awareness & acceptance
April 2, 2013 § 18 Comments
Today many will adopt social media identities in acknowledgment of Autism Awareness. Some will debate the value of aligning families and individuals with established campaigns to elevate consciousness with readily recognizable puzzle pieces; gathering individuals into a unified banner of blue. For our family awareness and acceptance are themes we celebrate daily, privately, among those individuals who see us not in shades of blue or missing pieces, but as individuals who are complicated and complete as is.
My son was the same little boy post-diagnosis that he was in the minutes before the word Autism seeped into our vocabulary. His life is linear, sometimes spiraling in its changes, but seamless in its fluidity. Incorporating our son’s diagnosis into our lives created an opportunity to understand pieces of our son more clearly and to lend support to enrich his experiences. We know him, first and foremost, by name not by complicated acronyms that outline needs.
In honoring the lives of those touched by Autism and the extensive collection of family, friends, therapists, and physicians who walk among us, I would ask strangers to open their minds to awareness and their hearts to acceptance with small acts of patience and compassion not only today, but daily.
scribblechic 
Reblogged this on Vina Kent and commented:
Very Sweet!
This might be the first time another has shared my sentiments and I cannot think of a more meaningful message to extend to strangers given my closing wish. Thank you for your kind words and the positive energy that accompany this generous gesture.
Your very welcome! It was a great blog post and deserved sharing.
I feel the same way. My son is and will always be first and foremost my son. I believe that just by being who he is, he raises the levels of awareness of all those he touches each and everyday. So we don’t need a special day set aside to do this, yet I understand that others feel they do. Great post.
Post-diagnosis my husband and I shared our son’s diagnosis with only his school. We took our time educating ourselves first, balancing new information with our existing understanding of our son’s unique personality, abilities, and needs. It was only after we felt confident in our choices and knowledge that we shared our story to better empower our son and inform others. I celebrate each family’s approach as an expression of love and faith in these beautiful children who teach us as much as we teach them.
Best wishes to you and your family in your journey.
Beautiful post – thanks for sharing;) My mother was a special education teacher and the best thing she taught me was to embrace the person and not be so quick to label and judge others. Have a Great Day!
Your mother sounds like a wise soul and I feel comfortable assuming your awareness has probably created an expectation of kindness among others.
Yes, daily is the thing. Something else too. The many among us all whom stray from what we consider “normal” not only lead fulfilling lives but, more importantly, have the ability to teach us all new and different lessons but we must make the effort to receive the message is it’s delivered generally, but powerfully, in a non-standard way.
Absolutely! We are all accountable for keeping ourselves open to experiences and lessons that are sometimes communicated outside our expectations. Thank you for this timely reminder.
Beautiful post!!!!
Thank you!
Great post, Indeed more awareness needs to be brought towards autism and similar issues. Cheers 🙂
Thank you. I think the most challenging aspect of raising awareness is the wide representation of needs among the diverse population of individuals on the spectrum. This is, in part, why we first shared our story among friends and family – to lend our son’s smile to others’ preconceived expectations broadening awareness among our community.
Your son is so lucky to have you as a parent, The dedication you write for him is inspiring 🙂
Thank you for such a generous compliment. I only hope my son sees the love behind my behavior as clearly as you read the emotions between my words.
He will, As a parent myself I can tell you that our children are more connected to us than we realize 🙂
I am in the process of starting a blog site. WordPress.com directed me to your site as an example site to help me as I am taking the baby steps towards becoming a “Blogger”
I read a number of your eloquent comments and deep personal thoughts. I was particularly moved, moved to the point of tears welling up in my eyes when I observed the love you expressed for your children and particularly for your son who is afflicted with autism.
My grandmother’s brother who was born in 1901 was afflicted with autism. I really did not have much contact with him until I was about 4 years old and he was about 48. I was told that he had a condition which did not allow him to function as the rest of us did. It was often difficult to follow his thinking and at times he would stare off into space for long periods without saying a word or at other times would have fits of anger caused more by frustration than anything else.
One day in 1957 while curiosity caused me to look through my great-grandfather’s records I found one of great uncle Oepke’s elementary school report cards. In Holland the report cards were marked from 1 to 10 instead of 1 to 100 as here in Canada. His marks were all 8’s and 9’s. He was an above average student. When I questioned my mother about this she informed me that he was affected with autism due to being vaccinated. I was somewhat shocked and disappointed when the topic of autism and vaccinations came to the forefront some years ago and observed that the vaccination industry vilified any doctor like Dr. Mark Geier, MD, PhD, who attempted to connect the two. I guess they were afraid that if parents stopped having their children vaccinated old diseases would reappear. I always wondered if this was simply a “spin” to cover up the “truth”???
In September of 1944 during a “Razia” in WW2, some German soldiers picked up great uncle Oepke, my grandmother’s sister’s husband and her son while walking on a street in Delft, sent them to Germany and made them work as forced labour. Oepke managed somehow to survive and returned to Holland after the war. Oepke did however become a great musician and played the large pipe organs in some of the largest churches in Holland.
Before my family emigrated to Canada in 1959, I would visit him regularly and in most cases he would be playing the organ for the residents of the rest home where he resided. When I visited him in Holland after 20 years in Canada, he greeted me with a big smile and said ”you are a XX XXXX” (where X XXXXX is my family name). Oepke passed away in 2002 at the age of 101. Given his condition, he lived a full life. He always appeared happy and gave much enjoyment to the fellow residents with his skills in music.
I sincerely hope that science will accelerate their quest to find the cause and a cure and that the government provides assistance with ways and means for families to cope.
Take care and maintain your love and strenght for your family and son. You are a special person.
First, I wish you well in your pursuit of writing. Your thoughtful response captures a fragment of history within an intimate telling that was a pleasure to share. I am honored that you would preserve a piece of your family’s history here among my motherly musings and look forward to reading more of your work.
Your great uncle’s story mirrors several of my son’s challenges, although I confess I do not fault vaccines with my son’s diagnosis. One day science may contradict my intuition, but my son’s experience has been linear – there was no singular moment of change that redirected the course of his development.
This of course begs the question of a cure. Naturally, I wish my son greater ease in many aspects of his days, but I question the expectation of curing something so intricately part of his most basic composition. I cannot imagine less of him. Who would he be without this constant companion that is in equal measure a gift and a burden?
Instead, I more often center my hope in the evolution of greater empathy and education that might balance ignorance and breed tolerance for diversity.
Thank you, for the gift of your story and most generous kindness.