My Family's Experience with Autism: Just One

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Just One

Today, another post I wrote has been "published" on the internet -- this time it was the submission I made to Parent Magazine's GoodyBlog. It is part of the series, "Voices of Autism". I also noticed that it's been "tweeted" and "re-tweeted". I am really just floating on air this week. This is the second web-based publication for me, not including this blog (and since this blog is under MY control, it barely counts on that score) in less than 5 days. I suppose you can say that I'm taking my role seriously when it comes to informing others about autism this month....

At the beginning of the month, I made a challenge to anyone who would listen -- try to get one person to "GET" it. One person to not glare at an autistic individual. One person not to accuse a struggling parent of "spoiling" their child and claiming that their children would never behave in such a fashion. One person to understand that autism is outside of control of those affected and their families. One person to not judge but offer help or even just simply walk away if they're not in a position to help. One person to not ask to change their seat in a restaurant because an autistic child has been seated nearby. One person to see that we are facing an epidemic and a challenge that we cannot be fully prepared for. One person....if we can all convince just one person....how much easier our lives could be.....

Hopefully, these efforts have allowed me to fulfill that challenge.

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A Little Bit About Me and My Family

Every once in a while, something happens to a family that seems to change everything, whether that change is positive, negative, or in an uncertain direction. One such thing happened to us in March 2009, when we were informed our 26 month old twins (girl/boy) were BOTH on the autism spectrum. Their older brother (nearly 4 at the time) had always been ahead of the curve for most developmental milestones, so we had never really considered that some of the delays the twins were having had anything to do with autism. Well, we were wrong. Since then we have been learning about learning techniques and doing everything we can to make sure they get any and all help they need so that they can live normal lives. This blog chronicles that journey.

The Autism Pizza

I don't know where this came from originally, but I found it on a post on Circle of Moms. It's a good explanation of how things line up on the spectrum.

1. The Crust: Lack of Social Interaction (poor eye contact, not sharing interests with you, no pointing/gesturing)

2. The Sauce: Impaired Communication (possibly no speech, poor conversation skills, repetitive language, echolalia, no make-believe play)

3. The Cheese: Stereotypical Activities & Interests (extreme routine, strong interest in certain things, stimming [flapping, atypical play, etc.] -- like spinning wheels, lining toys up, stacking, etc.)

If you have all of those things: crust, sauce, cheese, you made an Autism pizza. It might have different toppings, but you can look at it and know it's still a pizza. If your pizza doesn't have sauce, that's Aspergers's. If your pizza is missing more than that but still kind of looks like a pizza, that's PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified)