I am an autism mom
I am an autism mom. My 10-year-old son’s diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been at the core of our decision making since receiving a formal diagnosis at age six.
As a family, we have made drastic adjustments towards giving our son a shot at having the ability to perform as an independent member of society. This has included having a family divided across countries for a number of years in order to access consistent treatment not readily available here at home in Jamaica.
It’s a familiar story for some parents affected by autism – this is a costly endeavour depleting all personal assets built up throughout our working lives. As a mom, I gave up my career and embarked on a journey to see which treatments would help, and along the way I learned about behaviour therapy — Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) — which has proven to be a very effective treatment for our son.
I acquired a Master’s from a United States university and I am currently doing an internship towards certification as a board-certified behaviour analyst. I endeavour to help other affected families here at home understand how to help their loved ones, and have greater access to treatment. I consider myself to be blessed and I am grateful to anyone who contributed in any way, to helping my child get therapies, or helped us as a family to stick it out while learning how to navigate all the obstacles and prepare for those ahead. It has been worth every penny as I observe my son’s improvement in speech, emotional regulation, social interaction and learning new skills.
I don’t know how to quantify the returns on our investment, as there is no unit price for the new words he acquired, the ability to communicate with peers and unfamiliar persons, or the behaviours he has learned or overcome.
I am an advocate for persons affected by autism. I welcome help from voices that are more far-reaching than mine to bring greater attention to the value of pople affected by autism, and the need to invest in treatment and support to have such individuals integrate as best as possible within our society.
I can attest that these individuals have a lot to contribute, but in a world where the strongest survive, we as their advocates need to help them communicate.
Trudie Williams is an autism mom and ABA intern.
