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Boost the Signal?
Jun. 23rd, 2011 09:58 pmBy this point, most of you hanging around here are aware that both of my girls are currently considered to be on the Autism Spectrum. This is a fact that has caused me what can best be described in polite company as "angst." Maybe despair. The long, dark tea-time of the soul.
If you have children, imagine suddenly trading in all those play dates, sleep-overs, dance lessons, little league games, homework assignments - for therapists, IEP meetings, special programming, government assessments, isolation, frustration and the constant nagging understanding that your child is not a part of "childhood" as we know it.
If you don't have children, but you've jokingly mentioned to your friends who do that "You'll see them when they're kids are 18" or some such.... imagine friends who do not know if their children will ever be independent. Who have committed to a lifetime of care for their children - and a lifetime of what will happen to the child when the parents are gone.
Step into my shoes for just a moment - and stare down that deep, dark tunnel. Is there a light at the end? Maybe. Or maybe it's a train. No way to know from here.
My girls are brave - and they don't even know it. Unaware of the sheer height of the cliff face before them, they've started the climb. Who knows what heights they'll scale?
But they can't do it by themselves, and over the years we've had a lot of help. Even when we've both been way too wrapped up in our own wrenching pain to appreciate it. Hidden among all the tears along the way have been some nudges and shoves along provided by Autism Speaks.
Anneliese keeps making strides, even if it sometimes feels like an ant crawling through honey. And when I start to get concerned about "what's next" - there is the Transition Kit that helps chart the course ahread. When Rori was first placed into the program at the Ottawa Area Center - and we were dealt the blow of a second child on the Spectrum - we were given a copy of "100 Days". A guide to the first 100 days of dealing with the diagnosis, sometimes I couldn't even open it. While at the same time, being grateful for the information in it - and wishing I'd had one for Anneliese.
So - for anybody who's made it through this (and before I REALLY start to get emotional), I have a request. My mother and I are taking the girls to participate in the Walk Now! in Auburn, MI on Sept 10, 2011. I've set up a Team Page here:
http://www.walknowforautismspeaks.org/michigan/4littledutchgirls
If you are willing and able to help support us - and help provide the same resources for other parents, Rori, Liesl, John, and I will all be grateful. And if you are generous enough to boost the signal, and share this page with those who might be interested in helping out - well, toddler kisses and Liesl hugs will rain down upon you.
If you have children, imagine suddenly trading in all those play dates, sleep-overs, dance lessons, little league games, homework assignments - for therapists, IEP meetings, special programming, government assessments, isolation, frustration and the constant nagging understanding that your child is not a part of "childhood" as we know it.
If you don't have children, but you've jokingly mentioned to your friends who do that "You'll see them when they're kids are 18" or some such.... imagine friends who do not know if their children will ever be independent. Who have committed to a lifetime of care for their children - and a lifetime of what will happen to the child when the parents are gone.
Step into my shoes for just a moment - and stare down that deep, dark tunnel. Is there a light at the end? Maybe. Or maybe it's a train. No way to know from here.
My girls are brave - and they don't even know it. Unaware of the sheer height of the cliff face before them, they've started the climb. Who knows what heights they'll scale?
But they can't do it by themselves, and over the years we've had a lot of help. Even when we've both been way too wrapped up in our own wrenching pain to appreciate it. Hidden among all the tears along the way have been some nudges and shoves along provided by Autism Speaks.
Anneliese keeps making strides, even if it sometimes feels like an ant crawling through honey. And when I start to get concerned about "what's next" - there is the Transition Kit that helps chart the course ahread. When Rori was first placed into the program at the Ottawa Area Center - and we were dealt the blow of a second child on the Spectrum - we were given a copy of "100 Days". A guide to the first 100 days of dealing with the diagnosis, sometimes I couldn't even open it. While at the same time, being grateful for the information in it - and wishing I'd had one for Anneliese.
So - for anybody who's made it through this (and before I REALLY start to get emotional), I have a request. My mother and I are taking the girls to participate in the Walk Now! in Auburn, MI on Sept 10, 2011. I've set up a Team Page here:
http://www.walknowforautismspeaks.org/michigan/4littledutchgirls
If you are willing and able to help support us - and help provide the same resources for other parents, Rori, Liesl, John, and I will all be grateful. And if you are generous enough to boost the signal, and share this page with those who might be interested in helping out - well, toddler kisses and Liesl hugs will rain down upon you.
