A Positive Blog about Autism

My wife recently commented how the vast majority of my Daddy Blogs related to our situation with a child with autism are rather negative and depressing.

I told her that there are a lot of people out there who are going through the same struggles and issues that we are…so they might be able to relate to the negative/depressing blogs rather than the happy, happy-joy, joy emails.

Still…she has requested that I say something POSITIVE and ENCOURAGING about out situation and where we are as a family with a fantastic child on the ASD spectrum.

So here goes…of course if I don’t get a lot of feedback or input or views or book sales because of this blog I’m going back to negative and depressing

My son, William,  is now 6-years-old and such a funny, quirky little man.  He makes us laugh (and pull our hair out at times) every single day.  He is making great strides physically and emotionally and is really trying hard and doing the best he can socially and with his speech.

I recently posted how I can’t wait for us to have a one-on-one conversation and that’s exactly how I feel…I want to “pick his brain” and learn more about what’s going on in his mind, what he sees, what he understands.

He’s a smart kid.  He is a whiz at his new iPad and I can already see the day where I’ll have to knock on his door to help me program some new technology.  He knows when my wife or I take a new route from his school to our home.

He loves his sister, loves cuddling with his mommy, loves scratchies every morning….really loves jumping on his mini-trampoline inside the house.

We still have many moments…his noises, his outbursts, his curling up in a ball for no apparent reason.  We still have our sorrows and questions–will he ever speak, will he ever date, will he go to college or get married or hold a job?

But those are just going to be issues we have to deal with–Am I right?  I know so many families just like us…we have a lot to deal with BUT we are joyful because we have been so blessed…we can make it one day at a time.

William takes some meds and vitamins but he’s not on a strict diet–we had him tested for all those things and they all came back negative.  He loves to do Kung-Fu and it’s so fun to watch my little man do all these drills with his instructor.  He’s not a big fan of watching TV, he is becoming great at his iPad, he only drinks water.

One thing that is a MAJOR BLESSING is that William pretty much will eat anything.  This was not always the case–as many of you can imagine, he didn’t eat very well and would throw all sorts of tantrums early on.

But for some reason my wife made it happen…and he will eat pasta, meat, VEGETABLES (we’re talking broccoli, asparagus, Brussel sprouts, carrots)

Who knows what tomorrow will bring.  Heck…WHO KNOWS WHAT TOMORROW WILL BRING WITH A TYPICAL CHILD…I know,  I know , I know…there are plenty negative blogs still left in me, but without a doubt God blessed me by allowing me to be the father of this special child.

Yeah there are still plenty of times when I wish he didn’t have the hurdles that are in front of him…but we’re making it.  We’re doing it the best we can…and so can you!

Stay strong out there moms and dads…especially you dads…we need to stick together and talk about our sorrows and troubles just as much as we need to rejoice in how special and wonderfully made our children are.

Seth/Melanie Fowler

Authored, Look at my Eyes, a parent's perspective re: navigating autism-early intervention, insurance, treatments, a paradigm of a family & child with autism