The things we do for the people we love

On some days, like today. I find it hard to come to terms with knowing that my little boy isn't just disabled. He is severely disabled. My little boy is severely disabled. He may never walk or talk and most likely, he will be wheelchair bound. He has the developmental age of a 6 month old. Mango will be 3 this June. He will be 3 years old and he is developmentally like a 6 month old. He was a 6 month old when he was 1 1/2 years old and when he was 2 year old and now when he is 3 years old. He hasn't moved. When he actually was 6 months old, he was developmentally still like a newborn baby. 

I just want to scream and pull my hair out. Not for myself but for Mango. For a boy who struggles everyday with things that we take for granted. Things that I take for granted everyday because I'm too consumed with taking care of all the things he has been disadvantaged of and things that come to us so naturally, like muscle movement or vision or hearing. 

I am also scared. I'm scared for me. I'm scared that my life will be too short or if I will get a terminal illness that takes away my ability to take care of my children. I'm scared of my heart breaking too many times, it decides to give up.

I'm scared for Mango. I'm scared for his future and what he will be in the next few years. I'm scared for when he turns 5 and he will have to go to school. I'm scared of him going to school. I'm scared of how he will be treated. I'm scared of how the world will treat him. I'm scared that his heart will hurt. I'm scared he will meet horrible and arrogant people that will leave a scar on his heart that I can't mend. I'm scared of losing him. I'm really scared of losing him. I am also scared that he will never know how much I love him. I'm scared that he will never know that I would give my heart to him if he ever needed it and I wouldn't think twice. I'm scared of a life without my heart because he is my heart.

I'm scared for plum and what his life will be like. I'm so scared of how his heart will break a little when he meets mean people that will give him a hard time about having a brother with a disability. I hurt for him knowing that he will have to face these things in life. I'm scared that he will know what it means to hurt everyday to see a loved one struggle with the things that we take for granted in life. I'm scared for his heart.

My dearest husband, who has been the strongest out of all of us. I'm scared that one day he will break and I wont be strong enough to hold him the way he holds me but I sure damn will give it everything I have. 

How do you protect the ones that you love from so much pain in your life. When all you want for the people you love is happiness. If the price I had to pay was my life to give my loved ones true happiness. I would do it. I want them to never know what pain and grief feels like. I want to protect them from all the evil hearts that are searching to break something. How though? How do I do it?

8 things to never say to a special needs parent

As a parent of a special needs child, I always find myself in situations where people find it okay to comment on me about my children, faith, parenting and everything else they can think of. I know, I know, I know. They mean well. Blah blah blah blah. 

1 - "I'm Sorry''
While a statement like this seems like the only thing you can say sometimes. It actually is offensive to the person who your saying 'sorry' to. 
What happens next? What do we say? "don't worry", "He is okay", "Oh, it's nothing". There is no reply for this. I'm not sorry that my kid has a genetic disorder. He is my kid, after all. We don't need or want sympathy or pity. We really don't want it. So by saying 'sorry', you are apologising for us being in the situation we are in, feeling sorry for us. Again, I say this, we don't want pity.   

2 - "I hope he gets better soon (Shifa)" (not including when he is sick)
My son has a genetic disorder. A genetic disorder is not a sickness. It can cause his body to have a low immune system but the genetic disorder itself is not a sickness. His hearing impairment is not a sickness. His vision impairment is not a sickness. His lack of development is not a sickness. Nothing about him is sick. And because it is not a sickness, it can not be cured. It is, what it is. Just the way it is. I know alot of people find it hard to accept or understand that something like this is not a sickness. My family took it very hard always asking what it was that we could prevent this from happening again or getting this again (like it was a some virus that you could pass on) but it's not. It takes a while to accept the fact that it just happened. So please don't say this. Because he is not sick.


3 - "He looks fine, he doesn't look like he has anything"
Thanks for trying to make me feel better. It didn't work. So far, in our two and a half years of life, nobody (except my sister) has actually admitted that Mango looks 'different'. Than you sister. I love you.
We know he isn't 'typical looking'. That's how we found out about his genetic disorder in the first place. His facial features. We know his ten fingers and eleven toes look weird. Yes, That's right. I just said eleven (two bones in one toe). We know certain physical features gave the genetic disorder away. 

4 - "At least you have a normal kid too"
There are two parts of this common saying. 
1. The word 'normal' . Your meaning of normal could be very different from what my meaning of normal is. Your normal could mean, waking up in the morning, feeding the kids breakfast and going to meet friends on a play date, while my normal is waking up, feeding the kids as fast as I can and rushing out the door like a mad women to try and reach our hospital appointment in time. There is no normal. 

2. You are so very very wrong. Seeing your younger child doing all the things the older child may never do, is a constant reminder of the loss that you feel. It reminds you everyday that Mango may never get there. A daily reminder that Mango may never learn to solve his problems or learn the hand and mouth co-ordination skill or learn how to lift himself with his hands but only his elbows and do so much more that your 6 month old is already doing. A reminder that your darling Mango, is so different. It makes you sad everyday, reminding you that your 'nest' that is eventually supposed to be empty, will never be. It's a constant reminder, to you, every time, you look into the two most perfect faces who think the world of you, of how your hopes and dreams were once crushed by the reality of 'never happening'.

5 - "God only gives you what you can handle"
As much as I believe this line to be true. I feel as if, when someone says it. It just sounds so rude. Pretty much like 'Stop complaining'. For me, this line has always been brought out at the wrong time and wrong place for me. 
My husband and I actually spoke about this line over dinner once. We spoke about how, one simple sentence could mean so many things and none of them were nice. 
I know, I can handle things because we do. This doesn't mean that we aren't allowed to share our disappointments. This also shouldn't mean that we become too worried to say anything because we feel that someone is going to take our disappointment the wrong way and think that we are ungrateful for having Mango.  
Sometimes, I feel like putting my hand up to their face and saying 'Just shhh. Just. sshhh. ssssshhhhhhHHHHHHHH!! Don't say another word'. *High five in the face*

*I can feel my blood boiling and my heart starting to beat a little faster*


6 - "I know so-and-so and they know so-and-so's, sister has a child with a genetic disorder, so I get it."
You don't get it. You don't even get a small bit of it. The fact that you had the audacity to say such a thing, just proves that you don't get it. Unless you have walked in my shoes and been through what I have. You don't get it. 


7 - ''Maybe you need to pray more"
Ahhh... I have actually got this one before. It left me crying in the car for hours. I don't even have the word to explain this one. 
The first thing our geneticist told us after breaking the news about Mango to us was "There is nothing you did or didn't do. Should have or could have done, to prevent this. It just happened and there is nothing to explain why. It just happened."

8- Don't ever say "Retard" or "Retarded" 
The moment I became a special needs  mother. The word retard has suddenly become extremely offensive. The medical term for Mango's cognitive delay is 'mental retardation'. The word is tossed around so lightly and used for jokes, noone really knows it proper meaning anymore. Delay is obviously a better use of language. Especially when you are talking to me. Its a horrible feeling. The moment the word is said, I get this knot in my stomach and without even knowing it, I take a mental note that the friendship I have with this person is a little ruined, a little trust is lost and I plan on keep my distance to protect my heart from being hurt this way again. The word is so backward-living. People I love, tell me I shouldn't be offended when they use the term retard or retarded. But I am and I always will be. Why should I not be offended. Please explain to me this. If so many people in this world find this word offensive, but the parents of children with special needs are apparently being label 'too sensitive' when we get upset because of this. How is that fair. The word has been changed, they have changed it to 'delay'. Use it. 

While everything here is said from a nice place in everyones heart, Please understand that most of the time, they are actually offensive. How else would you know if we didn't tell you, right? You wouldn't know. Most of us parents understand that people always mean well,  so we don't say anything. Alot of the times we just nod and smile. But you just never know what type of mother, might be holding on to the last straw on the camels back with all her might, hoping she wont break. A small line like this could go a long way and just might be the thing that makes her break. Think before you speak.

Reminder - I am important too

This is a post for me. A written post, to myself. This, is also an attempt to salvage what ever is left of my sane mind before I completely loose the plot. 

This moment right now. I can see the future going down hill from here. I feel like I'm trying to catch myself from drowning in an ocean of tears. I guess the thing is, that I knew this moment was coming and I just had to prepare myself for it to come. Except I'm starting to question myself, if this will be the cycle of my life. I take things on, not thinking how much it will weigh me down and then I sink. Is this what it means to take on one day at a time? Is it really what that means? Because if it is, then it's taken me two and half years to realised that somehow, as right as it seems, its so wrong. Except there is no other way.

The mother in me, the mother that I am, I can't allow myself to drown in my emotions when my babies need me. I think the past few months of Mango's appointments and hospital stays aren't only getting to me but to him as well. He has been so needy and cranky while Plum is teething crazy and extremely clingy. 

Today, I hit that brick wall, that I could see from a mile away. I hit it so hard, I couldn't take the impact of the crash. I put the kids down for a nap and the moment I stepped out of their room, it felt like my heart burst and I went crashing to the floor. I flooded the house today. I flooded the house with my grief, my guilt, my pain and mostly... my tears. I couldn't catch my breath, holding onto wall for support. What have I become? Where have I gone? Where am I?

I don't know what it was that got me back on my feet. I just somehow did. So much has happened in such a short period of time and I haven't even found time to allow myself to take it all in. I just kept going. So today, of all days, one of the busiest of all, my soul couldn't take it anymore and broke.

This is a reminder for me. That I come first too.
How? I have no idea. I can't even find time to go to the bathroom, how am I supposed to find time for myself. I don't even know how to take time to myself. How do you have alone time? What is it? What do I do, exactly?

I have, spoken to all those mother's out there who have a children with additional needs. So I can't say that I haven't been warned about the hard times that will get to me. I just have to keep reminding myself that it will get better. 

I want to take this moment to reflect on everything my family and I have been through. I want to soak it all in. Every joy and hurt that I have just pushed aside. Every bit of stressed that I ignored and told myself, it wasn't real. This is my moment to take it in so tomorrow I can stand tall again and be the best mother I can be. 

For all the mothers who have children with additional needs and myself, who are reading this. I want to tell you that you are Great. You are Strong. You are Wonderful and you have done so much great without even knowing it (because really, when do we have time to look back to see what we have done. We just keep moving forward). 

We are important too. 

We are our children's voices. And to make our voices heard, we need to hear our own first. That voice inside our head that keeps reminding ourselves to take a break, have a coffee, have a walk - because when we come back we will have stronger voices and with those voices we will move mountains. 

Most of all - this is a reminder for me. 

______________________________________________________

Dear Me,

Please read when you are feeling crap. Remember, we don't want this happening again. For everybody's sake.

From Me.

Moment of realisation

As the year 2014 sets in and my growing 34 week pregnancy belly continues to grow, the reality of how another beautiful soul will soon join our family and turn our world upside down (for the better ofcourse). Something like we never expected before. Because as much as I would like to admit that I am always prepared for everything, it somehow always turns out that Im not.

I realised this morning when I was feeding Mango a bottle of milk. His eyes were closed, half asleep but just awake enough to drink down some milk, that this. This moment. This quiet peaceful one-on-one moment that we had every morning for the past 19 months will soon be gone. It wouldn't be Mama Bear and Mango anymore. There would be three of us or four if you want to include Papa Bear (except I'm sure he wont mind because he would rather me do the morning feeds). My sweet little baby, who kinda actually still is a baby. It was a bitter-sweet moment. I need to cherish every moment that I have with him in the last few weeks. Am I wrong by doing this? Will I spoil him rotten and when his little brother comes along he will feel that i am giving him less time? I want to cry in agony and smile at the same time. I don't know how to react.

I hope one day that my Mango will have the ability to understand the love I have for him. I hope one day he will grow into a man of his own and know that everyday that passes/passed till my very last breath I loved him more than the moment before...

Mango's

Today my darling baby Mango ate a mango. Yes, like a round very sweet yellow mango. A milestone that hit me so hard I didn't even see it coming. I put a nice decent square piece of it in his mouth and he chewed it till it was all mush and then swallowed. He swallowed that piece of mango without choking and dying on me.

So today, I am an extremely proud Mama Bear and I use the word extremely because I am proud of him everyday but today I just happen to be extra proud. We pretty much thought that he would be on purees all his life and the rest of my days on this earth. Puree morning, afternoon and night. BUT today showed us that it won't always probably be like that. Today, I hope, is the day that we can start thicker foods that include more mouth movements.

Today is a good day. A milestone that not many parents take for granted because it is just what is expected and unfortunately have not seen the beauty in having the ability to have mouth control.

Outside there is a bright yellow sun, shining down on our green luscious grass. A bright yellow sun just like my little asian Mango who sits in his supported chair eating square pieces of Mango from my hand.

=)  

What car now?

So on our journey to become a family of four.. now still a family of 2 and half + ofcourse the one meatball that is in my belly rolling around. We felt the need to look for a new car. What car? One with a big boot.

See the problem is, we have a pram (a VERY. BIG. BEAUTIFUL. BLACK. pram) that can just fit in our boot. (We have a hatchback by the way). Which means no room for shopping or another seat. We also have coming our way, very soon, a stroller. A specialised stroller to fit Mango's needs. Things like head support, back support, leg support and all the other types of support you need when your 14 month old cant even roll around yet. So yeah. What I thought was a 15kg stroller turned out to be a 20kg stroller. My tail bone and back muscles are already aching just as the thought races through my mind. Our current pram is about 11 - 12 kg according to size, folds quite compact. I think. hehehe

So the conclusion was that if we are going to have two babies in a stroller, there is absolutely no way that it will fit in our car unless its on the roof (and that is not an option so don't even start to think why I can't do it myself).

It kinda sad though... you know. It was my first car... well one that I called my own that actually belonged to my husband which I claimed as my own.. uuummm no judging.

This car has been through it all with us.

Speaking of double prams. We need to start looking for a double pram that we can customise one of the seats. The stress that has come along with it, is just about as much stress as wondering if buying a new car is really worth it or not.

So I think an SUV is an option now. An SUV with a BIG boot space. 

I think it's time for me to get off the laptop. I can feel the little meatball kicking at the laptop. Probably a sign that I should be eating or something....

This is me.. the next 10 minutes...

Number 2

Yep - thats right. We're pregnant again! We are finally here now, Officially calling it a pregnancy and not a 'if this is a pregnancy'. YAY!! Three cheers to us!! Mango is going to be a big brother! 

When we first found out, it was quite weird. Me and hubby had already discussed that we were going to do testing to check out in this bub have a chromosome abnormality or not. So, when we did find out - We knew what direction to go in.

At 7 weeks we were booked in for an ultrasound to determine how far along in the pregnancy I was, so we could book a date for a CVS (Chorionic Villus Sampling). In English - It means to take a piece of the placenta, test it and culture it so all the chromosomes can grow and test that again. Don't worry. you don't need to feel stupid. You should have seen the look on my face when the genetics councillor said CVS. I didn't know which question to ask first. What is a CVS? Who is a CVS? Let's not get started on what a fool I made myself out to be.
At 13 weeks, our CVS was performed. I had done a tiny bit of research about what a CVS was and it seemed like a very basic procedure. All the 'experiences' I had read were very good ones saying that it didn't really hurt and that they went back to normal routine within a few days. LIIIIIEEEESSS!!!!
ALL LIIIEESSS I TELL YOU!!

I didn't mean to be that dramatic.

It was a painful procedure. I have to admit that. The needle sticking inside my belly and pushing and pulling to suck up a bit of placenta. Gross and painful. I remember the Doctor telling me to try and not tense. How do I NOT tense my body when a needle is stuck in a belly and keeps poking away at my placenta. Please tell me. Thats right. You can't. You just stay as still as you can and hope that you survive the next few minutes without wrenching that needles out yourself. The End.

The waiting period was definitely like waiting a thousand years. We waited and we waited. Every time a private number would call, I practically screamed hello as I picked up the phone. Probably, wasn't even fast enough picking up the phone and Im pretty sure most of what they heard was the end of hello 'OO O O O oo' .
When 2 weeks and 1 day finally arrived. I couldn't wait any longer and called our geneticist. Receptionist told us that results weren't in. The sound of my despair probably made her feel bad so she told me she would get the geneticist to call the lab and call me by the afternoon.

Afternoon came and I received a call from our geneticist. For some reason My heart dropped as I picked up the phone call. 'GOOD NEWS' she announced. I don't know why I was thrilled by this point but all I could say was 'which part of it is good news?'. Im very pessimistic aren't I. I think I see that now. But all of it was good news and I didn't know how to feel. I still don't. We are very excited to have a new edition to the family. Giving Mango a sibling will also hopefully help him in his development. No longer a new couple with a baby. Somehow 4 feels like a family.


*few tears of joy*

Thank you for sharing this happy time with us.

Please keep us in your prayers!

Hello you! It feels like its been ages. 

Mango recently got a new chair. It looks like someone cut a piece of their corner wall out and added cushions around it, to make it look 'professional'. It sits on the floor, a wedge between his legs to keep his legs straight and to keep him from thrusting/ arching and strap that hold up his upper half. i feel bad putting him in because it looks like I'd tied him so he cant move. Which in reality I actually have done just that, but not for the reason I feel but for the reason to hold him up so he can play with toys. Because seriously, lets face it. Hypotonia is the devil. I think it is anyways. Mango has also got his own special table that wraps around him just so neatly. 

On a different note. If anyone reads this (which I dont think anybody reads this except me). Mango has finally seen a neurologist for his so called 'seizures/infantile spasms'. At first we decided to leave it and just wait it out since they haven't been occurring very regularly.  Then I get a phone call from our neurologist and she said that she spoke to her colleagues and they all think its seizures and to start him on medication. We need to go through blood work first to make sure its all ok. She prescribed us Epilim. Anybody? Anybody ever use this before? Experiences please? Im not asking. I'm begging. 

I have met many parents with children's who have been diagnosed with seizures but  the medication they use are much stronger like steroids and stuff. Oh My GOD. Don't get my started on the stories they have told me about how all the strong stuff effected their kids so bad. It was scary. 

All I see online are medical websites. I don't want a medical website. I want parents experiences because after all. Parents know best because they see EVERYTHING. And doctors? I don't know. I trust them to a certain extent but come on now, most doctors go off by just guessing their way through until something works. They tell you all tiny weeny side effects that are 'oh not that bad' and they make the reasons to use the medication all fluffy and beautiful. 

So please, anyone out there. Parents, people, someone.... anyone?

To the me of tomorrow - Mango's 1st

Dear Mama Bear,

Your probably reading this because you know you needed to hear it today. Today, because today is Mango's first birthday. Somehow its a bitter sweet feeling. I understand the pain and joy you ar feeling right now. Well, because I'm you, writing this for today. To let you know that I understand how hard it is to be happy and yet be so sad at the same time. Mango is finally 1! We waited for a long time for this day to come and at the same time we wished this day would never come because of the reality check it would bring to us. I'm here to tell you that it's ok. I'm here to tell you the things we want to hear from our loved ones but they don't really understand our situation enough to tell us these things. 

I can't promise you that it won't hurt. I can't promise you won't cry and I can't promise that the future holds many different days than today. All I can tell you that what ever your feeling is ok. I understand that when you look at Mango would will see a child that has fought for a whole year. He had to fight, a fight that no person should ever have to fight and he had to fight it on his own. I understand that when you look at him to see a 2 to 3 month old child rather than a one year old who should be sitting atleast by now. I understand that it will hurt you to celebrate his one year birthday but wonder why your even celebrating because he kind of isn't really one at all. I can tell you why. We are celebrating not his birthday but his life of 1 year. We are celebrating that he is with us today and remember that not many bubs make it through pregnancy to be with family. We are celebrating his achievements in life and all the things he has accomplished including all the things our doctors told us he would never achieve. We are celebrating that fact that he knows Mama and Daddy. We are celebrating all the support we have had during this full year of therapy appointments, genetics and paediatrician appointments. We are celebrating your sons heart, the fact that it's beating strong refusing to stop. Most of all we are celebrating the fact that you are a family. A family that a bond has grown stronger than most families out there. Today we remember that we are blessed to have such a wonderful child who have changed us as people for the better. A child who has changed the way we see things, say things and do things. We are better people and without him, we would never know what it's like to be the better person we are today. 

You are a mother. A compassionate, caring and loving mother. You have given everything to this day and for that you should be proud. I know its hard and I'm not telling you that you shouldn't be sad. Your allowed to be sad. Noone should tell you that you shouldn't be sad. If you want to cry and laugh at the same time, then go for it. This is not only Mango's day too, this day if celebrating you too. The way he looks at your for reassurance before he does something because he knows you would never let anything happen to him. You are his whole world. You don't remember all the time but I'm here to remind you. 

From Mama Bear

Dear Shopper

Someone shared this with me... It's so sad but so true. Once upon a time I was the shopped (sad to say) but now I'm in different shoes too. 

It is written by a mother who has an autistic son. April is the month of Autism Awareness. Please support them by clicking on the link below. Bringing 'typical' children together with children who have special needs teaches our children to be aware. Involve them in helping. Teach them. Don't be afraid of the unknown. 

http://www.autismawareness.com.au/get_involved

It is these lessons that will define who our children will be in life. To have an open mind and most probably have more knowledge than many other people will. It's lessons of kindness, love, affection and so much more by getting them involved in something so simple. We just have to reach out towards it.

Dear Shopper,
Yes, I know. I’m well aware that my child is screaming. Not just a regular scream, but an ear-piercing, sanity-shattering screech. Even if I wasn’t seeing and hearing it, I would know by the expression on your face.
Clearly, you have raised your children better than me.
That is what you were wanting to say, right? There certainly can’t be any other purpose to you stopping in your tracks to stare or elbow your companion or better yet — give knowing looks to other shoppers passing by.
I have no doubt that you have wonderful, well-behaved children. Grown, tax-paying, law-abiding citizens who would never have dreamed of screaming like this in public when they were children. Judging by your expression and utter exasperation, you’ve never hesitated to let them know who was boss.
And I know that you did your best with your children, that you loved them, and want all children to have a solid upbringing in which to start their lives. You are, in all probability, a good person. You probably don’t mean any harm.
This is what complicates what I want to say to you. Because, despite my anger towards you, I happen to have been raised well too. I don’t want to be ugly, even though right now I feel like it.
Because I know some of that anger is misdirected. It is misdirected because I, too, have stood in judgment of someone like me. I, along with almost everyone, have stood in public and watched a scene like this one play out and thought to myself, “Clearly she has no control over her children. When I have children, mine will never behave like that.” I, like most people, wasn’t quite as obvious about it as you. I didn’t stare or make comments that could be heard. But I was every bit as decided. So, some of my anger is really directed toward Human Nature, who refuses to be put in its place.
The nice thing about human nature, however, is that it can be overridden. And all it takes is but a single experience, a single human interaction, to the contrary of your own strongly held convictions. Then presto whammo — you are a new and hopefully improved person.
Let me introduce you to my child. Like you, I marveled at the miracle of life upon becoming his mother. Like you, I rocked, burped, and inhaled his sweet baby scent and thanked God over and over for the gift of him. Like you, I had certain dreams for my child. There your path and my path diverged somewhat.
My precious child is autistic. Yes, I’ve seen Rain Man, and, no, my son is not likely going to be a great card counter. The truth about autism is that it encompasses a wide spectrum of abilities. And, like you and me, every autistic child who has it is different from the next. Yet they do often share some similar traits – sensory overload and meltdowns are one of them.
Every person on the planet has what I think of as an internal alarm system. Most of us have ours in good working order. But some people with autism have what I like to call a hair-trigger alarm system. Theirs can go off with what seems to average folks like little to no provocation. There IS always provocation. Non-autistic people simply aren’t as sensitive to seeing and hearing the triggers, and that’s when the alarm goes off. And when it does, it’s loud. Everyone in the vicinity wants nothing more than to have it turned off, including the people who love them. When you see me “placating” my child and “giving in” to his tantrum, I’m really just desperately looking around for the alarm key or trying to remember the right code to turn off that blaring alarm. It isn’t his fault. And, no matter how upsetting it is for you, let me assure you it is that much more upsetting for him.
I’m sorry that you haven’t had quite as pleasant of a shopping trip as you had anticipated. It hasn’t been so pleasant for me either. Problem is — I have to feed my family, pick up prescriptions, etc. just like you do. And, unfortunately, no one arrived at my house today to watch my child so that his autistic behavior wouldn’t upset anyone in public. I have to leave the house and so does my child. Because I have to teach him about the world. I have to let him practice controlling his alarm system. So that he, too, can possibly be a productive citizen making come true all those dreams I had for him when he was so small.
With so many advances in early detection and therapy, many of us will be able to see most of those dreams come true for our unique children. And for some of us, our dreams will have to change for our children. We may need to re-define happiness and success. For life is like that. We constantly have to reevaluate our expectations of ourselves, others –and, sometimes, even the grocery store.
I’m hoping that your single human interaction with me has given you an opportunity to be a better person. For, with 1 in 91 children being diagnosed with autism now, you are going to have a lot more opportunities to make a positive impact in the life of someone like me. All it would take would be a smile, a pat on the back, or a “Bless your heart, honey, hang in there” to refill a stressed out parent’s reserve of patience and calm. You could be the bright spot in our day. And, then, if you want, you are welcome to ask all the questions you want. Your curiosity doesn’t offend me in the least. Most of us aren’t the least bit upset to talk about our kids – any more than you are. If anything, it is an opportunity to educate and dispel myths.
And, maybe, just maybe, you will be standing there when the alarm gets turned off. Maybe you will get to see what every mother wants the world to see – the wonderful personality of her child, in our case hidden behind a mask of fear, anger and frustration.
Who knows? Maybe I’ll get to see the one hidden behind yours. ♥

By Flappiness Is