Autism

The statistics are staggering: One in 150 children has autism.. It hits all racial, ethnic, and social groups.. It is four times more likely to strike boys than with children will be diagnosed, and cancer combined. Chances are, then, that you probably know someone with, are related to, or are the parent of a child with autism. Explained simply, this is a child who suffers communication and socialization like an affliction even if he has things to say and longs for meaningful relationships.

That child’s family, on the other hand, most likely suffer the fear and ignorance of outsiders looking in. One therapist interviewed for a news show was asked. “ How should we tolerate people with autism?” Tolerate- now there’s word for what we do when flies swarm the lunch table, or dogs howl while we try to sleep. Tolerate, in fact, is what a child with autism has to do every minute of every day to move through our world. They tolerate echoing voices in a Church, which can sound like a foghorn in their ear. They lower their eyes when they meet someone, because a gaze can actually be painful. Strange, you will say, but, guess what? They find us strange, too. At times, frighteningly so.

We all say each child is unique. Autism challenges us to really embrace uniqueness appreciate it, be touched by it, and connect to it. We ca stay on the sidelines and tolerate; we can look away and thank our lucky stars that we have been spared. Or we can stare autism in the face and experience just how wildly original these children are, in ways that are both hard and good.

Autism isn’t an abstract epidemic. It is everyday life, one they never dreamed they could live with. But for their own children, for all the mystery and beauty of their minds, they can, and they do.