I attended an autism fundraiser last weekend and watching all the children and adults with autism brought back the reality of how many families are faced with the challenge of raising a child with this disability. An eye-opener and a reality check. Being around all these children also brought back a lot of memories about when my daughter was diagnosed, many memories I would rather forget.

Brittany

A very big part of autism is extreme difficulty (to put it mildly) with transitions and change overall. The difficulty lies in the fact that transitions and change are a huge part life, period. Since I was still determined to life a full with her included I had to come up with some strategies outside of all the recommendations of the professionals. Since my daughter was diagnosed as soon as she turned 3 and she was still small and therefore, still very manageable physically, I would immerse her into what she hated and avoided most. At this point in time, what she hated most was just about anything and everything. I figured that at this age and size, I can physically carry her into a place or situation that she would, as an toddler with autism, avoid with every cell in her body and on the flip side, I could carry her out of situations that she didn’t want to leave. What do I have to lose by trying? Many times getting aggravated, impatient, discouraged and full of despair. What do I have to gain? A life that is active and full as it’s always been and includes our special daughter.

The process was that when we would go places that we would normally go as a family, we would always bring her with us even though it would be a heck of a lot easier to leave her at home with a sitter. She resisted everything doing most everything. We used behavior modification methods (step by step and with rewards-gummy bears). We brought her into and out of places and situations like I would do with a typical child, on the terms of all of us as a family and/or whatever was socially acceptable for the situation, not what autism would allow. We were determined not to let AUTISM dictate what kind of life she or we would have, however hard it it tried. We used the “one day at a time” mindset to make taking her everywhere with us more doable and less overwhelming. Eventually, after several years, her normal meant change and she adjusted to the real world full of change, stimuli and the unfamiliar.

We’ve had many, many setbacks and challenges along the way, but overall, our Immersion Method (I just made that name up:) was very effective. Does this mean she’s cured? No, not by any stretch of the imagination, but she has developed great coping skills, something all of us can use more of. She is now teenager that in spite of having Classic Autism and being nonverbal (in other words, the odds are stacked against her BIG TIME), she is very happy and very functional. What is functional mean? She is a fully participating member of our active family and in the community. An example? She has traveled extensively with us (keep in mind that travel is nothing but transitions and change of routine, a person with autism’s worse nightmare come true). As a matter of fact, in about 6 weeks, she is boarding a plane with us for a vacation to other side of the world (literally) and I know she will do just fine. A miracle? No, she still has Classic Autism and ALL that implies, yet she can join us on our family trip which includes being on an airplane for 2 days followed by weeks of out of the routine adventures on the other side of the world and she will be fine and have a great time. Now that I think of it, in a way, that is a miracle.
YOU DO WHAT YOU KNOW.

Godspeed,
Michelle

From BW, BEST OF series