without my milkshake, because really I didn't need it (but damnit I wanted it) and thats when it happened...

I broke. I don't break often, I really really try hard to stay put together but something about this day was just too much. It doesn't seem as such, I've had far more stressful days in the past (recently even). But that was it. The last straw for today. I turned the radio up for the boys, cried a little, drove home in traffic (too fast, I admit) and went over in my head every single thing, person, issue, instance that I am pissed off about and do I feel better? Nope. I don't feel one bit better. So today I won't be very good company and I don't think I'll talk much, I'll probably let the boys have too much "screens", I'll try to make a healthy dinner to counteract the medium milkshake my 9 year old shouldn't have had and when the hubs gets home I may lock myself in my room for the rest of the day because today I am done. Tomorrow is a new day...

Autism: The Vaccine

I've written recently (Autism Awareness Month) that, I'M AS AWARE AS I'M GOING TO GET! and I've written that we are past Awareness and now we are moving on to ACCEPTANCE and then I got ANGRY. Hey, it happens to the best of us.

I'm still getting daily emails saying,  "Vaccines cause Autism" and I'm getting an equal number of emails that say, "Vaccines have nothing to do with Autism". Again, I refuse to take sides. I still believe that vaccines are just one more of the many environmental triggers that are causing this huge upswing in Autism diagnosis. I'm mad that there is crap in my food that isn't food and there are chemicals in my water that don't need to be there.  I'm working around these issues as best I can in the limited amount of time I have.  Why do my kids have Autism, I don't know. I'm quirky, they are quirky, lets leave it at that for a moment.  

What I want to think about today is different than chemicals and pharmaceuticals.  I want to think of Autism as a vaccine. I'm not saying it can cure itself, I'm saying that all the awareness is maybe the acceptance vaccine we Autism parents are looking for.  Think about it, how many times have you felt the need to explain yourself to a complete stranger? Maybe you are wanting to give an excuse? Maybe you are wanting to give and explanation? Maybe you are advocating? Educating? 

My child has Autism and we are having a difficult time right now. I'm sorry if we disturbed you.

Now, how many times do you hear in response,

My nephew (neighbor, student, brother, friend's son), has Autism too. 

The fact is 1 in 50 children are being diagnosed and it's higher in school age children. No matter the cause, the facts are the facts.  We are Autism families and we won't lock our children away, we will go to the park, will we take vacations, we will go out to dinner and non-Autism families will see us.  Some will understand because their nephew (niece, neighbor, student...) has Autism. Some will not.

Over time those who have not been touched by Autism, will be. They will have a grandchild, a child, a friend's child, a nephew who will be diagnosed and then they will learn.  Learning doesn't automatically guarantee acceptance, but for those with open minds and kind hearts it can.

Like vaccines, 100% of the population will never be fully vaccinated with this magical Autism Acceptance vaccine. In some,  the formula will just not take and they will remain judgmental and annoying. There's nothing we can do for them, they are just too far gone for us to reach.

I think I will always wonder why my children got Autism. I will have bouts of anger at a diagnosis that I cannot yell at or hit to find relief.  But more so than any of that I do hope that this Autism Vaccine takes hold, that all the work we are doing right now will some day change someone's life. Maybe it will be for my sons, maybe it will be for yours.

A friend of mine pinned this on Pinterest today and I'm glad she did. I was thinking about Autism: The Vaccine last week and this is exactly why...