There is beauty in the heart and soul of every single child born on our planet today.
And one in ever 68 of them (in the USA) is born with Autism, which discounts their personal beauty not a bit. For the families who struggle with the varying issues that accompany this condition, my heart goes out to you. We deal with Autism in our family here, so I know of what I speak.
Please visit the following site I’ve linked to and read the article. It is extremely well written and informative. Mostly it’s emotionally moving as it reminds us of all the reasons we care and love one another and most especially – our children.
“68 Things to Know About Children with Autism” –
Thank you,
~
Ethereal Life
Enjoy what you are given – in the moment,
From one heartbeat to the next it can be gone.
Share what you’ve been blessed with – in the moment.
From one heartbeat to the next it can be gone.
Laugh with the richness of life – in the moment.
From one heartbeat to the next it can be gone.
Love all you can love in the moment.
From one heartbeat to the next it can be gone.
Live every moment of your life to the fullest.
From one heartbeat to the next it can be gone.
Penny L. Howe, 2012
(written on behalf of an autistic boy, who had just lost his father)
*
~ Penny
The Why About This 
Thanks for sharing the link Penny. My granddaughter is Autistic. I think we all have some traits of autism. Some have more so they are labeled.
I agree with you you completely Indira. Labels are dangerous things when applied to humans, aren’t they?
So true.
Touching poem, Penny. A friend of mine at church has a daughter who suffers from autism. It’s so heartbreaking to see this child when she is in her ‘mood’. Her mother came to the US to train as a special teacher so she can teach her herself. And she is doing so well with her. Together with other parents of autistic children they have formed an NGO to train and teach the kids themselves. And they train others as well who may be interested in being with autistic children
Just last Sunday at church she was telling me that her daughter has not been able to sleep well for a month. She gets up in the night to roam and cry on top of her voice. he doctors cannot diagnose what is wrong with her. My heart really went out to her.
Hello dear friend and thank you for your comments here. Your information is valuable for all who have an autistic child in their life. The troubles can be many which is why having loving and caring support groups are so very important. My heart goes out to your friend as well, Celestine, may there be break-throughs in the near future that will assist children and their loving parents even more. xx
My mum has worked with kids who have autism, it is fascinating and challenging to try and get into the mindset they possess. This is a wonderful poem, one we can all appreciate.
Hi SteJ. Your mum is a keeper, that’s for sure, but you already knew that! Thank you for your compliment, hoping to see you in the near future? xx
Plans are afoot and I am sure things will be happening soon to get me back over so I can amuse you with my one saying again. xx
A very touching poem.
xo 🙂 🙂 xo
Hi RoSy, thank you dear neighbor! 🙂 xo
This was so beautifully written Penny. I worked with autistic children many years ago as my schooling was in Special Education. This was by far the most rewarding job I have ever had and the children were the light of my life, a special joy I will carry with me always.
I agree with you, LuAnn. Very few things are more rewarding that the special joy we receive when being interactive and loving with children, both those with special needs and the others as well.
We have an autistic boy in our family. Thanks for posting this article. The comment I found most accurate was simply ‘autism is complicated. ‘
Hello Suzanne. Yes I agree with you, autism is complicated but so worth the effort to understand, as you already know. Thank you for stopping by and commenting!
Yes it is quite an extraordinary condition. It is so good that people are discussing it openly these days and that research is helping us to understand the condition better.
Thank you for this, Penny. I think autism has garnered a bad rap in recent years, especially since the Newtown shootings.
Your welcome Alejandro. Sharing what you know can sometimes be helpful to others. My goal anyway. Hope all is well with you, my friend. xx
sniff… this was so sweet… children are so sweet… why do we end up messing them all up?
A very good question, with no very good answer!
Well, we should stop doing it.
Beautiful Penny, my best friend has a kid with Autism, it was not easy for her special when he was a baby, but her little boy is doing so well now. It is good to be known what autism is, they need love just like anybody else. I tweeted this post ;), beautiful poem Penny, have a great day!
HI Doris, thank you my dear friend. And thank you for your tweet. You are very much appreciated by me! 🙂 xx
Reblogged this on A Mixed Bag and commented:
This is something that is close to my heart as one of my children is on the Autistic Spectrum. Penny has created a great post with a poem and a link as well. Go take a look.
As you know, my son is on the Autistic Spectrum and he is 18 next month. I fear for him when I am gone even though I hope that will be a long way off. His sister has told me that she will look after him beyond. When we first learned of his Asperger’s Syndrome, we were devastated. There was so much that we wanted him to do. Now though, he was disabled. What could he do? Over time we learned that this was not the case. Society may see him as disabled, but I certainly do not. His friends do not. People who know him do not. He is normal. My daughter is normal. I am normal. You are normal. The President is normal. Every person on this planet is normal.
Autistic Spectrum Disorders are seen more and more, and more and more we see it undiagnosed in adults as well. Especially parents and grandparents of children with an ASD, they see it as they see the signs and recognise it.
For someone with an ASD to lose a parent creates a chaotic void. They do not like change, and that change is one of most difficult for “neuro-typicals” to deal with.
I think I will stop rambling and just reblog your post. It is something I could talk about forever, and you have summed it up perfectly.
Thank you Alastair. As more is known about autism and more people become familiar with it, I believe a shift of greater understanding and helpfulness by the “normals” will continue to happen! Thank you for sharing and for reblogging my friend! xo
Thank you Alastair. As more is known about autism and more people become familiar with it, I believe a shift of greater understanding and helpfulness by the “normals” will continue to happen! Thank you for sharing and for reblogging my friend! xo
You’re welcome Penny. It is a message that needs to be spread around
As a teacher I came to know many children in the Aspergers syndrome part of the autism spectrum. Whilst they had their challenges they were all different and each of the ones I taught gave me a new perspective on human behaviour. Some were incredibly intelligent, frightening so, but at the same time were unable to write more than two sentences. Some had amazing recall, some have the sharpest of minds. It is important to remember that the label is only a label, that each child with this condition is still an individual who thinks and behaves a little differently. A friend of mine a psychologist used to say we are all along the spectrum somewhere and I think that is true its just that some stand out more than others. I don’t think it matters who you are losing a parent as a child must be devastating. Great post Penny you gave me much to remember in my own life. I have to admit though that drama was so often a challenge for many i taught, the simple act of working with others challenged them, but I have to say the last young lady i last taught improved so much as she got older, I admired her dedication and commitment to every performance.
Hello Michael. Thank you for your comments. Your experiences and thoughts are insightful and helpful for others to read. I do appreciate you taking the time here! xx