Autism Awareness Month and April Fool's Day

Today is the start of Autism Awareness Month. It's also April Fool's day...hmm...

Micah has autism. He was officially diagnosed April 4, 2004. Yeah, that's 4-4-04. It wasn't 4 in the afternoon or anything, though. Micah was 2 1/2 years old, and I was totally in love with him then, and love him all the more now that I have gotten to know him a little better. He is extremely intelligent, stubborn as the day is long, sweet, loving, and obnoxious as an 8 year old can be, and a total people-pleaser. It's a fascinating combination that makes him special. Micah loves math, hates clipboards, loves reading, hates explaining himself, loves Cars (the movie...though mostly just the characters...it's something that he collects), hates loud noises...the list goes on and on. He's pretty plain about what he likes and definitely plain about what he doesn't like.

If the world relied totally on verbal communication, Micah would be in trouble. Micah only relies on speaking as a last resort, making my life hard until I learned how he wanted to communicate. I felt like a total fool when I finally worked it out. That's where the April Fool's connection comes in. I often feel like a total fool when working with my son. He has this look on his face when I ask a totally obvious question (mostly asking just to make sure he understands and is paying attention) that makes me feel like an idiot. Micah and I communicate pretty well now, but it took a lot of learning on both ends.

I think that most of Micah's communication comes from his drawing. He fills notebook after notebook, any sketchbook that I let him have, and any scrap of paper with drawings. It was through his drawings that I found out that he has a relationship with Christ. It was through his drawings that I found out that he actually listens to his teachers even though they think he is totally ignoring them. It was through his drawings that I found out who he considers to be his "friends" and how he defines the word. His pictures are a huge part of him.

Micah also knows music. He can hear when someone is just a little off, and it really bugs him when someone is really off. There was a bit of hum at our church during the whole service on Sunday and it really bugged him even though most people didn't even hear it. He can also copy a tune, and it's always correct. I haven't figured out how to use this more than singing him songs that help him through his routine, but I'm sure that one day we will figure out how to let him shine through music (or more likely he will figure out how to do it himself).

Computer stuff comes easily to Micah as well. He has hakked into my computer since he was 3, and I generally have to physically keep him from it if I don't want him to "fix" things. He memorizes websites that he sees and tries to go to them whenever he is online. It makes me freak out and watch closely, but so far it hasn't gotten him into a lot of trouble.

Micah's favorite store is Stater Brothers. He likes grocery shopping a lot...as long as he can pick out some fresh fruit. He's not really a health nut, but he does like healthy food. His favorite place to eat out used to be Souplantation, but he's broadening his horizons a bit lately.

Micah is very much into maps. He loves to make plans for trips on whatever map that he has at the time. His trip to Michigan is totally planned out, he just needs his share of the money to go. I think he has just about every minute of a weekend vacation planned there. This can be totally annoying or totally mind-blowing, depending on how you look at it. When he gets this topic on his brain, he doesn't let it go, and that's really annoying sometimes. On the other hand, just the fact that he knows where he wants to fly into in Michigan, what hotel he wants to stay at, where a place is that will take him on an airplane tour of the Great Lakes, where he can rent a boat to go sailing...and just about everything else there is to know about the trip, it's really mind-blowing.

So that's my kid who happens to have autism. There. You are aware. Still, if you've met one person with autism, you've really just met one person with autism. It affects people in different ways, and judging someone based upon the word autism is just as bad as judging them by their skin color or where they live. Individuality makes a difference to Micah, and he busts out of any box that people try to put him in. He's really an awesome kid and a total blessing. If you judge him by a label, you really have been fooled.