CHANGE. My Dad always taught me it was the only thing we could count on in life. I adapted to that train of thought quite easily. It made perfect sense to me. We are born, changing and growing everyday until we cease to exist. So yeah, change. We are connected to it on so many levels. Every single day.
However change is not always black and white. Change is subtle at times and “in your face at others.” I have heard people say that change is a journey, NOT a destination. “Be the change you wish to see in the world”…we have all heard that famous quote by Mahatma Gandhi. Change has long been considered something Autistic people hate! Isn’t that true for ALL people though? People perceive the majority of change as painful, when in actuality change is usually for the betterment. We all like to create “comfort zones” in our worlds. Changing those familiar zones can be scary. In many instances change can upgrade those levels of comfort even if those changes take time and seem painful.
Infinite growing pains of change. We must learn to suggest and accommodate change for ourselves and our loved ones on or off of the spectrum. Facilitating change in ourselves and others while teaching and embracing it. It will happen whether we want it to or not. Change is always coming. It is a natural progression here in the universe, transitions that we should all expect at all times. Fill your life with as much variety as possible as often as you can. Choose to try something different when possible. This will help change blend in to your life! If everything about your world is only in a familiar zone you are inadvertently setting up probabilities for “change failure.” If you foster a life comfortable with variety, change becomes more acceptable, more familiar. This has helped my Autistic son greatly. We have always gone out into the community with pride and eagerness, before and after diagnosis. We take the chance to meet and greet as many people and business owners as we can. We seek to travel and to try new things. Keeping our world open for possibility! If and when things become unmanageable for any sensory or other reason we adjust! We snap back or away with flexibility. We seek comfort no matter what that looks like, unworried about the perceptions of others. What else can we do? What else should we do? What should other people do?
THINK UNIVERSALLY ABOUT DIVERSITY!
Aside from thinking universally about diversity, we suggest that you change the; people as cookie-cutter ‘thought patterns’ you may have. Realize that as constant as change is, we as human beings are infinitely unique from one and other through our own sacred DNA. Constant change + completely unique individuals = endless scenarios and possibilities universally! NOTHING is static in this universe. We are born into perpetual motion and must find our flow.
Some families seek “change” as their main objective once a member has been given an Autism diagnosis. Yearning to change Autistic “behavior” in a flurry. Don’t be so hasty. Learn about Autism from the inside out. Change and growth are things to encourage, never to force.
I see an alarmingly high number of people that want to CHANGE Autistic behaviors often termed “inappropriate.” All Behaviors = Communication Actions. Plain and simple. The behaviors you seek to “extinguish”- to change- are sometimes the only way your child, relative or friend have to tell you things! They are reaching out to you, to tell you the things they have no words for yet, or in that particular moment. Instead of demanding change from the only mode of communication they have available, you must learn to interpret the things they are saying through their indications, requests, mood interruptions, physical pains, and at times through self injurious and/or aggressive actions. These actions are all indicative of specific things being communicated. YOU cannot change that and should not try. Trying to change that could cause lasting harm and will make understanding harder for everyone. Read the experiences of Autistic adults. Learn to interpret this communication intuitively through behavior, and things will change… from challenging to comfortable.
AutismHWY.com hopes more people will empower themselves by learning to plan for and to expect change. Vowing to understand the things that require understanding as opposed to mere change. Know that things will change for the better when we change the stories we tell ourselves and each other about Autism. Changing from a place of perpetual fear to a place of perpetual love and understanding.
LOVE to EVOLVE!
