Lessons...

Part of the reason I really love what I do is that there is an intense level of interaction. I am receiving insights from those I "teach" as much as I am offering them...

Yesterday I worked with a group of gentlemen who are on a church retreat.  They were seeking shared fellowship - and they got it.  They were FUN to play with!

But part of my job is asking, inviting, encouraging them to be reflective of their experience.  After a blindfolded trust walk I was schooled.  They were in pairs, one blindfolded, the other muted...

We traipsed through the woods, down stairs, through shadows.  When we stopped, one of them said, "I totally forgot that I was allowed to talk when I was blindfolded."  There was a chorus of agreement.

"This is totally personal, but you can see that my hair is blue.  It is Autism Awareness Month, and my son is diagnosed with Autism.  You have given me an important insight.

We often see a disability, but we forget that very few disabilities are global.  God creates everyone with challenges and also with gifts.  It is how the body of Christ works together.  How the puzzles pieces all make a whole."

The power of these words haunted me through my sleep last night.  The Holy Truth therein has humbled me again.  I am particularly frustrated with my child's behavior this week.  Am I just not being patient enough to see let his gifts manifest?

Also read a story by Stuart Duncan this morning- a blog about his road to diagnosis - through his child.  A road I am on too.  The more I read, the more it is clear that I am as autistic as my kid, and generations of my family have been...

This month seems to have heightened the screaming match between adult autistics advocating for themselves and parents of autistic children advocating for their children   Should I seek a diagnosis so that my voice is ALLOWED to be as loud?