The rest of the puzzle, as I see it, is how as parents we help to shape their lives. While we guide and explore the possibilities for them thru therapy and other assessments that will help them through the school years and beyond.
Then just like all good parents , we hope that we've done a good job in assisting them to become the wonderful adults they are meant to be.
This this the way I like to look at this whole life situation.
Now I'm not saying the road will be easy or without its challenges. And certainly all children on the spectrum have different capabilities of doing things.
But I've considered that this is a path not a destination and we will get through this as life unfolds. Just as my own life unfolds and I not know the outcome.
Now that I've had more time to sit with this idea , that my daughter Hannah has this as part of her life makeup, I'm choosing to be grateful and thankful for this new journey that I will take with my amazing daughter.
I'm taking one day at a time and watching each amazing goal she is reaching and all the great things changing in her young life. (saying more words and following simple requests. Being able to ask for something and not getting so frustrated.)
Things that we all take for granted as they just come naturally to us.
I watch in amazement and wonder at what my life was before and how my new role of parent/ teacher just became more critical and joyous.
Still reading what I can and finding research interesting and a place for me to ask questions I came across this short article that has me wondering.
Wondering about the thought processes of many families/care givers/ medical personnel.
Why are we divided on this issue of Autism and how can we regain a common community.
How do we join a community to be one collective voice and strive for the common denominator....our child(ren).
The child that has but a single puzzle piece that needs some love and nurturing. These precious children that can really open our worlds and show US adults how to live more fully.
Certainly something I'm going to think more about and hopefully be able to help broaden people's minds and prospectives to become more on the same page.
We'll certainly be in a better position to help the growing number of autistic children this way as we move forward. To gain wisdom and further knowledge of autism and how we can all help.
Article I read below , taken from this site
http://www.childmind.org/en/press/brainstorm/autism-community-split-four-says-nimh-chief
Autism Community Split in Four, Says NIMH Chief
April 11, 2014 | Beth Arky
The autism community is conflicted in many ways, most obviously between those seeking a cure versus those who see the autism spectrum as a natural state of neurodiversity. Dr. Tom Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, codified those divisions even further in his Autism Science Foundation 5th Anniversary Celebration talk, "From four kingdoms to one community for autism."
Dr. Insel laid out the four "kingdoms," or schools of thought:
Autism as an illness. Those with this view see autism spectrum disorders as a neurodevelopmental disorder. This group is looking for genetic factors, or biomarkers, with a cure as the goal.
Autism as an injury. This camp sees ASD as a "response to an environmental insult of some sort," making autistic children the "canaries in the coal mine" who might just be warning us of the effects of toxins or even climate change. Here, the goal is prevention.
Autism as an insight. This viewpoint sees autism "as a window into the social brain." Here, the goal is comprehending the fundamentals of how the brain grows and functions.
Autism as an identity. Here, autism is seen as a disability. Adults on the spectrum have become self-advocates who focus on functional outcomes. The goal is inclusion, with advocates seeing themselves as part of a civil rights movement with the motto "Nothing about us without us."
Dr. Insel then raised another way of looking at things: "Maybe there really are at least four different disorders involved—we should be talking about 'the autisms.'" From this perspective, he said, "there are people who may be more in this illness kingdom" versus, say, those for whom identity is a better approach.
Dr. Insel noted that the divisions within the autism world mean it's "not the same type of [unified research] community that works on cystic fibrosis or Type 1 Diabetes." He said the problem is so serious, great scientists are saying they have a lot to offer but this is "a community I don't want to deal with. It's too difficult."
The enormous conflict between these four very different groups needs to be overcome if progress is to be made, he continued. He emphasized the need for finding shared interests to unify the community, such as the demand for greater services for—and understanding and recognition of—adults on the spectrum. And scientific efforts that bring together the far-flung kingdoms are crucial, he concluded. "Science has a way of letting us understand."