Lately you’ve been seeing a lot of things on TV and online about autism awareness. Today, that took on a whole new meaning for me. We’re in the process (and have been for almost a year) of trying to determine whether or not my youngest has Asperger’s Syndrome which is a high functioning form of autism. There are MANY other disorders that are so similar that at this point it’s hard to determine which one (if any) that he has but as a mother, you just know when your child is different. Hopefully all of these questions will be answered this summer with a visit to the neurologist. Anywho…my point is that today, we took the kids to a fair. There was an option to purchase a bracelet for a set price so the kids could ride the ride as much as they wanted. My youngest refuses to wear anything like this nor does he like stickers, stamps, or tags. These are little things to you and I but are very disturbing for him. He wanted to ride the rides SOOO bad but the thought of even having to wear that bracelet was so overwhelming for him that he became very upset. We had the option to buy tickets but we aren’t made of money and it would have cost a lot of it to let him have a good time. The frustrating part of this is that it was VERY difficult getting anyone to help us or understand the situation. They wouldn’t let me wear the bracelet for him. He couldn’t put it on his beltloop. Nothing. He HAD to wear it on his arm. We explained why he didn’t want to wear it. Still no help. Finally, after some help from our friend, the manager gave us some passes so he could ride the rides sans bracelet which was very generous and we were thankful and relieved. However, my point is that I know that there HAS to be other children with similar or worse afflictions and their parents who are faced with this same situation. It’s frustrating and upsetting for everyone involved and quite frankly, if there was more awareness of autism, what it is, and it’s afflictions, things like this wouldn’t happen. In my opinion, there’s no reason we shouldn’t have been able to buy him a bracelet and have me wear it and go on every ride with him if I had to. It’s a state fair—not the White House. I’m pretty sure that level of security isn’t necessary. It was just a frustrating experience for me…and I’m sure there’s other moms who have been there too.
If you don’t know anything about autism, do some research. It’s complex and fascinating. And if you have children, know the signs because early detection is key.
