Reaching out for Autism

It has been a very important issue for me since I learned of my son's diagnosis at age 2 and when my wife and I discovered this painful truth we were first in a state of confusion as to why our son had been affected and wondered how we would work to help him through his condition. I had gone through a range of emotions and feelings and just asked God to help guide me and give me inspiration to face the difficulties ahead. We must all be brave in the face of adversity and realize that sometimes we have to face challenges so we can learn and grow from the experience. It is heartbreaking to know that your child will have challenges that most kids don't have and we were worried for our son since we really didn't know much about autism. It is very puzzling and as of now there are so many questions and very little in the way of answers. The medical community has debated the causes of autism but for most the causes are still an open ended question because the experts just don't have conclusive evidence. My personal feelings of the causes may have to do with environmental factors, possibly the preservatives used in the vaccines administered to our children and possibly diet.

I see my son as a happy child who is very bright and is such a kind and caring child who wants to help and show affection. His difficulties are in expressing himself and learning how to conduct himself in social settings. He has very little patience and easily gets frustrated and upset and generally is unable to contain his emotions. He is improving since he started in middle school and we are very encouraged by his improvement. It is a one day at a time approach and we appreciate the little accomplishments he makes. When you are trying to learn everything you can about autism and also learn how to support your child the best way you can it is very important to reach out and seek guidance and support. There are a lot of support groups out there since autism has become so prevalent. Each day that goes by there are more babies diagnosed on the autism spectrum and this is quite alarming. It is our hope that we can establish the reasons why autism is becoming so prevalent and then find ways to help bring it under control and also hopefully find a possible cure.

I have been very concerned about the alarming increase in autism and am trying to understand the best ways of treating it for our son so he can have a life full of promise and potential. He is very capable and is very bright. His interests vary and he has a real appreciation of music which seems to help calm him and make him feel comfortable and happy. It is our responsibility to learn our son's needs and address them and help provide him with our full attention and love him for who he is and let him know that we love him and will always love him and support him through all of his childhood years into his adulthood. When you show your child your love and devotion it will truly empower them and will help you as you see the bond strengthen and grow. We all want to be close with our children all throughout their years of growing and want them to know that they can always come to us for anything they may be experiencing. Especially with autistic children we want everything to be nonthreatening and we want our son to always feel comfortable.

There are many ways people can reach out for the cause in helping autistic children and they should always consider doing their part for the cause. We wish to help each and every autistic child there is and realize we need a great commitment from everyone and if we can do our part then we have done a good thing. That essentially is what life is all about which is helping others and who better than the precious children who are affected by autism. I will always reach out to help my son and in helping him we will feel more in control. We want the absolute best for our son and for his treatment to help him live a happy and full life.

Edward D. Iannielli III