Day 3 - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Good - I love my son. He is wonderful and loving and will do great things in life. I believe in him. I will fight for his right to be in the regular classroom and if that becomes too stressful I will quit my job to homeschool. Even if it means loosing our house - again. His has a right to be respected and educated. Everyone in our home treats him the same as everyone else. He has chores, is expected to be polite and gets in trouble just like the other kids. To do otherwise would be an injustice to him. I am proud that our home is a normal and safe environment for him. My husband and I have worked hard to make that happen.

The Bad - The world outside our home is not filled with loving and caring people. Even at six, he has faced more ridicule from others than anyone can imagine. I see it - when he tries to talk to peers, he is ignored and laughed at and even called names. He doesn't understand that if another child is not interested in his latest obsession (such as food labels), it doesn't mean they are being mean or as Stephen puts it - "lying to him". When he walks circles around the playground and talks to himself he thinks he is "playing". The other kids think he is weird. My heart breaks.

The Ugly - His diagnosis and belief that others cared has caused a rift that is deep and wide. Truth sheds light on things you were too busy to notice before. Autistic and special needs kids are vulnerable to hate and misunderstandings. The ugliness is when it comes from teachers and family. I wish now that I had kept his diagnosis confidential. Too late now - I am an advocate for my son and I will have to endure some ugliness. That is my advice for the day. Be careful who you talk to - it might get ugly.