"THE SPECTRUM OF AUTISM,” From A Grandparent's Perspective

“THE SPECTRUM OF AUTISM”  A talk followed by conversation with Dr. Jeffrey Schulman, M.D. 

Unless you are a family member or a professional, you cannot begin to know all the pieces of that world. Being the grandparent of a child on the autism spectrum brings with it a special joy and fear that only someone who is living it can fully understand. As a grandparent with that “special” love, my emotions on the day that I knew something was not right, were like sensors being tested to see just how far they could be pushed; but I knew I wanted to remain as calm as I could because I am, after all, it’s what grandparents should do.

It’s been a few years since we first noticed an adverse reaction to noise, a sudden inability to speak and the other classic symptoms.

What a beauty! What an exceptional young lady with so much love to give, but still trapped by that one missing part in her brain that does not fully function and frustrates her in ways that only she can understand.

 So after all of this time some of us finally got together and formed a support group called – what else – Our Special Grandkids. It’s a safe place. A place where we can get our questions about where and how and why answered by other grandparents who have been in that place and bring in outsiders with the knowledge to fill in the blanks. 

 Of course I am thrilled that Dr. Schulman has agreed to come to our support group. It is open to all grandparents who have grandchildren on the spectrum.

We meet monthly at Missouri Baptist Hospital in Auditorium Room 2, with the next meeting scheduled for November 7 at 7 p.m.

There are still so many questions that I wonder if the researchers will be able to answer and if all of the various opinions will gel into maybe only a dozen. My biggest question always is:  WHAT IF?  So if you’re one of our grandparents what do you think?

There is always more warmth in numbers.