The first guest post comes from Leah, mum of two, about autism:
"Imagine for a minute you have a shocking headache or even a
migraine and need to get the weekly shopping done. Everything seems brighter,
louder, every one of your senses are heightened to the point of screeching
pain.
This utter confusion and inability
to be able to disseminate noises, sound, touch – everything being jumbled
together… this is autism – total sensory overload.
Now imagine for a minute having to take your child with
autism out to the shops because you have no-one to leave your child with, to
give your child a break from the extreme pain of shopping.
Remembering that
every sense is heightened, these “kids” can’t break down and make sense of it
all. So to cope they flap their hands, walk on their toes, hum, hold their
hands over their ears, walk in circles, or even screech.
As the parent you need
to concentrate on your shopping list, whilst keeping an eye on your child, and
very acutely aware of the staring of others, the comments of “give the child a
smack for God’s sake”… you get the idea.
You might have even witnessed such a
scenario and said the same things...
I challenge you instead to walk a mile, or
even a step in my shoes.
Instead, offer to assist that very overloaded parent
with their shopping.
Or even a genuine smile.
Just don’t judge!"
Leah Bradley is mum to 11 year old Nicholas, who has a diagnosis of High Functioning Autism, and Emily age 12. She writes a blog called 'Leah's Soapbox': http://leahssoapbox.blogspot.com.au/?m=1
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