I didn't want to mention this last week
because I still wasn't sure it was going to happen,
but this weekend,
the Daughter bird was home for an important
meeting.
She was chosen to be one of the featured
SPEAKERS
at the Annual Autism Conference!
When they first asked her,
she was not at all sure she wanted to
do it, (will they ask a lot of QUESTIONS, Mom?
What if I don't know the answers?)
but I explained that it would really
help other people
to hear about Autism
from HER experience,
and she reluctantly agreed.
The room was PACKED.
90 people signed up and all those chairs
were filled and there were lots of other people standing
in the back and sitting in the aisles.
She talked about herself and how it was important
to remember that autistic people are not DIFFERENT
and should be treated like human beings,
and that they shouldn't have to learn to DRIVE if they don't want to....
(a particular concern of hers...)
I was SO so nervous.
I knit socks the whole time
(toe up turkish cast on....)
to keep from shaking.
This was the child who was never going to be able to answer
a question or develop appropriate social skills:
graciously accepting her thankyou gift
from her very proud
transitional therapist who put this whole thing together.
The theme of this year's conference was high functioning autism and
she was determined to have these folks speak for
themselves.
The tenderest moment for me
was when she and the other presenter
(an amazing young man with autism who is getting his
GRADUATE degree in meteorology(! )were having a discussion about
how long they could spin and never get dizzy...
and how neurotypicals just can't DO that....
I felt like I was looking through a very special
window at something incredibly precious.
She's back at college now,
and it's back to the bunny slippers for me...
thanks for the errata emails!
Namaste.