What Having an Autistic Child Has Taught Me
April is Autism Awareness/Acceptance Month!
In honor of Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month, I wanted to dedicate a post to my oldest son.
We have had our challenges at times. His quirks have occasionally caused setbacks and meltdowns- including his social ones. But overall, his "neurodivergent" brain has taught me so much.
The biggest lesson I have learned in having a child with Autism is that everyone is a friend.
He loves to play with others. Even when he was a baby, I noticed he was a social butterfly. Most of the time he finds kids that are willing to play with him, and they successfully play nice together for a long time. But on occasion, he runs into kids that don't want to play with him, are flat out rude, or play extremely rough.
The later situation usually ends with him sobbing because they don't want to play with him, have hurt him because he has relentlessly tried to play with them, or I have had to pull him away because I knew it would end bad.
I truly hate having to break-up playdates or park outing because of fear that my kid is going to get hurt.
But despite him being hurt in those interactions he still calls those kids "friends". Everyone he meets he considers to be a friend.
No matter how rough they have played with him or how rude they have been, to him they are friends.
That is where some of his social quirks from Autism come in. He has a hard time reading people, knowing when to stop, and accepting when others do or don't want to do something.
Although we have been working with him at home and through therapy on helping him read others and their emotions, it is something he continues to struggle with.
I will continue to try and help him understand social interactions and cues. But a part of me secretly hope he holds on to some of that mentality. I think it's beautiful that he considers everyone to be a friend.
This world needs more of that. I could only imagine what this world would be like if we had more genuinely sweet and caring people like him. All I know is it could only be a be better than where we stand today.
The world has hardened me. I'm guilty of being colder and wearier of people because of it.
And I won't lie, having a child with Autism isn't all rainbows. It truly is a puzzle with its own unique challenges. But he has definitely taught me so much with that lesson- I should give more people the benefit of the doubt and go into situations with the thought that everyone is my friend.
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