"I can see yur DNA"

Today I will be referring to the web log Whitterer on Autism.

In her posting, this mother of a son with autism explains that joint attention is one of the “hallmarks of autism”. As a parent she acknowledges how easy it is to forget that her son does not have this skill of joint attention. She outlines, in an entertaining and personable way, three ways in which this can create issues in communication:

1.     “Don’t acknowledge”-The parent of a non-verbal child, or a child who chooses not to speak out when his parent is calling for him cannot respond with a quick wave to let the parent know where he is. One reader commented, “When looking for mine those times he’s wandered away, knowing he can out run you and not respond… is probably the worst part.”

2.     “Cannot point”.

3.     “Can not follow hand leading”.

The author concluded her blog with the insightful antidote; “It happens most days one way or another, something that pulls me up short because I forget that they think so differently from me. Today as I reached over the sofa towards him, hand extended, called his name, beckoned with the other arm, he responded. He leapt onto the sofa and hung upside down over the back to examine my hand from underneath; an upside down aerial view. Silent. He moved each digit, an engineer checking the joints, fully functional, no creaks. He traced the lines on my palms and whorls on my fingertips, “mom?”
“Yes dear?”
“I cun see yur DNA.”

This posting proved a great reminder to me that the way I perceive the world is not universal, and I must actively work at understanding other people’s perspective; be it the difference between someone with autism and someone without it, or the differences between me and each of the other 7.something billion people on this earth.  

Please visit: http://whittereronautism.com/2009/12/autism-%E2%80%93-back-to-basics/ 

to read well written, informative, and entertaining posts.