The Gifts of Autism..“Different, NOT less than!….”

“Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a range of complex neurodevelopment disorders, characterized by social impairments, communication difficulties, and restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior.  Autistic disorder, sometimes called autism or classical ASD, is the most severe form of ASD, while other conditions along the spectrum include a milder form known as Asperger syndrome, the rare condition called Rett syndrome, and childhood disintegrative disorder and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (usually referred to as PDD-NOS).  Although ASD varies significantly in character and severity, it occurs in all ethnic and socioeconomic groups and affects every age group.  Experts estimate that three to six children out of every 1,000 will have ASD.  Males are four times more likely to have ASD than females.”    

Dennis and I are blessed..We have 5 wonderful grandkids, 3 awesome step grandkids, and 3 super step GREAT grandkids…Whew!!  One of our grandkids is a very “special” kid.  Terrie and Tim’s 3rd child, Campbell, was diagnosed early on with “sensory disorders”…He was never diagnosed with autism or asperger’s  syndrome, but in that spectum of autism, he has many of the same idiosyncrasies..

He was born with a hole in his heart, and spent the first days of his life in the NICU at Copley Hospital in Aurora….

He was watched closely by a Cardiologist, and the hole eventually closed up…Thank the Lord!

 

 

 

I think Terrie questioned some his early development..his motor skills, his fearfulness of motion (the fluttering of birds was especially troublesome for a while), his “rocking” while sitting on the floor, and a weakness in his “gait” when he  ran…I think the fact that Ter was a teacher helped her to question and pursued it when he was small….She began talking to the pediatrician and asking questions.   They hesitate to put labels on kids, but they said Campbell had “sensory disorders”, one of the autistic “red flags”.

 

He is a very smart child, but has gotten teased about his little “special ways”.   But I’ll tell ya one thing…His older brother and sister watch out for him and protect him!!

He went to a pre-school for special needs kids and has taken lots of occupational therapy.    He even rode the little school bus all by himself..(He was the only one they picked up in his subdivision).  What a great day it was when they decided to mainstream him into regular Kindergarten…and an even greater day when he graduated and went into the “regular “First Grade!!!

He is now getting ready to go from First to Second Grade.  He has had a few issues.  Tying his shoes was tough because of his challenge with motor skills…and he needed some reading help…But his Mom and Dad helped him get through it and he is doing OK now.  He still needs a little consideration for his “Campbell quirks”, but it gets better everyday…

I am blogging about this because I wonder how many of us are touched by “autism, asperger’s or sensory disorders” in our families…I would bet there are more than you think….If you have a child, grandchild or friend who is touched by this, there is a great movie out to rent called “Temple Grandin”.  I know, it sounds strange, but is actually the name of a grown woman who currently is “the most accomplished and well known adult with autism in the world”…She is Dr. Temple Grandin, and is now the Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University.  She was called “weird” in her younger school years.  She was laughed at and ridiculed.  Back then, there was no help for these kids.  She has overcome all of that and now she is a successful livestock-hauling equipment designer..and there are very few in the world…and she also travels and lectures on how it was to grow up as an autistic child.

  Dr. Grandin is also a celebrated author, and I highly recommend checking out the links I have put on the blog…I think this woman will give you hope, where maybe you thought there wasn’t any..I find it very curious that so many kids are diagnosed with autism…I never even heard the word when I was growing up….But today it affects 1 in 110 children AND 1 in 70 boys…There is a website called Autism Speaks that is really fabulous and has lots of information…

 

SPECIAL….VERY, VERY SPECIAL..

AND OH, SOOOOOO VERY LOVED!!!!