Life on the Spectrum: A Break From the Storm

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

A Break From the Storm

For my "wonderful" Wednesday report, I'd like to share something positive that happened yesterday which concerns both of my Aspie sons.

School begins very soon in our area, so I thought I'd take the kids on one last "hurrah". As it was very hot, I decided that hanging out at a nearby lake would be an appropriate way to spend the afternoon.

Big Guy is somewhat of a loner. He also doesn't like to spend much time in the water, so I wasn't sure if he'd agree to come along. To my surprise, he did! It was so wonderful to have him with us, as he often elects to stay home for our family outings.

As far as Little Guy is concerned, he was GREAT. He tolerated wearing the life jacket without complaint, and did not have one single meltdown the entire time we were there! The kids and I floated around on the rafts, skipped rocks on the water, and went hunting for crawdads. It was perfect.

Well, almost perfect. The only thing that would have made it better is if my husband could have joined us. As he was busy at work supporting our family and enabling me to be a SAHM, I guess I'll forgive him this time :)

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Our family consists of myself, my husband of 22 years, and 4 wonderful children. "Big Guy" is our oldest and was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome four years ago. He attends college, majoring in English. "Little Guy" just started kindergarten and is also diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. We also have 2 "neurotypical" children. "Sis" is our only daughter and just began her second year of college. Her sweet willingness to help certainly is a big boost to her mother's sanity! "Middle Guy" rounds out the group; he just started high school and is quite busy with various activities. We try living each day to the fullest, never knowing what tomorrow (or even the next moment) might bring!

An online source states "Asperger's syndrome (also called Asperger's syndrome, Asperger's disorder, Asperger's or AS) is an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and people with AS therefore show significant difficulties in social interaction and restricted, stereotyped patterns of behavior and interests. AS differs from other ASDs by its relative preservation of linguistic and cognitive development."

On a more personal level, this is what a person with autism had to offer about their own experience with this lifelong developmental disability:
Reality to an autistic person is a confusing mass of events, people, places, sounds and sights. There seem to be no clear boundaries, order or meaning to anything. A large part of my life is spent just trying to work out the pattern behind everything.

A source much closer to home brings this perspective......"It's like everyone one else is playing a game that you'd really like to join, only you don't know the rules. When you ask someone to explain the rules, it's as if they are speaking in Japanese; you have no idea what they're talking about. You are left stuck behind a fence, watching as the game of life goes on without you."