one
November 22, 2014 § 2 Comments
We began our son’s high school experience with a clumsy, unapologetically honest introduction. As a student on the autism spectrum he is a contradiction of expectations and assumptions; his needs are misread as predictably as his ability to perform consistently. I walk a delicate balance, informing teachers and support staff of the invisible needs that shadow my son’s experiences and permitting him greater autonomy to speak for himself.
Somewhere in the language of advocating for my child as a student with special needs, emotion becomes muddled with words weighted in clinical knowledge that sometimes consumes my vocabulary. Years of navigating a second language of need has created a sterile dialogue that suffocates the lightness of my love with terms that cannot contain the colors of my child’s personality.
Each year I hope for someone who speaks the same language of care, but celebrates the complicated prism of my child’s spectrum of light.
Yesterday the person I had been looking for stepped more clearly into our path, speaking the language of our need with a smile. More importantly, he volunteered to partner with the spectrum of teachers whose worries are as diverse as their personalities to help inform my son’s assumptions with practical exercises in deconstructing the social language of his days as they create a new path toward greater independence.
Within this singular exchange I was able to reshape my words from an armor of advocacy to a partnership of possibility; infusing the language of need with a joyful celebration of my child’s spirit. One person has changed the entire landscape of our experience, bridging fear with hope.
On this, the eve of our Thanksgiving holiday, I am counting my many blessings and celebrating the power of one.
scribblechic 
Wow – I wanted to tell you, this post touched my heart.
My mother is a doctor and she wanted me to share the following with you:
Children with autism display a wide range of intellectual abilities, from profound mental deficiency to superior intelligence. It is generally thought that less than 30 percent of autistic individuals have intelligence in the normal range. Some autistic persons show exceptional talents despite functional disability in general. Along with the difficulties, autism can bring individual strengths along with special abilities. Some of these include strong memory skills, math skills, three-dimensional thinking,
musical ability, artistic ability, honesty, and the ability to intensely focus on an interest.
Finally, be proud and stay strong!
Thank you. The simple truth is, I cannot imagine our lives any other way; this is our extraordinarily unexceptional normal.