Autism: A Parental Extreme Sport

As my family continues on this journey into the Land of Autism, I am forever challenged with finding a truly accurate response to the question of what our lives are really like, as asked by parents of neurotypical children. Instead of trying to put it in my own words today, I encourage anyone reading to follow the link below to Life as an Extreme Sport, by Sierra Ansley, guest writer on The Age of Autism and a parent to a child with autism spectrum disorder.

Life as an Extreme Sport

If you choose not to follow the link, allow me to point out the one thing that struck me most in the article. It is the way the writer describes life for a spectrum parent:

"...ASD takes no breaks. It's 24/7, including evenings and weekends. You can't put it on hold for a while to catch up on sleep or get the house clean. It's relentless."

I couldn't have said it better, and believe me, my attempts are numerous. It is something I wish I could get across to a few particular individuals without them making the accusation that my family's lives revolve around autism - as if this is some fault we can avoid. When a person is thrown head first - and with a level of ignorance, I might add - into a situation such as ASD, how can he be expected to not focus on educating himself and living moment to moment revolving around how to make the best of the circumstances?