Raising A Child With Special Needs: Autism - Our Bubble.
Emmy Heaton
Hi I'm Emmy, mum to AJ who has cerebral palsy.
The show is portraying the mother as quite a selfish character, she cares too much about what the world will think of her, and not the needs of her son. Therefore, delaying possible interventions that could help him.
The grandfather is quite old fashioned, he thinks there's a cure somewhere and if Joe wasn't given his own way - he wouldn't be the way he is..
Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed the show so far, but it's a whole different world to what *we* live with autism.
I been asked in the past, "Would you change him? If you could..?"
And honestly, my answer a year ago would probably of been, "Yes".I wasn't in a good place soon after Aj's diagnosis of, 'severe', autism.
Endless meltdowns lasting anything up to 3 hours used to reduce me to tears, daily.
He'd hurt himself, biting/scratching..
It was hard. Very, very, hard.
With a non verbal child with autism and cerebral palsy, you have to play the guessing game.
Are you hungry? Tired? In pain?How could I ever understand a child who didn't speak?
But now when I'm asked? No.
No, I wouldn't change him for the world.
But what I do say is that I *would* change the world, for him.
I'd change others. So that they could see and understand the beauty of being different.(Because who really wants to be the same as everyone else?!)
Myself and my son are in a much better place now than we were a year ago.
We've learnt each others ways and built routines.
I've learnt how much something as simple as bubbles, his iPad and favourite blanket can change a situation from being on the verge of the mother of all overwhelmed meltdowns, to him, and me..
Being in our happy place.
Our bubble.
No distractions, no questions, no judgement..Just us.
The calm after or even sometimes before the storm! (cliche, I know!!)
So why change him? When he's happy?
He doesn't understand what a cruel and scary world we live in.
He doesn't have to worry about his future, about the awful things happening in the world around him..
He's happy.. In his perfect, bubble filled, upside down, spinning round, non stop world..
I can't change him, and I've realised now, I wouldn't want to change him, so i enjoy it with him - at his pace..
Autism isn't the end of the world.
It's a new world.A more colourful, brighter, louder and faster world..
You've just got to look at it from a different angle..
Sunny side up..side down..
