April is Autism Awareness Month. It’s estimated that one child in 150 (one in 95 boys) lands somewhere in the autism spectrum. Autism can be characterized by sensory integration issues, social awkwardness and obsessive interests, and the spectrum is quite wide, encompassing both quirky genius and non-verbal mental retardation. Often, autistic adults and children can appear, on short observation, “normal”, making it difficult for them to obtain the understanding and services they need to function at the top of their ability. A Room of Mama’s Own is a blog written and maintained by a mother of an autistic child, and her post, A Tale of Two Mothers, really captures what it’s like to parent an autistic child in public.
