Do not be afraid of autism!

A long time ago I don’t mind admitting I was quite ‘afraid’ of the whole world of autism, because quite simply, as I have now come to acknowledge, I didn’t really understand anything about the subject.

When I reflect on this, I realise that was mostly in part because I had never met a diagnosed autistic child or adult, let alone lived with one. Sure, I was aware that many people in society had learning needs, different from my own. Sure, sadly I was also aware of the many institutions dotted on the edges of rural towns and cities that were a ‘safe place’ for people who were ‘a little different’ to often be directed to, and often for the rest of their lives.

While I was a student nurse over thirty five years ago now, I had to spend six weeks gaining ‘experience’ at such an institution. I can still recall the faces of the many residents who were ‘a little different’. I often wondered what life stories these people, who were just as human as me, harboured in their resigned expressions, sitting around the banal communal sitting room of that particular institution, day in day out.

Indeed if you has asked me even twenty years ago what I thought or knew about autism, I think I would have described some poor soul who had no ability to communicate with the rest of the world and whose quality of life and life chances would therefor be greatly diminished in comparison to ‘normal’ people, like me...

How very, very  wrong I was!

Without a shadow of a doubt, it is only thanks to the advent of Cormac in my life that I was gently guided into the world of autism. In all honesty I did find taking the first tentative steps on this path quite daunting and indeed rather scary at times. How will autism manifest in Cormac? How will he cope in school? Will he be happy? What will he do with the rest of his life? How will he cope after I have gone? So many questions I had and so much thinking and worrying as his mother I engaged with on a daily basis, for quite a long time.

But, as I slowly discovered, all journeys are made up of taking one step and then another and then another again. Along the way I started to learn (for the very first time) about how an autistic mind works in a most profoundly beautiful way, how I as Cormac’s Mum can lean into his strengths, and equally be on guard for any potential pitfalls, and quite frankly I realized that I just had to keep muddling along as we all do in all honesty I feel, on any of our paths.

I also started to truly see for the first time that actually everybody has their own unique way of viewing and processing the world around them, but only once Cormac started leading me into his world. Thank you Cormac! I then began to reflect further that this quality of unique perception has indeed been fundamental to our successful evolution as a species!

For when you stop and think about it, our learning and growth is utterly dependent on observing and hearing our neighbour’s viewpoint, alongside observing and hearing our own true voice and that of this beautiful blue planet, that we are all so briefly passing through.

So whoever we are, be that a politician, a president, a creative, a policy-maker in the social care sector, a parent, or a ‘mere’ citizen of our global village, we must remember to keep being open to hearing the voices of all our neighbours in our one global village. For it’s only when we all have the opportunity to both be seen and to share our stories and our perspective that the barriers of fear that sometimes very sadly divide us, can ever possibly start to come down. And it is only with the steady dismantling of these often deeply-entrenched barriers, that a space may possibly emerge to be able to extend the true hand of humanity and compassion to everyone. Our learning and growing needs to continue to evolve, if we are to continue to evolve within our human family.

So do not be afraid of autism! Rather we should be profoundly grateful and welcoming to all our differences, as this is the only path to possibly understanding what it is to be truly human.