where parents of kids with special needs connect
Hi from Valerie and Billy
Hi everyone,
For the last month or so, I've been guided and driven and inspired by all of your stories.
We have a 6 year old boy who is autistic. His name is Billy. His official dx is Autistic Disorder - High Functioning, which I truly hate writing as it feels abit like I'm trying to talk him up.
He's very much a tiny Aspie, but he also has a speech delay, so technically he can't be an Aspie... the whole game is quite insane. Because really it doesn't matter. He is autistic, with all its challenges and gifts and peculiarities and uniqueness.
We live in Sydney, Australia. Billy's sibling is a giant dog called Scruffy. It's just the four of us, one slightly hairier than the other three.
Billy is a sensory poster child, his biggest challenge being hyperacusis. He spent the first years of his life in constant alert-mode. I wonder whether his kidneys will ever recover. With a wonderful OT, a lot of sensory integration work and a bunch of luck, he's found his way.
He has just started Grade 1, at a lovely hippy school, where all the kids are encouraged to be who they are. He's joyfully odd, and so are many of his peers. There are kids with behaviour issues and none, kids with apparent diagnoses and none, kids way ahead of their years and kids holding tight to innocence.
Autism doesn't phase them, and as a consequence... well, I'd like to say they don't phase the autism in him. But that'd be pushing it a little too far.
No matter how nice, and socially evolved, kids are noisy. They move fast. They talk fast. They don't mean what they say. They get in your face. They are noisy. (Did I say that already?).
And that's where I struggle.
Billy's a great kid in an imperfect world.
I can guide him and help him, but I can't alter the world.
Actually, I take that back.
I can, and I will at the very least, keep trying.
This is one of my attempts:
If you got this far, thanks, and Hi again.
:)
Valerie
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Christina Shaver on -
Hi Valerie!
So nice to meet you and thanks for introducing yourself. I hope you're able to find other parents to connect with here at the forum. We're just gaining momentum -- as more people join, my hope is there will be more conversations!
Looking forward to getting to know you,
:)Christina
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