Tears and Autism..

So here is what I want to know, why is it that when you planned to have a baby and are so excited to have another little person, that you cry at EVERYTHING??? I love watching "Eli Stone", have you watched it? Well, the season finale is this week, so maybe you'll have to catch up online. Anyway, this show grabbed my attention from the beginning, maybe because it's controversial first episode was in which a jury awarded damages to a Mother suing a drug company for the results of their flu shot (I think it was a flut shot) on her son, who has Autism. I have never personally believed that is what caused Connor's Autism, I really think it has a lot to do with environment and genes. But hey, who knows.

Anyway, back to my point- this show makes me cry EVERY WEEK! But it is a good cry. I empathize so much with this character, maybe it's because I have never thought like a "normal" person and have had to deal with so much of my life not being considered mainstream. But it is not the only thing I have cried about recently, yesterday a little boy was baptized at church- tears. And Connor no longer wants me to walk him all the way to the door of kindergarten- tears. Heck, someone cut me off in traffic- tears. So again I ask- why all the tears????

And here's a slightly related thought, I watched an episode of Oprah a year ago, it had Jenny McCarthy who had written a book about getting her son with Autism through with therapy and Holly Robinson Peete was also on, her son is a teenager and has Autism. Now I consider myself fulling educated in the ways of Autism, maybe it's only in the ways of Connor's Autism, but I don't think I had ever heard until then about changing the WAY you talk about a challenge that someone is dealing with. And that is what it is, a challenge. Mrs. Peete was pointing out that we no longer should say the words "Autistic Child", we need to say "Child with Autism", because when you say it the other way you are implying that Autism has that child or that is what the child is made of and I know that Connor's IEP may say that, but Autism doesn't get the right to "have" ANY child. Just like cancer doesn't get to "have" my sweet friend Brandy. So it's just something for you to stick in your brain, no one deserves to be defined as the challenge they must deal with, because I guarantee you, Connor would never let anyone define him with one word.

Melinda