Autism Night Before Christmasby Cindy Waeltermann
Twas the Night Before Christmas
And all through the house
The creatures were stirring
Yes, even the mouse
We tried melatonin
And gave a hot bath
But the holiday jitters
They always distract
The children were finally
All nestled in bed
When nightmares of terror
Ran through my OWN head
Did I get the right gift
The right color
And style
Would there be a tantrum
Or even, maybe, a smile?
Our relatives come
But they don’t understand
The pleasure he gets
Just from flapping his hands.
“He needs discipline,” they say
“Just a well-needed smack,
You must learn to parent…”
And on goes the attack
We smile and nod
Because we know deep inside
The argument is moot
Let them all take a side
We know what it’s like
To live with the spectrum
The struggles and triumphs
Achievements, regressions…
But what they don’t know
And what they don’t see
Is the joy that we feel
Over simplicity
He said “hello”
He ate something green!
He told his first lie!
He did not cause a scene!
He peed on the potty
Who cares if he’s ten,
He stopped saying the same thing
Again and again!
Others don’t realize
Just how we can cope
How we bravely hang on
At the end of our rope
But what they don’t see
Is the joy we can’t hide
When our children with autism
Make the tiniest stride
We may look at others
Without the problems we face
With jealousy, hatred
Or even distaste,
But what they don’t know
Nor sometimes do we
Is that children with autism
Bring simplicity.
We don’t get excited
Over expensive things
We jump for joy
With the progress work brings
Children with autism
Try hard every day
That they make us proud
More than words can say.
They work even harder
Than you or I
To achieve something small
To reach a star in the sky
So to those who don’t get it
Or can’t get a clue
Take a walk in my shoes
And I’ll assure you
That even 10 minutes
Into the walk
You’ll look at me
With respect, even shock.
You will realize
What it is I go through
And the next time you judge
I can assure you
That you won’t say a thing
You’ll be quiet and learn,
Like the years that I did
When the tables were turned……
THE END
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We continue to advocate for our autistic son and decided for his sake and ours that the best environment for him to learn, grow, build confidence, gain self-esteem, and actually learn and make progress is right here at home. He is his best self when he is in an environment that feeds his imagination, grows his self-confidence, self-esteem, tames his anxiety, and not be bullied for being different.
Every autistic parent's journey is going to be varied but there will be some similar aspects as well. What we will never forget from his previous experience with his previous public school experience are the special educators, therapists, and paraeducators that went above and beyond and showed us their expertise in being the best that they could, despite staff shortages, lack of funding, and more(too long of a list to name). You are missed, but know that everything you did for our autistic son was not in vain.
We are now with an ALE online school in which our autistic son has grown by leaps and bounds and continues to progress without walls or borders to hold him and keep him from fulfilling his full potential. Something we had not experienced in years from our local public school system.
We applaud all special educators who go above and beyond and are truly genuine in the work that they do with special education students, their parents, and other families like ours.
From Our Family to Yours!!
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