We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility

We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It's easy to say "It's not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem." Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes. — Fred Rogers

We live in a time and a age that I am sorry, you can’t turn a blind eye and say this is not your child, not your community and not your world so by default not your problem.

Autism is a huge problem. Depending on whose numbers you are going on it is either 1 child in 91 or 1 child in 110. This is a problem, for that matter no matter what the idiots at the CDC say this is an epidemic and it’s not GOING AWAY. Polio was an epidemic at 1 in 3000; again I ask the question why no one notices the difference or why no one in our government cares. I know that answer, and its Money, the money our government makes off vaccines and other big businesses, but that is not this blogs purpose.

This blog is about what are we going to do to support those parents of those 1 in 110 children and especially those parents who get 2 kids with Autism. This is not an easy life, I only started blogging on April 6, and this is the 2nd blog I have written on a parent of a child or children with Autism murdering their child with Autism.

I am honestly sorry I listened to the 911 tape, it is truly heart breaking listening to this mom say she killed her two young children and reading the news reports that say she wanted normal children. I cried, I wept, and I still feel like a piece of my heart was broken 2 days later.

As a parent of 3 “normal children” and one child with Autism, we all want NORMAL kids, WTF; we do not take wire to our children that do not fit the norm. We do not kill them.

I will say that had we continued on the path we were on when we met Autism on June 15, 2004 maybe I would have on been on this path too, but I really do not think so. At the point I was at my child slept 2 hours a day, ran full force into walls, he was like the Tasmanian devil and dumped everything out in his path, he pulled everything out of the fridge when given the opportunity, colored non stop and we bought a case of paper a month, and we have not even got to his health. He also at almost 3 years old had liquid poop, like that of a formula feed child and only ate & drank milk, cheese, wonder bread, cereal, and macaroni and cheese. He also had a distended belly and looked like he had two black eyes. He looked like death was just hovering over!

At that point in my life I do not know what I would have done if I was a single parent or a parent who did not have 2 awesome teens who stepped up and let Ed and I sleep. I like to believe I would never become that sleep deprived or insane that I would kill my child.

I think the difference between this mom and me? I found help, real help, not some organization that said and still says they speak for me but instead buys office supplies and a Park Avenue office, but an organization that really helps families newly diagnosed to Autism and what to expect and how help your child and how to learn to get help from the system to help your child.

Honestly I want every parent to find what I have! It is one of the reasons why I created this blog and our local Mom’s Night Out group. I think just realizing you are not alone is huge in our world. If you are a parent of a child with Autism and have not found yahoo groups, let me tell you are missing out on a huge resource. 6 years ago when I walked into Autism there was really no local resources, I learned everything from yahoo groups. It’s actually how I found TACA. I found some Gluten free Casein free groups and started following Dana of Dana’s View and ended up in a local yahoo group.

Without Dana’s View my life would be completely different!!! I might be the parent in the story above. But I am not and I truly hope all my friends who do not have Autism in their lives pass my story on to people who do have Autism in their lives. I want people to know there is hope, there is a better way and that they can reach out and get that help. If you are in that place in Autism where you are thinking about hurting yourself or your children, instead reach out to one of us other parents and ask for help. Or call 911 or drive directly to the hospital and ask for help. It is out there and we all want you to have it.

I am going to close this with a quote from my fellow PITA Simran Garcia, “Yes Autism is overwheming but we can do this.”

So as usual, PITAup change your life and the life of someone with Autism!

*Please note any links that are in green and underlined twice are being linked by the blog, and are not being linked by me and do not represent anything I am promoting.*

Not Ready To Make Nice

The song “Not Ready To Make Nice”, by the Dixie Chicks was introduced to me at the Green Our Vaccine Campaign on June 4th, 2008. I am an avid Country listener and had never heard the song before, but that day I think it became my theme song! It expressed every emotion I had encountered since meeting Autism.

The lyrics say so much!! I know they are a political protest about W., but they so relate to the Autism fight.

“I’m not ready to make nice
I’m not ready to back down
I’m still mad as hell and
I don’t have time to go round and round and round”

These lines alone say so much, no matter where we go in this battle I don’t think I will back down. I can’t! There is this cute funny adorable child who has fought like hell for 6 years who counts on me!!! He knows I don’t have time to go round and round and round, but he knows I will!!!

“It’s too late to make it right
I probably wouldn’t if I could”

I can’t make it right; I can’t undo the damage vaccines have done to my child. All I can do now is fight for my child, and make sure no other child walks my child’s path!!

“I made my bed and I sleep like a baby
With no regrets and I don’t mind sayin’
It’s a sad sad story when a mother will teach her
Daughter that she ought to hate a perfect stranger
And how in the world can the words that I said
Send somebody so over the edge
That they’d write me a letter
Sayin’ that I better shut up and sing
Or my life will be over”

Let me tell you I do lie my head down every night and sleep like a baby, I know every night I fight for ever child I know with Autism.

The line “It’s a sad sad story when a mother will teach her
Daughter that she ought to hate a perfect stranger” so fits the situation and our life.

Honestly in May 2009 we were at Toys R Us and I asked about a blue reusable bag and they said I had to have donated to autism to get. So I started to say no thank you, because I knew the bag was for Autism Speaks and my 9 year old said really loudly, "Autism speaks does not speak for us TACA does!". I don’t think there was a prouder moment for me, so proud of Emily!! For those of you not familiar with Autism Speaks I have other blogs that “speak on this subject”.

I don’t want my other children who do not have Autism to hate but honestly the CDC, Vaccine companies and Autism Speaks make it hard. We have 1 in 91 kids with Autism and no one wants to look at any real causes or offer real help for families. When we started this journey 6 years ago it was 1 in 150, why does no one else worry about these numbers?

When polio was 1 in 3000 it was an epidemic for the love of god we are 1:91 and no one cares!!!

I am going to close this out with my favorite line of the song,
“I know you said
Can’t you just get over it
It turned my whole world around
And I kind of like it”

I don’t like how this turned my entire life around, but I will say I like how this journey made me a better person. It honestly turned my whole world around. It made me reevaluate what I was doing and why. I was always the person fighting something, but I became the person who had something to fight for. I have a love hate relation ship with Autism. I love all the great awesome things it has done for me. I love the better person I have come; I love the people I have been blessed to meet. I know I am a better person because of Autism, I am just a selfish PITA and some days wish it was not my child and wish someone else was fighting for my kid. Then again some days Autism ” turned my whole world around, And I kind of like it,” because I have found some of the best friends in life and I really and truly most days love my life Autism and all!!

No matter what life hands you PITA up and deal with it!!! Your children depend on you, especially those with Autism!!!

Not sure what song we are talking about? Here it is…

Not Ready To Make Nice

Why is Temple Grandin different then the rest of the crowd?

Why is Temple Grandin different then the rest of the crowd?

Temple Grandin, Ph.D., is different from the rest of the crowd because she the most well-known and probably the most vocal adult with autism in the world. Like most parents with children with Autism her parents were told she should be institutionalized. Thankfully her parents like many parents I know did not listen to that and she is now a renowned author and works as a Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University. Templin also is a well known speaker on both autism and cattle handling.

From Emergence: Labeled Autistic, Temple has said, "I have read enough to know that there are still many parents, and yes, professionals too, who believe that 'once autistic, always autistic.' This dictum has meant sad and sorry lives for many children diagnosed, as I was in early life, as autistic. To these people, it is incomprehensible that the characteristics of autism can be modified and controlled. However, I feel strongly that I am living proof that they can".

Despite the above quote the Autism News still titles their Feb. 2, 2010 article “Temple Grandin warns against ‘curing’ autism”. I personally do not read this quote as saying that, “I believe there’s a point where mild autistic traits are just normal human variation. Mild autism can give you a genius like Einstein. If you have severe autism, you could remain nonverbal. You don’t want people to be on the severe end of the spectrum. But if you got rid of all the autism genetics, you wouldn’t have science or art. All you would have is a bunch of social ‘yak yaks.’” (http://www.theautismnews.com/2010/02/02/temple-grandin-warns-against-curing-autism/

While a lot of high functioning people with Autism and Aspergers do object to “recovery” or “curing” a child with Autism, I believe Temple has PITA’ed up and said while she would not change herself she is not opposed to helping our kids who are not HFA“. For a parent of child who most consider low functioning, I think this is wonderful that she can see the difference. I wish others could too. I would never ever take away my child’s “normal human variation”, but I also do not want to leave him in the autism alone. Before diet and enzymes he colored and spinned 22 hours a day and thought of me as nothing more then the furniture. 6 years later he has a smile that lights up a room, and when he looks at you and smiles because he knows you it could melt even Frosty the snowman.

I hope someday he can be as accomplished as Temple, and tell his thoughts and opinions on the subject of Autism. Not only do I think Temple is pretty special so does TIME magazine, you can now vote in “The 2010 TIME 100 Poll for the leaders, artists, innovators and icons who you think merit spots on this year's list of the 100 most influential people in the world”

http://tiny.cc/fo4em

I hope everyone who thinks like me takes the time to vote, let’s show the world that some one with Autism can be the most influential person of the world.

As always PITAup and vote for Temple!!!

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