"Top 10 Terrific Traits of autistic people"
The nature of being human is a very complex recipe. Sometimes we as people focus on the positives and sometimes we focus on the negatives. As a parent of a child with autism, the journey of raising your child is filled with a mixture of feelings ranging from disbelief , to fear, to confusion, to dispair; but then the dawn breaks and some days bring bright hope, delight, excitement and hope for the future as your child does something special or meets a developmental milestone for the first time. Sometimes these celebrations seem too far apart; but they are enough some days to spurr you on to say, 'one more step' forward and it gives us the spark to press on with our plan for the future one step at a time.
In reality, parenting as a whole is a series of peaks and valleys as we try to teach, guide and love our kids to become all they can be 'despite' the diagnosis of autism.
"Despite"?
That's only one way of looking at a person with autism, one which focuses on 'deficits' or what skill is not present. An alternative view is to openly acknowledge the 'challenges' our kids face while in balance, celebrating the 'exceptionalities', the skills which are present, that make each of them individually, who they are; the traits that make them uniquely human in their own right.
The link below to the article entitled, "Top 10 Terrific Traits of Autistic People," by Lisa Jo Rudy, enlightens us to celebrate these differences. This article can serve to remind us of some of the unique strengths each person with autism shares with the world. The fresh and unique perspective persons with autism offer the world can be an important filter for neurotypical persons to self-evaluate the challenges or limitations they also posess.
In reality, persons with autism , like everyone else, posess 'splinter skills'; in that, each person has certain traits or skills which are a strength and certain skills or traits which are a challenge in life. I guess we are not that different afterall.
I would challenge everyone to celebrate our collective differences as lessons to be learned from each other. Perhaps the neurodiversity of persons with autism will shed light on new ways of viewing problems which challenge all of mankind.
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