June 2, 2013

  • Changed Perceptions

    My husband and I were having a nice, quiet lunch together without the children the other day. It is a treat to eat without interruptions, screaming, winning, or bribing. Our conversations always turn to our children, and inevitable to Autism and today was no different. We were talking about Matthew’s latest school troubles when my husband said “I wish I could see the world through his eyes”. How strange, I thought to myself… I was thinking about the same thing yesterday, and haven’t stopped thinking about it since.

    It would be wonderful if for at least one day I could see the world through my son’s eyes. It would probably help us both and possibly other people. Every day I try to understand my son. Every day I try to figure out what he is thinking, what bothers him, what brings him joy and I feel that I am falling short many days. I would like to be a superhero…a superhero for my son. My superpower could be the ability to see the world through the eyes of a child with Autism. I am not just talking about empathy, but a lot more than that. The ability to see the world the way he sees it, to feel what he feels, to think the way he thinks, to love the way he love. This incredible ability would provide me with valuable information, which would help us develop appropriate tools to help him navigate this neurotypical world.

    People often say “You don’t understand certain things until you lived them” and I know they are right. I read books written by professionals, I read therapy books, I read book written by parents, but that still does not provide me a clear insight into my son’s world. I know that I am the person that knows my son best, that can comfort him, encourage him and push him to achieve his potential but I feel that I could do more. Just as no two people are the same, no two children with Autism are the same. Each child is unique and each child has special abilities and challenges. I feel that my job as a parent is to uncover my children’s hidden talents and to help them along to the best of my abilities. This task seems to be easier with my daughters than with my son, probably because the girls do not have Autism, and they are able to express their needs and wants a lot better.  Even though my son is verbal she has trouble expressing his feelings and ideas. If I could just see the world through my son’s eyes… oh, how wonderful that would be.