I remember the moment each one of my kids was diagnosed with Autism. It’s permanently seared into my brain because these moments are among the most pivotal in my life.
One of the things I remember most was how much guilt I felt as our Autism journey began. I felt like I had sentenced my kids to a life of misery because them having Autism was somehow my fault. That guilt ate me alive for a long time. Truth be told, there are still moments where that guilt pops back up, even after all these years.
I wanted to take a minute and talk to the Autism parents of the world, especially those just starting this crazy, wonderful, confusing and overwhelming ride.
Speaking from personal experience, and extensive contact with families from across the globe, it’s extremely common for the parents of the newly diagnosed to seek out someone or something to blame, including themselves.
Your child being diagnosed with Autism is not your fault and it’s certainly not your child’s fault. It’s not the doctor’s fault or even the fault of vaccines. It’s so easy to assign blame when something like an Autism diagnosis occurs. Often, we don’t fully understand the diagnosis at first. In a knowledge vacuum, fear, anger, and heartache can take over.
That implies that there is something wrong with being autistic
Then why is it [Autusm] listed as a possible sideffect of certain vaccinations?
Well, learning Jacob had Asperger’s after he was an adult was difficult. It did explain why he had trouble in certain areas. I’ve also had to learn to argue reasonably…no yelling.
And here’s a funny thing. It helped me some to find out I had mild Asperger’s syndrome last year. It helped explain some puzzling things about myself. In the end, people with autism are people, just like the neurotypical are. We are all different. It doesn’t help that our society only values certain things that tend to marginalize the disabled.
Thank you for sharing. Lizze is in the same boat with Aspergers. I get it. I just hate when people blame themselves, blame the mothers, blame doctors or anything else. It’s Autism. It is what it is and there’s still an awesome kid to love, raise and appreciate.. ☺
Well, learning Jacob had Asperger’s after he was an adult was difficult. It did explain why he had trouble in certain areas. I’ve also had to learn to argue reasonably…no yelling.
And here’s a funny thing. It helped me some to find out I had mild Asperger’s syndrome last year. It helped explain some puzzling things about myself. In the end, people with autism are people, just like the neurotypical are. We are all different. It doesn’t help that our society only values certain things that tend to marginalize the disabled.
Thank you for sharing. Lizze is in the same boat with Aspergers. I get it. I just hate when people blame themselves, blame the mothers, blame doctors or anything else. It’s Autism. It is what it is and there’s still an awesome kid to love, raise and appreciate.. ☺