Hi Readers....
Welcome back to part 2 of my post from last week....I am following up because I had asked AP to make a list of what makes her normal and to write about what she thinks is great about her autistic brother, JB. I think it's important to share her thoughts. Especially because life with Autism is hard...I think I share a lot of the tough and not enough of the joy.
Autism is hard and it will always be a long journey. But Autism is also amazing in many ways. JB is smart, loving and extremely witty......his wittiness, come to find out, is something that AP absolutely admires.
We had our meeting and her list of things that are normal included: 1) school, 2) therapy (shocking because it disrupts our daily lives so much), 3) reading everyday, 4) love, 5) music.....that's as far as she got because to her those were the only things she could think of. But, when it came to writing about how great her brother is.......the child wrote a three page essay on how cool he is. And the biggest thing for her was his sense of humor! She loves to hang with him and talk because he makes her laugh everyday.....She says that makes her feel good. I then shared with her that JB's sense of humor was something that keeps me going and enlightens my day....he truly is funny!
He also is weird...AP and I both agreed to that. For example, I freak out regularly because JB loves to make himself shake. I always panic that he is having a seizure....but nope, it's just "a thing". These days, I just tell him to knock it off....sometimes he listens and sometimes he doesn't. But then, I also told AP that she is weird. She does this weird dance that includes smacking her own butt. I also shared that I am weird......I mean, really, who isn't? We all have a "weird" thing....Last post I shared that I am a huge Star Wars geek but guess what, I don't like my food to touch? A long time friend, who will kill me, loves to eat a handful of fresh fallen snow......I also have a friend who hates to dress up but her nails are to die for....Everyone has something. Those not normal things make us normal......AP needs to know that life is okay as long as you are doing the best you can. And our not normal makes us normal...makes us who we are.
And although, Autism is a struggle, it makes JB who he is. And who he is...well, he is a loving boy who is good hearted and super funny. Those are the things that I told AP she cannot forget. She needs to hang onto the things she loves because those are the things that make us happy.
Who cares about normal? I don't. Life is not normal. I am not normal......and I don't want to be. Because my wacky self makes me who I am.....love it or leave it! AP has now promised to talk more and to also share when she needs a break. Something we all need.....ya know, I forget a lot about myself because kids come first. But I also forgot that AP may need some time as well....just to recharge. My goal....stay abnormal and give breaks as often as I can.
TTFN
Martha
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