Thursday, 16 December 2010

• The Brother and Sister

  

   

  One of the things that I fail to see anyone talk about is the other important people involved in Autism.... the siblings.   These people are warriors and they are PISSED OFF people.   They are sick of you looking at their brothers and their sisters in that "huh, dog heard something squealy, head cocked way".  After all, this is an important person in their lives and your weird stare is super annoying and insulting. 

  Now the real crappy part about this is that they're too young to really comprehend what's truly bothering them and this is where I come in.  As the mother of a seriously intelligent, witty, beautiful, sarcastic daughter, it is my job to protect her as well, even though she appears to not need protecting she does.    Protect her from what you say ???  From the inevitable pain associated with your rejection of her brother. 

  That's right people.... he belongs to her.  

   

  He is hers to hate, love, pick on, torture, and above all else to one day bitch to about her father and I ...it's her right and I respect it.   Rejection comes in many forms.  It can come from adults, whether family, friends or strangers and the most deadly form of rejection comes from other children.   This will crush a child.  I  knew this and put my son and daughter in different schools.  He is in an inclusion program and she is at the other extreme...that's right...I have two children on opposing ends of the exceptual educational system.     She is in the accelerated program and kicking some serious ass, so the last thing she needs is sum ill-mannered kid poking fun at her adorable, too-good-looking for words little brother.    Just saying.   What would really be amazing is if everyone knew how to deal with a child with autism.  Now this is a really lofty goal, but a girl's gotta try.   

  Awareness seems like a PC word but it's not.... it's a real word with a real meaning.   Those of us with children have many obstacles but the most painful of them all is seeing you unknowingly hurt our children.  My son is not really aware of your rejection in its totality but his sister is and it hurts her A LOT.   So I'm wondering if you could do me this little favor.  It's not huge and quite doable. 

  1.  Smile when you don't understand.  That's the universal sign of acceptance

  2.  Teach your children, nieces, grandchildren, friends, playmates, neighbors and anyone else with a pulse to do the same.

  On behalf of all of us who love someone with Autism we thank you. 

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