by Willow Breeze

Created on: July 22, 2009

Curly blonde hair, bright blue eyes, a smile that lights up a room and a sense of humor at his age that is unbelieveable. Looking at him you don't see it. Or perhaps you notice something but you can't quite place your finger on it. He looks just like you and I, he moves like us, he can hear you, he can see you, although he may choose not to look at you. He is Autistic.

My son who will be three very soon is Autistic. He may not always look at people when they talk to him or when he talks to them, he is not deaf so do not shout at him. He can hear you quite fine. However, he may not be able to tell you what he is thinking or say what he wants to say. He is smart, he is very funny, and he looks normal. So what is Autism and why does he have issues?

Autism is a neurological disorder that effects the childs ability to form words, to be social, they can have some very awkward behavior such as rocking, flapping of their arms, spinning around. They do not always engage in eye contact when speaking or being spoken too, some have seizures, my son does have seizures. They may appear to be deaf due to the fact they do not always respond to questions being asked of them. They are not deaf, speech is sometimes a problem for them. Boys are four times more likely to be diagnosed with Autism than girls.

My son is very high functioning. He is not totally socially awkward. He does enjoy playing with others even though his speech is limited. He has weak overall body muscle tone, so he is more prone to falls. He has an underlying seizure disorder. There is no set thing that sets off the seizures it just happens. He is a great little boy. He is incredibly funny, he loves to play.

I have had many people say to me he looks normal. What does normal look like? I have had people ask why he sometimes screams as loud as he does. Well when you lack vocabulary and you get frustrated because you need to say something and screaming gets your attention you use what works. However he is using some sign language and PECS which is a picture exchange system and that is a god send. He does have several words in his vocabulary and with each passing day it does increase.

Autism isn't like a disability you see its not so apparent. So the struggles associated with it are many. Some will probably label him socially awkward, or clumsy due to the falling, a freak due to the seizure disorder. This is all stuff they can not help it happens. Yes they have medication for the seizures. There is not medication for being clumsy due to overall body weakness that is all helped with therapy. Does it mean he will get better with the help of therapy? No but he may get better he does stand the chance to improve. The seizures could get worse or perhaps they will go away in time. Autism there is no cure, there is no meds, there is no known cause. It is a disability that lawmakers need to understand, it robs children of a normal social childhood, it robs them of a normal academic life, it robs their families of being able to communicate effectively, it is a time consuming disorder. Therapies are not always covered by insurance it is an expensive disorder and there is no cure. So I guess the old cliched saying of "Don't judge a book by its cover" certainly applies to Autism. Looking at my son you wouldn't know he had a problem.

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