123pizza’s Weblog

I have a child with autism. Asperger’s Syndrome if you need to get more technical. Asperger’s is sometimes easier to say because it doesn’t always come with the stigma of autism. The stigma that comes from those who aren’t informed about autism, who don’t know very much but think they know everything.

I used to be one of those people. I used to think I knew more than I really did. I even did research on autism when I worked with the children at church because we had an autistic girl who needed extra attention. I wanted to be able to better help her so I started looking into autism. I learned a lot about autism but not enough.

I don’t think you can ever learn enough. Even now with my son, I know nothing. At least it seems that way. I’m learning to take what people say to me and channel it through a fact or crap filter. Most of what I have been hearing is crap except that which is coming from trained professionals. Trained professionals who truly love my son and want what is best for him and to help him to succeed.

If you were to know my son you wouldn’t know he had autism. I didn’t know until recently. I knew he was having difficulties in school and eventually moved from a private school to a public school. He wasn’t handled well at the private school and I can see now that they weren’t trained to deal with autism nor did they have experience. My son burst their bubble world and they didn’t know what to do. All they could see was this defiant child. I was amazed at his behavior and couldn’t figure out what was going on at school for him to act out this way. He was confined in a box and didn’t have any breathing room.

The public school has to accept him and they were able to see and recognize behavioral tendencies that looked like Asperger’s. I was approached and asked if the school psychologist could evaluate him. Yes!

Best Friend’s mom works with multi handicapped children and was the first to mention Asperger’s and high functioning autism. When I got home I started looking into Asperger’s. What is this? What is high functioning autism? Are they the same? Are they different? I don’t know. I’m learning as I go.

What was is like to learn my son has autism. At first it was horrible. I grieved. No mom wants something to be “wrong” with her child. So I grieved. I did research. I wanted to learn everything I could.

I am learning to be my son’s advocate. I am learning when to be forceful and when to step back. Our school is showing me how to work the system which is good because we are moving soon. I have contacted our new school and they have experience with Asperger’s which I am thankful for because I didn’t want to have to educate a school on Asperger’s.

My son is still the same. The fact that he has autism doesn’t change him; he is still the same lovable, tender-hearted child he has always been. I am the one who has changed and as I learn more about autism I am changed for the better.

Web sites for special education and autism:

Autism National Committee
Autism Research Institute
Autism Society of America
Center for the Study of Autism
Division TEACCH
The Educational Resources Center (ERIC)
Autism Speaks
MAAP (More Advanced Individuals with Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder)
Online Asperger’s Syndrome Information and Support (O.A.S.I.S.)