living with a person with a disability
 

Does anyone here live with or look after someone with a disability
My son Aiden who is 5 has Autism and it is so difficult everday to do what is best for him.Every week people ask me to discribe what he is like but he is such a complicated little chap, I find it almost impossible .
He is never still he is never quite and he can be so distructive that you really have to keep telling yourself that he cant help it,
would we want him to be "normal"
NO
He is what he is and we love him for it.
the next time you are walking round the supermarket and you are tutting at the child running up the isles shouting and screaming then stop for a min and think
Not all kids are being naughty

Re: living with a person with a disability
 

Maria is technically disabled, having inpaired hearing, which can make some things difficult, like having a conversation when she is driving, but its really not so bad.

I wouldnt want her to be any differant though, her "disability" allows some really cool moments to occur, like when she hears a new sound...the look on her face and the joy of her hearing something new is priceless! Plus she does some funny things, like randomly shout out "laa!" to check if her hearing aids are still running and not died....sometimes she does this when everyone just goes silent and then it all makes us laugh :D

Granted though, its differant to autism...but i think the point is that when you know someone as one thing (deaf, blind, autistic, whatever) and you love them for that, it wouldnt be right if someone made them "normal" becasue then they wouldnt be the person you love

BTW, hello aiden :-D

Matt

Re: living with a person with a disability
 

My sisters child had severe cerebal palsy amongst other things, it was so hard trying not to say something to people when they were staring and screwing up their faces.

Re: living with a person with a disability
 

know just where you are coming from
look to the left and there he is .Love him

Hi Matt,why you have a toybox on your bike

Re: living with a person with a disability
 

gid
I understand fully. I have a daughter nearly five (in March) who is Autistic. My wife has just given birth to a boy (Tuesday 11th) and we are so worried about him already. The routine with our daughter is totally messed up so she is very difficult at the moment. I keep saying I will get er a T-Shirt made up with "Im autistic - Whats your problem?" but my Mrs is not too keen.
We are part of a local support group and we find it very interesting and rewarding to visit the meets. I am disappointed that not many dads turn up. I respect they are most likely working, but I made the time to go. Afterall, she is my little princess.
gid, if you want to PM me I am happy to discuss further mate. Special diets, routines, sleep clinic techniques etc I would be pleased to share with you. And likewise if you have pointers for me please do.

I love my biking and when Im alone on the bike I can clear my head and ride off into the sunset, its a good release from home life stresses.

Re: living with a person with a disability
 

My son (7 on Tuesday) is also diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder.
He is quite mild by other standards and to look at him you would just think he is a quiet shy lad.
I must admit that one of the things that I don't like about it is the fact that he is not interested in joining in with the other kids at play, he is quite happy on his own making his own entertainment. He has got better since going into year 2 but he still needs encouragment to join in with others most times.
His reading and maths skills are top notch though. When I went to parents evening for year 1 I was told that he was ahead of most of the year 3 students with literacy and numeracy.
I have to say that since finding out he was Autistic I have certainly looked at other people in the street with a different attitude.

Re: living with a person with a disability
 

Grinch's little brother is autistic. He's only 8yrs old. Grinch's little sister is 11yrs old and she has ADHD and other personality disorders. It's amazing how many people know of someone who is diagnosed as autistic. Makes you wonder how many other people are out there who haven't been diagnosed...

...I myself, am registered disabled. I have blue badges for the car, although on my 'good' days I try and leave the disabled spaces for someone who is potentially less mobile than myself. But I am constantly amazed and stunned at the amount of people (and I HATE to be ageist, but mainly it's the elderly) who will look at me and shake their heads when I park - legally! - in a disabled space. I'm sure that coz I am a 35yr old woman with a 2yr old child, that they think I'm blagging my case or I'm blatantly deceiving people coz I'm too lazy to park elsewhere.

Re: living with a person with a disability
 

No I haven't. Have to say I have the greatest of respect for people who find the courage and strength when they find their children have a disability.

Jo (the better half) has burn scars all over her body. She gets stares and double take glances all the time. It has helped me to look at everyone else with a disability as a perfectly normal person who happens to be slightly different than average. I am not over sympathetic or overly polite, I'll be with them just as I am with anyone else.

Hat off to all of you.

Re: living with a person with a disability
 

Many years ago my best mate Rob had a big bike accident and ended up in a wheelchair. I used to go round and kidnap him to take him to the pub, and what really annoyed me was people coming up to me and whispering 'how is he?'. I always used to say,' Ask him. His legs don't work but the rest of him does!'

Re: living with a person with a disability
 

My brother is deaf and has been since birth and the ammount of strange looks he used to get when we were growing up, as he doesn't what things sound like he did tend to make some strange noises when he talked.

As for being "normal" who is to say what is normal. I think we're all Autistic to some degree anyway aren't we?