The kiddos had long since gone to bed. Butch was already in bed. And here I sat, at the computer, checking up on my little corner of Facebook, checking emails, and playing Candy Crush--all at the same time, LOL. And then I saw it...this pic was posted by a friend of mine:
And so it got me thinking. And I had a little discussion with a friend. And then I was thinking some more. WOW...this pretty much says it like it is. Blue lights are all well and good, but do people really know WHY we put out all those blue lights? WHY parents work their asses off and bug their friends and family about changing their light bulbs to blue bulbs in April?? Do they know the real reason we do this? Yes, most people can now tell you its for Autism awareness. But can they tell you more than that? Like WHY we need Autism awareness?? WHY we NEED people to actually BE AWARE of Autism?? Can they tell you that the newest numbers--and scariest numbers-- from some of these studies are saying that 1 in 50 kiddos will be diagnosed with Autism by the time they are 8 years old? (*Note that this is not the current 'official CDC diagnosis' number, but a number from a parent survey done by the CDC). Can they tell you what that's going to mean in 10, 15, even 20 years from now when these kids are grown and should be on their own? Let's face it y'all, a lot of these kids aren't going to be able to be on their own when they hit adulthood. What's going to happen to society, to the workforce, when 1 in 50 people (well, it will probably be more than that with the way these numbers are accelerating) have some form of autism?
I'll tell ya how I feel--it scares the hell out of me. It scares me because JB is on the more severe end of the spectrum. He's 7, and has just now been fully potty trained this summer. He can't speak. Yes, he will say words, but not on his own, he has to be prompted. He is so far in his own little world that he can't walk around our local grocery store without being beside me. He's only interested in running laps around the inside perimeter of the store. He can read well, and he's pretty good at the math for his age. He loves school and loves to learn. But I'm scared because I'm not sure that he could make a PB&J sandwich for himself if he had to. I'm scared because he can't cross the street safely by himself if he had to. Will he still be at this stage at 18? At 20? Who knows? I don't. And it scares the hell out of me.
Yes, we need people to be aware. Yes, it makes me feel good to see all the blue lights in April, because to me, it shows that people acknowledge that there is an issue. But does it truly help? Not unless the people who put out the blue lights take the time to learn the "WHY" of it all. We need compassionate doctors who actually want to help recover kids, not just look at them and say "here's a list of things that might help, have a good day!". Where are the doctors who will actually talk to the scared-to-death parents and try to figure out the best plan of action together and not just rush them out of the office? Where are the support services that we need? That these people actually NEED?! They're being given to people who are cheating the system (for the most part, I know there are people getting services who do actually need them, and that's a wonderful thing). Why can insurance companies tell you that your child isn't covered under your policy because he has Autism? So...you cover other kids with other disabilities? Why is Autism different? Why will you not cover my son's speech therapy that he needs because he's never spoken and cover another kid's therapy because they lost their speech because of an accident? Do these companies think that my kid speaking is not as important at the other kid speaking? GRRRRRRR!!! It makes me want to scream, what these companies get away with.
((DEEP BREATH....in....out..........ahhhhh, OK, calmer now...))
The bottom line is this: we need to reach out to educate people whenever we have the opportunity. With numbers like these, eventually almost everyone will be affected by autism in some way.
(*steps down off soap box*)
Hugs to all of my autism friends...we CAN do this y'all!! Love and encouragement to all!!
No comments:
Post a Comment