I am posting the first entry of this blog on World Autism Awareness Day. This is cause very close to my heart, but not something that we think about all the time. O has asperger’s syndrome, and like the rest of our family he is also visually impaired. For us visual impairment and aspergers are part of who we are as a family and as individuals. They are integral to our lives and our experiences and inevitably play a part in the choices and decisions we make. However, we tend to only consiously think of aspergers or visual impairment as an issue when we are making decisions which involve assumptions, judgements and attitudes of others.
I told O about World Autism Awareness Day and explained that it was about people wanting to tell others who don’t know, what autism and aspergers syndrome are and some of the ways they can affect people. I asked O what he would tell someone about aspergers if they asked him. To which he replied’ Well no-one is aksing me, so why do I need to think about it?’ Serves me right really! Hypathetical questions and aspergers don’t really go, especially at the age of 11.
The age of 11…. Well therin lies another dillema! When we have stomping and ranting it is hard to tell what is aspergers and what is ‘normal’ behaviour for an 11 year old boy. O is who he is and we are who we are.
The aim of writing this blog is to keep a record for us and our friends, to share our experience with others, to raise awareness and to share with others the positive things disabled people can achieve. There are challenges, achievements and giggles – and sometimes I will probably want to rant! But we are an ordinary family doing ordinary things – sometimes we need a bit of support and understanding – but doesn’t everyone?
violetsdiary 