03/04/2020
I have had this in the back of my mind for the last few weeks. The day came and went and I still didn't get to post about this and although I am late, I still want to post.
Autism is a very very sensitive subject to me and so close to my heart. Yesterday was World Autism Awareness Day and although I can talk on endlessly about different forms of autism (and I will touch on it), this post is a shout out to the mums and dads of children with Autism.
Autism affects 1 in 70 Australians. With numbers like this, it's probable you may know someone with an autistic child.
With 2 young children of my own, and keeping them both home from childcare/preschool, its difficult enough trying to manage work and home and giving my eldest enough time to concentrate on school readiness work so that he is ready for "big school" next year. And as I sit to do this, I think of the other parents having to do this and on top trying to adjust their child to new norms on top and additional challenges.
In such a time we are living with with covid-19 that is hard enough for any child, it is another level not only for a non-neurotypical child but their families too.
In majority of cases - their children have additional challenges related to communication, understanding, an persistance on routine, and sensory sensitivities — all of which may be increased during any stressful time.
Majority of them have a team that supports not only them but their families. Apart from school/preschool/childcare - children often have additional sessions with their occupational therapist, speech therapist, physiotherapist, allied health etc.
Schools and preschools are telling us to keep your kids at home and handing out bunches of papers to learn from or some schools setting up learning via "zoom" or other internet based conferencing. In order for anyone to be successful in this, they must adapt to a new way of learning and for those with autism, will certainly pose an additional challenge to those who may have difficulty processing visual or auditory from the computer or doing something in an unfamiliar setting.
And I have seen it first hand. We transport almost 100 students daily facing myriads of additional challenges, with those living with autism or developmental delays one of the most common across our kids. We have been in constant contact with our partner allied health professionals over the last week who have advised that they have been unable to do home visits or accept outpatients or allow people into their offices and rather set up video and teleconferencing. We have been in contact with the parents/carers and know how challenging everything is becoming for them.
Suddenly, the mum and dad are no longer just mum and dad. They have become everything, the teacher, the therapist, the friend, the entertainer, the cook, the cleaner, the IT, the mum and the dad on top - all in one. What took a whole team to do, they now try and juggle while staying afloat as they are trying to adjust to a new norm which ScoMo predicts will be another 6 months at least.
To that Mum and Dad - my hats off to you. I am in awe of you. You are a superhero. Even though you feel those days where you cannot do anymore or keep up, you get up and do it all again tomorrow. And although sometimes your child cannot express how much they love you, remember that they would prefer no one but you, you are their world - let that in itself remind you how much you are appreciated. You're doing an amazing job. And we will get through it.
