Rules by Cynthia Lord:
A Look into Autism
When sitting, waiting for Cynthia Lord to begin her presentation, I thought that it would be just another presentation that I would have to sit through. But by the time Cynthia was finished, I had a deeper understanding and respect for people who not only have Autism but their families as well. As she began, she explained her book, Rules, and the story behind the story. Her book was inspired by her own life, her son Gregory who has Autism, and her daughter Julia who does not. She explained that with this life, having a child who has Autism, she realized that there would be doors that would be opened and doors that would be closed for her son.
There are many things about Autism that I learned, such as hypersensitivity and hyposensitivity. This means that they are both extremely affected and sensitive to something or they can not feel it at all. But Cynthia explained that there were techniques that helped her and stories along the way with her son and daughter. She explained that her son hated wearing his mittens, and she decided not to fight with him and let him go without wearing them. However when she felt his hands they were like ice and he did not even notice. There are many things that her son was affected and unaffected by. Cynthia also explained that the world around her and her family was a major influence. Things that people say can be extremely hurtful to not just her son, but to her daughter who has to live with him. Cynthia explained that there are core challenges with Autism, language, behavior, and social skills. She discussed that Autism is a spectrum disorder it ranges in diversity.
Every child has a different combination of strengths and challenges and it is difficult to talk in generalities. She also explained that it is sometimes hard to find support and it does not just affect the child who has the disorder, it affects the entire family. But through her book, she gave people an insight into her life as well as hope and inspiration for other families facing the same battle. She discussed the different pressures put upon her and her daughter. Siblings do end up picking her a lot of slack for their sibling with Autism.
Rules was developed by a question from her daughter, “How come there aren’t books about families with Autism?” Every story starts with an idea and grows from there. Writing and later publishing a book is a lot of work. Cynthia Lord gave so many children and families hope when they thought that there was no one out there who felt the same way. She also gave me a deeper understanding of Autism. The line that I left her presentation with was, “talk is priceless”. Meaning that you should value everything you have because there are people out there who would give anything to have the simplest pleasures, you take for granted.
No comments:
Post a Comment