Member-only story
What Do You Know About Autism?
And what do you care to know?
I just had a really good conversation with my mom and oldest younger sister tonight that caused me to revisit some thoughts and ideas I had about six or more years ago.
Some people are very private about their information, and some (like me!) are very open, honest, and don’t shy away from conversations about autism, sensory issues, anxiety, depression, agoraphobia, ADHD, etc…
As soon as my first child was diagnosed with Aspergers, I told everyone. I explained what his symptoms were, that he sometimes had tics, that sometimes he HAS to do things a certain way, he has sensory issues, including many food aversions, etc… The funny thing was that my sister wasn’t surprised, and remembered that she and my mother both told me he had Aspergers after watching the first couple of episodes of Parenthood. She also remembered that my son had never looked her (or anyone else) in the eye. I brushed them off when they said that and was pissed about it. Just weeks before he had been a discipline problem in everyone’s eyes and they were telling me how to Supernanny him. So, out of spite, I never educated myself on autism.
Sure I had heard about autism. Sure, it was apparent that there was a spectrum, but that was all I knew. I really had no clue about symptoms, or about Aspergers or “high-functioning…
