I showed up in my doctors office last summer, looking like I was on the brink between crazy and insane. She could see that I was about ready to choke somebody! I love my doctor because she asks questions and gives no non-sense practical answers. She doesn't just treat your symptoms, she treats the whole body, mind and spirit. My spirit was drained and it was obvious. She made me vow to get the boys heavily scheduled with time away from me this summer. Otherwise she'd have to give me massive drugs to keep from killing them or myself!
So far Kendal has taken a short trip to Georgia with his father, Cole has taken two weeks of art lessons and last week Kendal went to a sleep away Christian camp for a week! (Thank you God!) He went with his best friend, who also has special needs. His friend had some issues and went home after the 3rd day. After that I worried constantly and waited anxiously for the phone to ring, with the the camp leader telling me to come and pick him up. It never happened. He Made it! He stayed all week long without the comforts of home, mom, boxed sugary cereal, Mc Donald's, computer, Facebook, YouTube, IPod...nada! Cold showers with spiders crawling near by, cabins with 10 other boys, and no air conditioning. He made new friends instead of negatively focusing on the one he came to hang out with, who was no longer there. He learned about being a Christian and wants to be baptized. He said he wants to change his life and be a better person. He wants to learn how to forgive and not seek revenge when girls say and to things that are hurtful to him.
I stood 10 feet tall with pride! At the same time, I was in shock. I've only spent his entire life trying to teach him these principles. How is it that he seemed to have learned within a weeks time? Of course, he's only touched the surface of what trying to be "christ-like" is really about. Baptism is a symbol of wanting to be better. It is not a miracle that will change you. YOU still have to do the work...constantly. You will still be human, you will still have Aspergers and difficulty with anger at times. But dear lord, it's a good start!
Cut to 5 minutes after being home. He and his brother come to blows because he told him, "You have way too many sins! You need to get baptized!"
Logging you in...
Adelaide Dupont · 285 weeks ago
And for those of us who knew and appreciated these points in high school to a greater or lesser extent - always good to have a refresher and feel them through the current and future generations who we survived to be able to see.
I especially appreciated points 5, 7 and 10.
And young women not settling or settling down yet is a good thing.
"It's never too late to live our dreams" - but it may be too early for some of them!
And 8 of course.
nicole · 243 weeks ago
Risa · 230 weeks ago
LAH · 221 weeks ago
Maira L. Coral · 216 weeks ago
I was looking for information for my Multi-Genre Disability Research Project from my Early Childhood Special Education class on the web, when suddenly I came across your blog. I started reading this out of curiosity and I want to tell you that as you said yourself, you will not be Amanda Gorman, but you managed to make me shed some tears, perhaps because I felt totally identified with your words, especially in the part that you speak of your son. My son also has Asperger's syndrome, he is 19 years old and he is in the second semester of College. Also like yours, he takes classes from home, likewise my eldest daughter is also taking college classes from her room. At the same time, that I work as a preschool teacher from my kitchen through a computer, my husband sleeps in the room during the day because he works at night. Also in the afternoons I myself take virtual school classes. I am a 51-year-old Latin woman who began to learn the English language as adult, so maybe you find some deficiencies in my writing, however, I was very moved by how proud you express yourself about your son. Referent your mother, I liked the humorous tone that you give when your talk about her, so I did not want to miss this opportunity and stopped my assignments for a moment to let you know that your words do make a difference, since they reach the heart of at least those who have opportunity to read you. I want confess you that is the most long I have written to someone I don't know, because your words inspired me, thank you...
Gavin Bollard · 209 weeks ago
Thanks for this post. I've been very distracted of late and so this was how I found out about our friend Kate. Kate's struggles were very real but they were so constant and so wide-ranging that it was difficult for people around her to address them. I think it's going to take a while longer for me to process all this.
I learned so much from Kate because she was always quick to point out the many injustices in the world. In her glory days, she was very much a crusader and she cared for everyone. Over the years, as her situation took its toll, I came to realise that it was the fact that she couldn't be put in a single specific category, that made the system fail her. She needed help that they weren't set up to provide.
She needed more care and she needed to be less alone. I'm so sorry that this has happened.
For a long while we were corresponding almost every day but a couple of months ago, I realised that she had become so stressed that nearly every interaction I had with her was starting to trigger her. I backed away to give her a bit more space. She only had a little time that she could stand to be online and there were too many things that she wanted to do in that time. I thought that by taking a step back, she could reach out to more people who might be geographically closer and able to assist.
Kate was a beautiful soul and she will be sorely missed by all of us.
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Spoil your cat · 121 weeks ago
Many of these living arrangement aren't good, and many of the people who run those places really don't have the residents' best interest at heart. Those places are like old age homes and foster homes, where you sometimes hear horror stories. They're hard to trust. But then there are good ones, of course.
The best thing for an autistic adult is either to go on living at home or working and renting an apartment and living independently, but that isn't always an option.
Duncan · 112 weeks ago