No I didn't forget what day it is. Life has not slowed down here. And while I had prepared to have all this stuff planned for this month, they unfortunately had to take a back seat due to the global situation that we are in. Autism has been a very integral part of my life for a few years now. There has been many conversations between myself and God about thanking him for choosing me to be Ridlee's mom. I get a little teary just typing that.
This situation has brought about so many more challenges for our family. Ridlee has taken the hardest transition out of all of us. She doesn't understand the concept of this virus, no social story can help with that. She doesn't understand why she can't go to school and see her friends and teachers. She doesn't understand why she can't go to church. Her teachers have given tremendous efforts to buffer this situation with video's and such. I appreciate every bit of it. Some think autism isn't social but let me tell you this girl loves her people. She asks about them when they are absent at school or Sunday school. And in general many of my clients in this population are struggling a lot with this social distancing. It's very hard on many of them. The whole change of routine, not knowing when this will be over, not seeing their people, and all the disruption in everything, including many of their therapies.
So while I wanted so badly to use this month for what I had planned, I am now having to adjust my efforts for Ridlee and all my clients. And for how long, we don't know, but we are making the best of it. We talk about general awareness with autism and that is awesome. But this month, please be especially aware that these individuals are at their most vulnerable during this season of unknown. So be extra kind. If you have a friend on the spectrum, reach out to them. Have a video chat. Send cards to them. Acknowledge them. They need to know others haven't forgotten them.
This situation has brought about so many more challenges for our family. Ridlee has taken the hardest transition out of all of us. She doesn't understand the concept of this virus, no social story can help with that. She doesn't understand why she can't go to school and see her friends and teachers. She doesn't understand why she can't go to church. Her teachers have given tremendous efforts to buffer this situation with video's and such. I appreciate every bit of it. Some think autism isn't social but let me tell you this girl loves her people. She asks about them when they are absent at school or Sunday school. And in general many of my clients in this population are struggling a lot with this social distancing. It's very hard on many of them. The whole change of routine, not knowing when this will be over, not seeing their people, and all the disruption in everything, including many of their therapies.
So while I wanted so badly to use this month for what I had planned, I am now having to adjust my efforts for Ridlee and all my clients. And for how long, we don't know, but we are making the best of it. We talk about general awareness with autism and that is awesome. But this month, please be especially aware that these individuals are at their most vulnerable during this season of unknown. So be extra kind. If you have a friend on the spectrum, reach out to them. Have a video chat. Send cards to them. Acknowledge them. They need to know others haven't forgotten them.
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