ASD

"ASD" is a fancy education acronym for Autism Spectrum Disorder.  I found this out in February, 2011, when my son was diagnosed with an ASD.  I can't remember the exact date, but I can remember that this was one of the worst days of my life.  I can't even begin to describe the anger that consumed me when I saw those words next to his name.  Since that day, I've bounced around through the stages of grief.  Today, I've mostly accepted this diagnosis and what it means for my son and our family, but I still bounce into stages of anger, denial, bargaining, and depression, at times.  On those days, I find myself getting hung up on the "why" and the "what if" of it all.  I'm a big picture person and I don't like surprises.  ASD is forcing me to stop trying to look ahead and plan every minute detail.  That is very uncomfortable for me, but I'm working on it.  As frustrating as it can be to be the parent of a child with an ASD, I'm slowly coming to the realization that ASD's can be a blessing.  My son notices things that I had never before paid any attention to.  Have you ever noticed that the tires on your car make a different sound when you drive over a bridge than the sound they make when you're driving on the highway?  Did you know that they make seamless socks?  Cheese pizza dipped in ranch dressing tastes amazing!  I didn't know these things until my son pointed them out to me.  These certainly aren't Earth-shattering revelations, but these little things are slowly teaching me to tune in to my environment, keep searching until I find exactly what I need, and try new things.  Yep, ASD's can be a blessing.  Now, it's very possible that I'll wake up tomorrow and curse ASD's and have myself a good old fashioned "why us" pity party.  But for right now, I'm thankful for the cards I've been dealt!  Life is really good!