What's eating Sarah's grapes?!

      
     Here lately there has been a fair amount of talk about Meltdowns. Rightfully so. Meltdowns affect so many throughout the spectrum. They can be devastating, shocking, exhausting, scary... and that's just for the person watching! Tyler recently added a video to his page about how he personally feels going through a Meltdown. You can find it here. 


     If you follow Tyler on Facebook then you know we recently moved. Moving brings changes. No matter how small you think they are... The impact is HUGE! On top of the move Tyler himself has changed some this year. He gets teased a lot at school, and now he no longer accepts any kind of "playful" teasing from friends or family. To him ALL teasing is bad teasing. Tyler has had a rash of Meltdowns since the move. Mostly small and manageable. Only one escalated to hitting and kicking. 

     To make hard situations harder, you have to factor in other people. You've been there. The judging stranger, friend or family member who thinks you clearly aren't doing something right. Sometimes they say it to your face and other times they feel the need to tell others about it (been reading about some of that going around lately).


     What I don't get is...What is so hard to understand about a Neurological Disorder? Let's examine the word Neurological. This word encompasses the brain. The brain itself, it's wiring, everything! Any Autism Spectrum Disorder means that the brain does not function the way a "typical" brain functions. They do not learn what and when you think they should or how they should. They learn in their own ways, on their own time, and typically at a slower pace than others.

     There is no amount of: "They have to learn", "Society won't accept that behavior", "If they want to get by in this world they'll have to..." that will ever change who they are right now. All there is, is hope that some day it will just "click". I have hopes that Tyler won't turn into a 20 year old man kicking people, because he's emotionally overwhelmed and they invaded his space. 


     You cannot just dismiss an Autistic person's.... Autisticness. You can't treat them as if they are "normal" and think that, that will somehow change the way their brain is physically wired. You have to accept them as they are, and like it or not, teach them in the way they show you they need to be taught.