About Me

I am the proud mother of 6 children. 5 of our children have autism. We do not feel our world has ended, but just begun. We do not chelate, intervene biochemically, give shots of any kind, practice ABA, etc. We treat them as we treat any humanbeing. We treat them with kindness and respect and expect the same from them. They are exceptional children.

Monday, June 29, 2009

WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS.....

....no parent truly knows. Whether your child is born with Autism or born neurotypically.
We all have a vision of our child's future. While our children are growing inside our wombs, we only hope that their futures are going to be bright.
This dream should not die just because your child received a diagnosis of Autism. What should happen is that we, as parents, begin to map their journey starting at a very young age.
Caitlin will be a Senior in high school this year. She will graduate with her class, and possibly continue her education with job training. Caitlin wants to work in an art gallery or a library. There is no reason she cannot....except...the school does not have a clue as to begin her journey to her goal.

As I read AoA today....yes, I read it every day...
Mr. Kirby writes about the "devastating" number of children with Autism in California,
who will be adults with Autism and how this will affect the tax payers.

We could be so ahead of the game if not for wasting the last 10 years on focusing on
"curing" our children through the misguided advice from politicians and journalists.
We could have used all of the resources if we, as parent's, had not listened to the
snake-oil salesmen and women who promised us "neuro-typical" children if we
chelate, B12, Hbot, supplement, and give a diet rich in GF/CF foods.
Right when I thought parent's were coming to their senses...in walks Jenny McCarthy...
back to square one, thanks to her.

One of the comments on AoA was " Everyone in government and medicine should be getting behind us parents working to recover our children.
Thanks to biomedical treatment, many who would grow into governmental depends will be productive, contributing members of society instead."


My answer to the above opine is...
Everyone in government and medicine should be behind EVERY parent with a child or children with Autism. Thanks to the amazing efforts of educators and therapists who are teaching our children coping skills (instead of snake oil promises), our children will grow up and be productive, contributing members of society....

There are many parents out here in Autism Land that have seen our seriously disabled autistic children grow and blossom into productive children. All without having to buy into the hype that is being sold as a "cure"...

So, what does the future hold for any of our children....only the future will tell...for any child. But, why do we feel that our children will fare any less, because they have autism. I expect nothing less from my children with Autism, than I expect from our Neuro-typical daughter. The skies the limit for all of them....

5 comments:

Tara said...

As an adult with Asperger's who paid IMHO quite royal amount into that same California state budget over the last decade I find this AoA article rather hilarous. Poor taxpayers...

Stephanie said...

I would love to work in an art gallery or library, too. Though an art gallery may require a college degree and perhaps the library as well. It depends...

I didn't graduate from high school, though. I couldn't attend high school so earned my GED and attempted college on campus. When that didn't work I went to college online. Since I currently can't hold a job I quit college because I couldn't afford it.

And not all seriously disabled children "blossom" into productive people; not all mildly disabled children "blossom" into productive people. I know many that cannot work and must live on SSI, mostly those that do not have online lives.

No one knows why some do well and some don't. I know Temple Grandin did well because of early intervention, at least she credits her success to that.

kathleen said...

I too believe that the sky is the limit for my kids..I look at how far they have come without biomedical bullcrap..My heart goes out to parents who are newly diagnosed...especially when they run into all of the negative garbage written by the victims on AoA. I am raising my children to be proud of who they are-and to do all that they can- where they are- with what they have.

Anonymous said...

"Why do we expect our children to fare any less because they have autism"

Is that a trick question :) ?

Lillian

Kim Wombles said...

Stephanie,

My son is a sweet boy who will be 20 this year. He, too, didn't graduate high school, and he will not earn a GED. He can read at about an 8th grade level, but he can't spell very many words, so can't write without tremendous effort and a lot of help spelling words. College is beyond him. Work in the outer world is beyond him, too, but he happily attends a day center for the disabled and is of service there as much as he can be.

He gets SSI, which helps us tremendously in taking care of him, and he will live with us until I am no longer breathing or he is ready and wants to live in a group home. He is not a burden, and even though he cannot and will not achieve self-sufficience, he has blossomed into a happy, helpful young man with a girl friend and good friends. He has a good life.

I've looked at your blogs and admire your artwork. It's very beautiful and you write very well.

Each morning I wake up, I start my day asking myself two questions; Who do I want to be today? And what do I want to do today that will foster the person I want to be? I am teaching my younger children, also on the spectrum, the same questions. My son knows them by heart. We all have issues we have to deal with, live with, and maybe even get over.

Maybe asking yourself those two questions will help you to find the ways in which you can blossom into reaching your full potential. We all have obstacles in our paths. Some have higher obstacles.

I wish you well, and I look forward to seeing your new art as you post it.