This is Autism

Not all autism is genius, trains, and social phobia. To whatever degree you are affected by it, it is a lifelong disability with very scary statistics. There is so much that can and does go wrong, especially when your child can’t talk and has minimal understanding of language.

I have worked with kids who regularly disrobe and run away from home while it’s snowing outside. Kids who are “old enough to know better” but still try to drink toilet water. Teens who engaged in public masturbation. A client who needed their stomach pumped after ingesting batteries. One who filled their home with holes on the walls made with their own head.

Probably the most dangerous and problematic issue we deal with with Hadrian is the pica. Other than eating bits of paper, plastic, string, and random leaves & berries he finds outside, Hadrian has eaten a large caterpillar, trash from the street, snowmelt, prescription pills, cleaning products, hygiene products, cat litter, cigarette butts, and today, Krazy Glue. Guys, there are four adults in this household. There is always someone watching him. We have locks on everything. Baby gates everywhere. He still finds a way. It’s impossible to monitor him 24/7. Especially as he gets smarter.

I have arranged my whole life and days around him and being able to supervise him. Even then, there’s only so much I can do, so much we can all do. I fear leaving him with others. I know there are other parents of kids on the spectrum going through the same thing. I used to see them in local groups talking about the fear of having a life outside the house. The fear of taking their child anywhere. I used to think they were exaggerating, that there has to be a way around things. But here I am, coming to the same point a lot sooner than I thought we ever would. What life is this for us, his family? What life is this for him?

This is why it’s a disability and not some cute identity so many adults eagerly claim these days. This is why support and funding is needed. Why awareness is needed. This is Autism.