My daughter is autistic. A year ago when I found out, my first feeling was fear. I had not felt that type of fear before. However, on my way home something came over me. As my thoughts became more centered I told myself, I didn’t have to be afraid. That instead I should focus on feeling strong and courageous. I knew fear would not empower me to help my daughter.
Since then I have continued to practice gratitude. More and more I see the happiest girl in front of me. She is full of love, enjoys the simplest things, and finds joy in every situation. She is living life to the fullest, and although she has a different way of seeing things, it’s okay. All people see things differently. Now I understand that autism is a life condition and not a disease; people who are on the spectrum should be treated fairly.
When I understood my daughter has a different operating system and she just learns differently, I was able to understand her better. However, the process has not been easy. It’s one thing for me to learn and understand; I also had to explain all this to her father and sisters. This took time and was very challenging. Yet now at the end of the day, we all know it’s a condition we have to continue learning about. Each day she has brought us closer as a family. We enjoy her good and not-so-good days. Every day we learn something new, that’s the honest truth.
She is our pride and has made us strong. We have learned that autism is not a tragedy, the tragedy is ignorance.