Knowledge is power

I am learning that KNOWLEDGE about Autism is a good thing. I remember attending the autism Asia pacific conference in September and there were many parents and carers who said they had gained a degree in autism.( Not with paper, just with time) The questions we ask, the websites we visit , the endless resources we buy and the people we talk to all to try and find a way to decode this `autism` thing.

One presenter( Livan Jones) a mother or 7 year old Caleb, said ``I am my sons biggest voice I don't know autism but I know my son``.
This for me rings true so much. I am overwhelmed by this gigantic thing that encapsulates my son. Questions that I have. How will he cope in kindy? How will he share? How will he move on from obsessions? Will he misunderstood? and yes... meltdowns.

I have the absolute advantage of teaching at the school where my children go. And I LOVE my job. I LOVE my colleagues. They are really seriously amazing. The amount of angst and love that I see behind the scenes from these teachers is real and rare. I know my boy will be in beautiful care. But Autism is still such a strange and unusual thing.

The quote ` When you have met one child with autism, you have met one child with autism.`` is very true. So its not a case of one size fits all. If I can be part of a process where I can educate and inform teachers and parents about what autism sort of looks like and give strategies I am hoping this will be okay. But is it enough?

I have heard stories from parents where their own darling did not receive any birthday invites since Year One. Where these children are `tolerated` but not picked as the first child to be in a group for an activity.

I see it. I see this happening with children who have autism. Will I need to beg mums to invite my boy to a birthday party? Will I have to have play dates and bribe the children with a freddo to join in his games? Will I have to awkwardly smile to face the wide birth of parents who have stories of my boy hurting, hitting , crying their child? Will he ever have a soul mate ?
Will he ever have a friend who will travel through their school years with him and want to be his friend just because he is?

I know these questions are crazy. My boy is three. A beautiful three year old who giggles at the stars at night. But he is about to leave his protected little cocoon that Chris has given him so wonderfully into a bigger world where not everyone will be an aunty, a cousin , an oma... who are so precious to me for the way they put up with his quirks.

I have to believe that knowledge is power in autism. Maybe I can be part of a world which will create a united togetherness as we educate those precious angels who are born with autism.

When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile. ~Author Unknown