My son is autistic

My son is autistic. Just to say that is a relief. He was born 22 years ago and at the time I was told to institutionalize him. They didn't know what to do for him. 

I took him home and loved him. It broke my heart when he wouldn't make eye contact or allow me to hold him, I felt rejected, a bad mother. Sounds, smells, textures, they set him into inconsolable rages. 

As he grew the tantrums increased but so did his gifts. He was reading every instruction booklet in the house by 3 yrs. & knew more about my fridge than I did. Started writing books at 5 but couldn't hold a conversation with anyone outside our immediate family. Friends? That may never happen. 

I'm fully aware that my now adult son smells & still wets his pants. I see that he is wearing a parka in 100F weather. I have tried to remove it. No go. I am aware he will not eat anywhere but at home ( the school nurses flipped out every year on that one like I was starving him). My fear now is

that people see an unkempt adult who is really an autistic. We have had issues where he was approached by police while walking home from comm. college. He was so scared he couldn't talk and they misinterpreted it as failure to comply.

Our hopes and dreams for those sweet little newborns have changed but are no less than the ones held by parents of "normies".

So when your kids grow up, move out and marry, remember some of us will remain parents of special needs kids forever. Our job never ends. Have patience with the mom melting down in the parking lot. She may just have spent an hour looking for her adult son who got lost in the grocery store and was so scared he hid in storage area in the back of the store.

~Posted by Cindy Morris