Autism Awareness Day

Today is Autism Awareness Day and I would like to encourage you to check out a few sites I find extremely education and beneficial. See my favorite links on right. As a parent with a child on the spectrum, it's been wonderful for me to find valuable resources to help my daughter. I am not sure if it is understood that Autism is not a disease that can be cured. It is something my daughter will always have and I can't give her a pill to cure her. While social skills can be taught, there are areas that can not. It becomes a matter of tolerance.
The best situation is to apply a structured environment and yet it needs to be flexible. How can that be? Isn't that contradictory? Why yes it is. We are all creatures of habit, we have our likes as well as our dislikes. We like our routines and deviating from the norm is uncomfortable. I am sure there is something that causes you to feel anxiety. A few examples, flying, spiders, and public speaking. We consider these normal triggers for anxiety. For my daughter, she has different scenarios that some people find odd. It could be a loud noise or particular smell.
While we try to prepare her for schedule changes, it is not always possible and sometimes it just has to be. I find that she has embraced these changes better over the last year. Still, it is impossible to prepare her for every scenario. Those that know me are very familiar with a few occurrences.
Each day we learn and each day we move a step closer to J finding herself. I don't consider myself different than any other parent. Every parent wants their child to thrive in life. While there are various aspects to what one deems a successful life, it's the concept that is consistent. We all want the best for our child. Essentially, we are the same.