Autism - All in Good Time

Most people wouldn't think a small, wooden, pink and purple birdhouse would cause anyone to fall into deep thoughts, but that's just what happened to me. Autism, you know - it's takes its own good time to show progress and hope, sometimes. I need that reminder so often!

Rob brought the birdhouse home from his day program.

Immediately, I thought, "Why?"

Mandy laughed at me, but truly, I wanted to know why he had painted it. Because that birdhouse sat in my craft supplies for over a year and he refused to even look at it (even though he's the one who picked it out to paint!) I finally donated a box of craft supplies to the day program and forgot about it.

Until he brought it home.

I couldn't believe he painted it. I had asked him several times and he always said, "yes, please, no fanks" and walked away.

Yesterday, I saw the birdhouse again and it hit me that it is a great reminder to let things happen when they need to. Maybe Rob felt like painting it because they were painting pumpkins and he wanted to paint more. Maybe he likes their shade of purple better than mine. Maybe he likes their paintbrushes better. Maybe the moon and the sun and the planets were in perfect alignment for his creative juices to flow.

I'll never know why.

But I do know that autism is much the same way. We want to see progress with our kids. We want to see them learning and taking huge steps forward and we want to see it now! No one wants to wait and see what their child might learn next week. We want to see progress now. We are tired of constantly trying and just want a little encouragement.

Autism doesn't work that way.

For our families, so many things need to be lined up perfectly to see those small steps forward. Sensory issues can't be causing anxiety. Anxiety needs to be under control. The right teacher, the right way to explain something, the child ready to learn. And that's not just with people with autism. We all have to be in the right frame of mind to learn. It's a lesson we all need to remember. Life is fast. Slow down.

Progress will come. Maybe not as quickly as we hope, but it will happen. Have patience. Keep your faith. Keep dreaming and reaching for the stars.

As for me, I'll be sitting here looking at a pink and purple birdhouse and reminding myself to slow down and enjoy the little things.

If you would like to read more about our autism adventures, our books are available on Amazon or you can order a signed copy from us.