Today I’m
headed to the 6th Annual Chattanooga Autism Awareness Conference, “Walking
in Our Shoes” at the Chattanooga Convention Center. My daughter-in-law Debbie and I are spending
the day attending the sessions and trying to learn more about what it means to
walk in the shoes of my daughter, her husband, their youngest daughter and six
year-old daughter, Lexi who is in the Autism Spectrum. Before we had a diagnosis, it was easy to
think my granddaughter was what the doctors and teachers said, a misbehaved,
self-centered, unfocused, daydreaming child.
I am ashamed that it took a diagnosis to recognize her gift. Being under the spectrum is not a disease; it
is a statement of fact. We can’t make it
go away, but we can find ways to live with it.
Every day her
parents deal with occupational therapist, speech therapist, doctors, teachers,
and so on, all trying to find what works and what doesn’t so that she can grow
and learn and live a quality life that we all want her to live. And even though we live hundreds of miles
away from our sweet Lexi, we want to be ready to consistent with what she is
learning at home when she is here with us visiting. And so Debbie and I expect to come home with
great ideas and be inspired to share our knowledge not only with Lexi’s parents
but also with the rest of the family, including her cousins who ask why she is
different. This is a valid question, because autism’s greatest spokesperson,
Temple Grandin, also under the spectrum, says about herself and all the others
like her, “I am different, not less.”
Many thanks to the Chattanooga Autism Center for providing this event,
and many thanks to my daughter-in-law Debbie for supporting me in this
effort. Together we can make a
difference. ~ Blessings, Pris
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