Wednesday, June 10, 2009

And one other thing

Sitting at the table with the other folk, I was talking to a former teacher at Nic's school who knew Nic and was asking how he was doing. I described the last year in a nutshell, some of the successes, some of the challenges, and the woman sitting across from me said, "I'm sorry, I'm missing something. What's wrong with your son?"

"Both my sons have autism." I answered. I saw the look of pity on her face and quickly added, "They aren't doing too badly."

She shook her head. "They seem fine."

I laughed. "Spend some time with them, and you see it. I take them everywhere with me, and that's how they learn to behave. The big challenge a lot of parents have is taking their kids out in public. I take mine everywhere, they are included with typical peers at school, and you know what, they WILL be independent when they grow up. But to get there, you have to be here."

J nodded from her end of the table. "But you don't see parents doing that."

"Because it's hard," I replied. "It's so damned hard. People judge you, and I can't tell you how many times I've been ripped in public for my kids' behavior and what a thick skin I have as a result." I sighed. "But you have to do it. There is no other way."

SO. Got a little education of others in while I had my meal. And G and Nic found friends to play with. It was a good evening.

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