Letter to POV - Talking Back
There is a program on PBS called P.O.V. They ran a program in July titled "Refridgerator Mothers" about views on autism back in the 50's and 60's. ( If you visit
the site you can "meet" the 5 mother's and read their experiences.) After this program was over they invited people to email comments to their website www.pbs.org/pov I
did so and then they invited us to do a video letter, which we did and sent into them with this written letter that outlined what I said in the tape. We also taped Mitchell and his Dad playing in
"Mitch's way", the little ham loved it! I'm not sure if they will use our tape, but I wanted to share what I wrote with you - because I really believe that it is important that it is said.
If you would like to contribute to this page with your own opinions please email me, and I will include the entries.
"My name is Helen, I live in Texas with my husband Danny and our son Mitchell. Mitchell is 5 and is autistic, I love him more than any
preconceived "perfect" child I could have received - he is perfect to me and together we are learning to communicate.
I believe that early learning intervention is so important for a child with autism - I don’t expect my son to be like me - he is unique for a reason, but I do
want him to find a path of communication so that his life will be easier. This world doesn't always make it easy for people who are different.
My biggest concern is that there is a growing population of autistics that are getting left in the shadows by the hype over WHY a child is autistic. But realize that
talking about a cure and preventing autism is like saying these people don’t have a right to exist. Look at the sign for the link to the C.A.N. web site - it says "help me find the way out of
my world" I don’t believe that their world is that bad of a place and it is not closed off to the rest of us - it is our job as parents to find the door. Autism is not a disease, it is a set of
conditions caused by the neurological differences in a persons brain. These differences effect how a person receives and processes information on all levels and is what makes that person who they
are. If you take the autism away, you will have a different person - I like Mitchell as the person he is.
One of the most important sources I found when Mitchell was first diagnosed was a web site called autistics.org. Because Mitch
can’t tell me verbally what he is thinking or feeling I thought to myself "I have to find another way to find out" - because it’s important for me to make decisions on how to proceed
(with his "treatments") based on what Mitch might want - what are his feelings? This site answered that question for me, these people do have feelings, you may not think they do because they
don’t respond to things the way we "neurotypicals" do. That term is how the rest of us are referred to as by the autistic community. And they are a community; they’re out there and
deserve to be heard, even if they can’t speak. They can also hear - and they are listening to every word that’s said about them. Imagine what it must be like to hear that someone’s
life is ruined because they are like you? That is what autistic people hear daily on the news and on the campaigns of such organizations as C.A.N. and D.A.N. (defeat autism now).
We went from a society that blamed the mother’s for this condition and locked the children away to a society that helps the parents and some still locks the
children away......
WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN and ADULTS OF AUTISM IN THIS PICTURE?
This misunderstood portion of our population deserves to exist and not be ashamed of who they are because of their brain wiring. Why do they have to fit into our
world? Why not take a look into theirs? Or better yet - let’s build a bridge between our worlds, all we need is love, patience, tolerance and understanding and we can create a path between the
world as we know it - and the world as they experience it.
Basically what I am trying to say is that these children are not lost, they just live by a different set of directions than most of the people around them, when you
find the path to the door of "their world" you find beauty and a purity of spirit that is a beautiful thing.
I am on a wondrous journey with Mitchell, learning a new language, a new way to play - to communicate with another person, it’s incredible!"
Helen ......
