Autism

When I was born my parents believed right away that there was something different about me

And, whenever the midwife would carry out her routine check-ups; my parents were always there to interrogate her with a barrage of questions

However, by the time the midwife was gone; still my parents would have many unanswered questions

As well as the idea that the midwife was unable to relate or understand the bigger picture from her infrequent visits

Then again, as time passed and as my parents tried their HARDEST to accept that I was normal

On the other hand, the veracity of the situation was that the truth was a thousand miles away from normal

Because, at the very beginning when the doctors carried out their procedural developmental tests

Although, my parents only hoped for the best, it was only the worst that took place instead,  

It was the worst that took place instead as I was transferred to a developmental specialist,

I was transferred to a developmental specialist who carried out his observations and review on me several times

What’s more, is that bottles and bottle of my blood was taken out for genetic testing

All in all though, it was nothing but a waiting game, along with plenty of uncertainty for the doctors as well as my parents

And, reason being is that it took a certain degree of time and caution to advance with the process of elimination

Thus, it’s no wonder why I was made to see a developmental paediatrician, a child neurologist and also a child psychologist

And this is how I spent most of my childhood; in a hospital, rather than playing outside with other children

Then again, when it seemed like that this journey was a never ending journey; on the other hand there were some answers;

There were some small answers that gave some small hope to my parents more than me

They say that just because a child has developmental problems that doesn’t mean that he/she is autistic

Fact of the matter though, was that I WAS diagnosed as having Autism Spectrum Disorder

Moreover, I was faced with the day-to-day challenges of my symptoms in my whole adolescence

For instance, I was troubled at school and looked down on for being such a freak due to many reasons

Some of them were that I would avoid eye contact; and I was taciturn as well as not very talkative

Then again, it made no difference whether others would communicate with me or not, because at the end of the day I was unable to relate to others

What’s more, is that I had a general disinterest in most things, plus I always found myself being lonely

However, that was partly mended and fixed by being assigned a special needs teacher

Likewise, I also had unusual reactions to tastes, and this problem affected me wherever I would go,

The list of issues and dilemmas are endless, nevertheless I believe that although I didn’t have the most normal adolescence

I can say however, that although there is no cure for autism, on the other hand there are many coping mechanisms in place

There are a number of mechanisms in place, which can help lessen the burden of being autistic

And, there are many systems in place such as; sticking to a routine, on top of that there’s the handful of pills and not forgetting the strict diet

So all in all, regardless of whether some people believe that we autistics cannot fit into society

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter whether they believe that we autistics can’t fit into society

What matters on the other hand, is that we autistics believe ourselves that we CAN fit into society

Then again, no two autism cases are the same, hence why it’s almost impossible for some autistics to fit into society

On top of that, sometimes even our own parents are unable to confront or cope with our autism

So at the end of the day I guess that autism is inscrutable, but that doesn’t take away the significance of being aware

Because the second that we become aware of autism is also the second that we’ll make progress in fighting autism

And, it will be the second that we make better lives for autistics in the near future hopefully.