SHE WORKS HARD FOR THE MONEY....

After much thought and discussions with the people who matter most to me in this world, I have decided to rejoin the work force. With our children doing so well in life, after much hard work from many people, I decided to go back to work at a job that I enjoyed so much, many years ago.
I was hired the day of my interview...much to my surprise...and welcomed back with open arms.
I finished training on Friday, and will go full force into my career on Monday.
Yep, at the ripe old age of almost 49 (in November), I will begin a career....who knew?
The kids have done remarkably well with the transformations going on around here....not just my transformation, but the fact they have to rely on someone else to have their needs met until my work day is over.
I do get to work from home, but I am not able to tend to the needs of my children....
We have been blessed with an amazing young woman who is their care-giver until I am off the clock. She has stepped up to the plate and left me with no worries. I thank her very much for that.

With my new career, I have very little time to keep up with the world of "autism". That is probably a good thing. This week, while catching up on the various "I HATE AUTISM" websites..you know who they are....I came across some very disturbing things.

I read a piece by a woman who feels her child has ruined her life. This "mother", and I use that term very loosely, blames all of her family woes on her child with autism. Because of her child, the other children suffer (her husband and her have to devote all of their time to this one child), her house suffers, her income suffers....what a shame!!!
The most shameful part of this story is that this young man, who has much more worth than his parent's give him credit for, is suffering...not physical pain inflicted by these parents, but the emotional pain of having to carry such a burden of being made a martyr.

I then go on to read, on a forum, a story about a little boy, Kyle Forbes, who saved his teacher's life with the Heimlich maneuver... http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2009/10/15/quinn.scout.saves.choking.KTRK
Instead of praising Kyle and his family, for raising such an amazing and caring young man, the family has to read an entry on this forum that read:

I just posted on this on the other forum...would you guys call that boy autistic?!! In my book, he might be a bit odd or immature, but NOT autistic! How could he possibly meet the criteria? If that's what people are claiming as autism, then I question the "1 in 60" numbers I'm hearing. I'm beginning to wonder if anyone who has a child who is a bit slow or doesn't excel is calling it autism.

I'm sorry--that just kind of made me mad. No wonder everyone in my family thinks this is a fake diagnosis, and there's "really no such thing as autism."

Shame on this "mother", who should be so proud of the autism community being portrayed on the media in such a positive way. This "mother" who should be commending the parent's of Kyle for teaching him to be compassionate and caring....

Mr. Forbes went on to comment:

Well, this is Kyle's father, and yes, he is on the high end of autism-Aspberger's. Is there any way to present this story to the world without "offending" someone? No. Is his condition a form of autism? Yes. Are you calling me a liar? Can you control the media? Are you saying that a good story about a great kid should have been done differently? If you can't see the positive in the occurrence, then you must be full of negatives yourself. My son has been struggling with his persona, and I for one am proud of what a good young man he is. He did not speak until 4 years of age, and still "stems" and has social/personal difficulties, but there's no reason to downplay any of his being.
Also-how can you judge someone over an interview, through the media? By the way, watch the video again: the kid standing next to him in the orange UT shirt is his friend Adam, who is severely autistic. Could you tell through the TV????

Mr. Forbes,
My children's autism was also questioned when they were shown on television. They were not "autistic" enough.
I blogged about this previously....http://survivingmotherhood-mom26children.blogspot.com/2007/06/expert.html

I was taken back a bit by the statements people made about my children after our show was aired. Statements made by people who have autistic children, not Neuro-typical children.
Hateful comments on my children's clothes, hair, behaviors, and their size.
Instead of looking at how far these children have come, to be able to handle moving out of their old home, being sent on a wonderful vacation, and coming back to an all new environment...all with minimal meltdowns....these "autism" parent's decided to write letters and emails to the media to try to discredit my family.
Funny thing, this was all done because they saw 45 very edited minutes of our life.

My children continue to thrive....
All made A's and B's on their report cards....including Kiernan (who is inclusioned in 3rd grade). With the encouragement and determination of some amazing teacher's...here is his first real report card:
Reading-A
Writing-A-
Mathematics-A
Science/Health-A-
Social Studies-A-
Art-A+
Physical Education-A-.

All of these grades are not altered or modified....all his.
All done while being severely autistic and non-verbal. All while stimming and rocking behaviors ensue....

So, because of my children's amazing progress...and with their blessings,
I have returned to work. With the support of my husband, who continues to work 2 jobs,
we are making this transition.
I am so proud of my kids....for all of their achievements....and the many more achievements to come....