Another month goes by but this one was especially important to my family. Those of us who know our family might think it is an important month because my husband and I celebrated our anniversary. Families who have a child with autism have been shown to have an 80% divorce rate. We are very proud of our nine years together and work very hard not to be part of that 80 percentile. But April will always be very important and very special to us...its Autism Awareness Month.
In years past, I have found the media coverage of Autism Awareness Month to be very minimal. Of the news stories in the past, I thought it stayed focused on the vaccine debate and showed very little about what autism is. I thought to myself, "There has to be someone out there that will show to the general public what autism involves." I wanted so badly for the media to show the faces of autism. Show the toddlers who lose speech and begin succumbing to their own little worlds. Show the parents who grieve for the child and their dreams for that child. Show all the therapies and the therapists who work so hard for very small gains. Show special ed classrooms full of autistic children and their very brave and dedicated teachers. Show the school systems who have all these children but no funds to have equipment to better serve them. Show adults with autism and what life is like for these individuals. I wanted so badly for everyone to have a better understanding of what those of us with someone with autism in our lives sees on a daily basis.
On April 1st, 2011, I hoped that this month would be different than the Aprils in the past. It is now the end of the month and I am so pleased that a cause so close to my heart has been made so public this month. Almost every single day this month, there has been a piece on autism on television and radio. These have not been fluff pieces. They have shown life with autism from diagnosis to adulthood. They have shown the enormous financial need of those with autism. They have shown therapies and theories as to why autism is so prevalent. They have shown the emotional struggles of parents trying to make their child's life great. They have shown the symptoms not only in words but in pictures. They have shown school settings and the great needs our kids have for getting appropriate education. They have shown adults with autism and the struggles they have in a world that they do not understand. They have shown how autism affects the family, not only the parents but also the siblings. They have shown the cases of severe autism. They show what happens when your child does not get words, EVER. They have shown methods of communication that these individuals must use in order to let others know what they need, want, and feel.
I must say thank you. Thank you for educating those who do not know about autism. Thank you for providing a preview to my own future. Thank you for making me feel like I am not alone.
My hope is that with all the information out there this month, that someone somewhere has a bit more understanding of these kids and adults with autism. That I can take my little girl into a store without the stares and rude comments. That I do not get the looks from strangers like my child is a brat and I am a bad parent. My hope is that not only my child but all children and adults with autism will one day be welcomed in our community completely.
This month has given me hope, strength, and a lot of tears. Autism is not an easy thing to see. I wish I didn't have to see it too. Even though some of the things I saw on TV, did make me cry, I am so grateful for the education that this month has provided for me. I hope others learned one detail about autism that they did not know before. If you did, you have made this month worthwhile.
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