My son.....written July 11th 2008

Ive wanted to write this blog for a very long time and I haven't been sure where to start or even explain. But life has changed for me and my family and thngs have become unsure and even harder then I imagined they could ever be. I'm writing this to share with my friends and family and anyone else who reads this and might have something to share also.

My son has Autism........and for those who don't know what that means, here it is
Autism is a complex developmental disorder that appears in the first 3 years of life, although it is sometimes diagnosed much later. It affects the brain's normal development of social and communication skills.
Common features of autism include impaired social interactions, impaired verbal and nonverbal communication, problems processing information from the senses, and restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior.

Now he's been tested and they say he has it but it seems mild and with intensive therapy he may get better. But that he will always have it, its more a matter of learning to cope with it and teach him how to live with it. I'm not sure what the future holds for my son, my family, or myself. It feels strange that now his behavior has a name, when all this time he's just been my son....a heathy, happy, toddler. But it makes sense to me now and I guess we try and move on and move forward. But for now we deal with the day to day and get him the help he needs.
 I wish I could wear a shirt that says "please don't judge my son, he can't help it". Because we get looks and stares like we're being bad parents. I was on a bus recently where my son had a bad moment and he was throwing a fit and wouldn't sit still, and he's screaming and crying and through his tears and screams I hear a voice shout "Is someone hurting you?!" And i come to find out that it was the bus driver who shouted this and I understand that she has no clue what I'm dealing with but she also had no clue what was going on behind her. I along with my family will have to deal with stupid people for the rest of our lives, lets just hope they aren't always this clueless