Tags
autism, autism speaks, children, contagious, daughter, family, love, measles, protecting, shots, special education, vaccination, WHO
Do people really think this? If we hold back the vaccinations, then “my child won’t get autism”. If it were a choice between the two, I’d choose autism.
First, let me say that I do not believe that my daughter’s autism is caused by vaccinations. Oh how I tried to blame them! Blame the shots! Blame the doctor! Blame my husband and myself! Blame God! It had to be someone’s fault that this happened, right? Someone must pay! Someone is accountable!
Not the shots. The timing didn’t line up, no matter how badly I wanted there to be a reason.
My child hasn’t gotten the measles but she has autism. She will, unless a miracle drug appears, have autism for the remainder of her days. She will always need support in some fashion or another. She will need to be protected. She will need to be reminded to not wear the same shirt every single day. She will need to be told to go take her shower and brush her teeth, even though she’s 25 years old. She…. will need.
But is having a child with autism the worst thing in the world? Yes, it definitely changed the path we thought we would take. Prom dresses, a wedding dress, going to the mall, grandbabies and more….these things we haven’t had. We won’t have.
Yet we’ve had the joy of knowing people we never would have met because of her autism. Teachers and doctors who have invested themselves into her life and our world. Family and friends who have shown themselves to be the real deal, loving her in spite of her issues. She doesn’t care about the latest fashion….a t shirt makes her happy. She’s never cared about where she sits in the car. She doesn’t care if she has a blue cup or a red cup. She hasn’t snuck out of her bedroom window in the middle of the night to meet up with a boy. She hasn’t been driven home after too much fun at a high school party. She hasn’t had the heartache that goes along with choosing the wrong guy to love. She dances, like no one is watching. She lives her life that way. Her way.
Is it really better to subject your child to measles more than autism? I don’t think so. Measles are contagious, autism isn’t. Measles kill children, autism doesn’t. Measles kill around 400 people a day. That’s 16 deaths an hour globally according to the World Health Organization. According to Autism Speaks, 1 in 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls are being diagnosed with autism. Yes, it’s an epidemic. But….our children are alive! They are living! They are laughing; smiling; having tantrums; being demanding but they are….alive!
Doesn’t being alive beat the alternative? I will look at the beautiful face of my daughter and say yes. Yes, it sure does!