Dear Mother of an Autistic Child: There’s No Need to Panic
A few things you should know…
Hi there fellow mom,
I too have an autistic child, except he’s not a child anymore. His name’s Diego and he’s 27.
You’ll go through various stages when it comes to how you view your child and his autism. I’ve been through every stage in the book so I thought I’d share how it’s gone for me, at least up to now. I hope knowing what to expect will save you some anguish.
You’ll obsess about scores and tests, and pray that the gaps between below average and average will narrow. One day, you’ll realize testing serves only one purpose: advocating for your child. You’ll also understand that scores measure what matters to society, not what matters to your child.
You’ll feel sick before, during, or after important school meetings. I for one had to excuse myself and head to the ladies' room right before every IEP meeting!
You will not resist the power of denial.
I was convinced I’d fix Diego and he’d be exited from special education, go to college, and just be quirky. I held on to this idea for so long you could say I was delusional.
Anyway, Diego wasn’t “fixed”. He’s still autistic and intellectually disabled.
