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You
may have known for a while that
your child is
"different." You
probably were concerned that he
or she was not developing like
other children. Or, he or
she was developing right along
and then regressed after
receiving a series of
immunizations. Or, you
just got your child's diagnosis
that he or she is on the
autistic spectrum.
What
you need to know is that it
is good, and understandable, to
grieve. I remember
when we had our concerns about
McGuire. He wasn't
developing like he should and we
decided to proactively face the
situation. However, it
still hurt A LOT!
Remember, though, that you are
still looking at the same
beautiful little being that you
had the day or hour
before. The difference is
that you now know what is wrong
and can work to make him or her
better! Rejoice in this!
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You
also need to know that you are
blessed to have been given the opportunity
to raise such a child.
Autistic children are given to
those parents that can truly
handle the wonderful beauty of
these kids, even if you cannot
imagine right now how you are
going to do it. After
spending a good while wondering
"why me," it was shown
to me by a friend that I should
rejoice in my McGuire as I was
the one blessed with the this
honor in raising him. That
is when I made the shift from
Burden to Blessing™ and my attitude
changed. I prayed in
thanksgiving for being given
McGuire and for his recovery.
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Surround
yourself with a community of
people that can sympathize (and
hopefully empathize, too) with
your situation. Find a
local autism support
group. Join listservs of
parents and others with autistic
children to find out what has
worked for others. Join
prayer groups and small groups
in your church community.
Butz & Associates can also
help you here.
For
my family, we leaned on our
Christian faith. We let
those in our small group and
friends and family know about
our situation so that they could
pray for us and McGuire's
healing. Let's face it, we
are all lost to some degree in
this world. None of us is
perfect. WE are all
"broken" and need to
be accepted for who we are and
who we can become. If you
want to know more about how a
practical, nonjudgmental relationship
with Jesus Christ can help you,
please click
here.
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