As a mother, I will never give up on my child. As a mother of a child who has autism, I will never give up hope.
I look into his eyes and I see all the potential that he has to offer to this beautiful world and I just know that one day the world can see what I see.

Follow my blog as I share my life and my experiences as a person who loves someone with autism.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Sweet Dreams

I took this picture tonight and couldn’t help but wonder what Bryce dreams of. I’ve heard of people who are wheelchair bound have dreams where they could walk, or people who cannot hear, can hear in their dreams.

I wonder if Bryce doesn’t have autism when he dreams.

Thanks for reading,
Tanaya

2 comments:

  1. I doubt your son knows there's anything "wrong" with him. I realize you're trying to make a poignant point about autism, but I bet he dreams of all the same stuff every other kid dreams of.

    As an autistic adult, I have been finding more and more that parent's of autistic kids are trying to find a way to fix them. I implore you to consider the idea that there is nothing at all wrong with your son. What needs to change for him to have a great life is the viewpoints of society. A society that can't or won't understand that autism is not a plague. Without autism your son would not be the fantastic person I assume him to be.

    Reply
  2. Thank you for your comments, they are appreciated,

    However, from my point of view Bryce is not an autistic child, Bryce has autism.

    I believe no one should be defined by their disability. Everyone as an individual should be able to define themselves. Who you are is a philosophical question, and everyone will have their own life experiences to draw from. As autism is a spectrum disorder there are varied degrees of effect, and many children struggle with some aspects and excel at others. A disability that makes children struggle understanding tasks such as personal hygiene, toileting, reading and mathematics, social interaction, educational participation and a reliance on others should not be looked on as who they are, but instead what adversity they happen to be faced with.

    When they are standing in a room with 50 other children, people often ask “What is wrong with him?”, why? Although many children and adults with autism can be amazing people, and many people without autism can be amazing or disappointing, I would like my son to have the best opportunity he can during his short time, and if he can be treated for his symptoms and reduce the struggle he has every day of his life, we will do anything.

    You may say that an individual unable to walk defines him, but if there we’re a simple corrective surgery to allow them to walk, should they refuse because that is not who they are? What if the injury was from an accident, is the inability to walk re-defining them against their will?

    What if you are diagnosed with cancer, would you refuse the medical standard of care for risk that the cancer may better help define you as a person, even in death. You can certainly point to people in history who have used their illness/disability to perpetuate change in their lives and the lives of other, but there are also those who have become destructive and wasted their opportunity at life.

    I would like to believe that Bryce will be an amazing person whether he suffers from autism, or not. As a parent I will make every effort to make his life better, make his life easier, allow him to grow. I will not let autism define him.

    Reply

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