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What would you change?

A friend of mine with a six year old who has autism has recently had a baby. She wants to do things differently this time, she said. The baby is now about 10 months and she is often worried that he may be showing signs of autism. When we get together, she always asks if he’s doing anything that could be an early sign.
I often wonder if I had known my son had autism before his diagnosis at two and a half, what would I have done differently. Of course it goes without saying I would like to do vaccinations differently, but what else?? If at birth he had come with a notice that said – by the way, this child has autism, what would I do?
I think I would have still made sure that his needs were met, that he felt secure and safe, that he was on a schedule, that we played and laughed, that he explored his environment and challenged his senses. So I am left wondering – what would I change?
I think the two biggest things for me are 1) knowing that it might take 1000 attempts to learn one small thing, so never give up and always try to introduce those learning experiences from every angle so they have the most impact, and 2) be patient. I really could have used that one. I had no idea the level of patience I would need to get thru all this. Patient with my son first and fore most, but also with my husband, all our friends and family members, the doctors I have had to educate, the therapists that didn’t seem to get it, the educators that needed more room to learn and with our community at large that doesn’t always understand what it is to be differently abled.
So I ask my friend every time I see her, if he does have autism, right now – what would you change?