Today is World Autism Day
Autism: A brain development disorder which impacts social interaction, often evidenced by repetitive behavior.
A subject much misunderstood by those of us whose families have not been touched by it. I don't pretend to be very knowledgeable on the subject. I do have interest and feel compassion for those facing autism, and I understand that autistic individuals face a myriad of problems going far beyond their basic disorder, because the rest of us do not know how to interact with them. Quite often school officials, unaware of their needs, manage to create further problems.
I would like to suggest possible reading for bloggers. Michelle O'Neil's blog is called Full-Soul-Ahead. She is a marvelous writer, and the mother of an autistic daughter. Read her profile as well as her beautiful post of February 23rd.
Casdok, who lives in Surrey, England, is the mother of a nineteen year old, non-verbal son. Her blog, Mother of Shrek is quite different and interesting.
In your local library, you should find a copy of Send In the Idiots. The author, Nazeer Kamran, is autistic himself. I definitely recommend this book with its amazing stories.
To read the truth about autism, please investigate ASAF, the Autism Society of America.
P.S.
I have just been catching up, and have gone back through other posts by Michelle - each one better than the last, by the way, and found her post on March 26th in which she links us to an HBO website showing Autism: the Musical. Should you find difficulty with that website, marjie's comment to Michelle's blog gave another where you can view the entire movie plus two more.
10 comments:
I'll be the first to admit it - I'm deathly afraid of autism and that my kids will get it. I need to learn more! I know I shouldn't be afraid of the condition and I've even met some of the individuals trapped in their heads by it. Clearly, I need to learn more (as does the medical profession in general) about it!
What a terrific posting this is to help bring awareness. I have a friend whose son is autistic. It's not an easy road to travel.
I enjoy Casdok's site. She finds some interesting things for her blog.
Thank you so much Bobbie.
Law Student Hot Mama, get yourself educated about the subject. Your child's doctors are fully legally protected and so are the pharmeceutical companies should anything adverse happen to your child as a result of vaccines. The only action you can take is through the federal vaccine court, and there you can only be awarded 250K in damages.
The following is a good place to start:
http://www.nakedauthors.com/2008/03/shot-in-dark.html
Give it a few seconds to load after you click on it.
BTW...even as we try to help her, our daughter is the best thing that ever happened to this family. She isn't scary. She's the sweetest child you'll ever meet.
Just another indication of how uneducated on this disease the pubic is and shall remain until they decide it is better to understand something than it is to remain fearful of it.
We can learn many things from the autistic and we had best get to learning.
michelle o'neal,
I am quite sure your daughter is lovely as is my neice with Brittle Bones (O.I.)... People stare and she smiles at me and rolls her eyes as if to say, "Oh. What fools these mortals be."
A very worthy post, bobbie! Thank you.
Peace.
"pubLic"... drat!
Ignorance yes...and cruelty. I have an autistic nephew. I am repeatedly appalled by the behavior of adults ( not kids ) when I am out and about with my nephew. Our family was recently at a buffet in a very noisy restaurant, my nephew was not disruptive but a man applauded when we left. I could have cried, I should have said something but I just stared as I walked out.
Great post!! :)
great post bobbie with so much wonderful resources and information. thank you.
law student - don't be fearful, be aware and informed, it will make you feel so much better. All the blogs linking to each other are great places to start. Michelle and Casdock are both wonderful places to visit.
shelly - don't ever let an a**hole make you cry. Jenny McCarthy is on TV right now talking about how she and her son were verbally abused in a restaurant and she let it get to her but will never let it again. I hug you :)
thanks again bobbie.
I have an autistic student in my classroom this year and, of course, it is not the first time. I think he is getting better services than some but I still object to some of the strategies employed by the "specialists" to "help" him. So much of what they do is about autism and not about HIM. I know him because I am with him daily and I sometimes cringe at the things that I'm expected to implement for him. I think that autistic children need a specialized program, yes but one that fits their uniqueness as individuals. This is done a lot in public schools and it just breaks my heart.
Thanks for this bobbie and to poetryman who also posted about autism.
Pagan
I have an autistic student in my classroom this year and, of course, it is not the first time. I think he is getting better services than some but I still object to some of the strategies employed by the "specialists" to "help" him. So much of what they do is about autism and not about HIM. I know him because I am with him daily and I sometimes cringe at the things that I'm expected to implement for him. I think that autistic children need a specialized program, yes but one that fits their uniqueness as individuals. This is done a lot in public schools and it just breaks my heart.
Thanks for this bobbie and to poetryman who also posted about autism.
Pagan
Post a Comment