Dealing with autism can be very challenging, not only for parents, but for people who do not fully understand what this disability is.
Autism is a brain development disorder characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. It is also more common in boys.
My brother, Gary, is autistic. Of course we did not know it was autism until he was seventeen years old. He is now forty-two. According to my mother, Gary developed normally as a baby. He was just a very quiet child. He entered kindergarten and functioned pretty okay, if not a bit slowly. The teachers recognized something was wrong, but still kept him on in the school. After kindergarten he entered primary (elementary) school. However, the teachers did not want to keep him because he was not functioning as a child his age should. That was the end of my brother’s schooling.
My parents took Gary to different doctors who could not find anything wrong with him. They also tried to get him into one of the very few schools for children with disabilities but were unsuccessful. He grew up without any formal education.
At age seventeen my mother met a lady who, when she saw Gary, recognized that his condition was autism. She was a teacher who lived in America and dealt with children with autism. She came back home to try and open a school for children with disabilities. While here, she tutored my brother privately and he was making very good progress. He learned to read, write his name, and do simple arithmetic. Unfortunately, she had to leave to go back to America because she was not getting the support to open the school. Again, my brother’s learning came to a halt.
Gary’s autism is one of the severe types, but not so severe that he cannot learn. He can speak, but not very well. He can understand certain things you tell him, but not everything. He is very skilled with his hands and very intelligent. The woman who started tutoring him said if he had gotten the schooling he needed from an early age, he would have entered the regular school system easily. It’s just that the teachers we had then were not trained to handle children like him.
We now have an Autistic Society in Trinidad and Tobago. They are doing wonders for these children and their parents who desperately need the support. My mother is an active member and is getting treatment for Gary that he was denied many years ago. The professionals say that he is not too old to learn.
My mother always worried about Gary and what would happen to him. She always prayed for him, for something to happen to make his life better. She now believes that her prayers have been answered. It is unfortunate that what he is getting now could not have happened when he was younger, but she says that this is his time now. God answered at the right time. He knows what is best for Gary.
Gary goes to classes on a Saturday and also has a private tutor who teaches him at home. My mother says he is doing very well. I’m happy to here that because my parents would not be around much longer (they’re in their seventies now) to take care of him. He now has a chance to take care of himself when they are gone. Of course, I will be there to do my part for him. I will not let my brother end up in an institution to be victimized and taken advantage of. I will help take care of him.
I am glad that he now has a chance to live a normal life, and I know it is not too late. My mother’s faith in God has never wavered and He has done his part.
Put your faith and trust in God for any challenge that you face in life. It can be a long road, like it was for my parents and me with my brother, but He will help. God knows the right time for everything. Whether you have a child or sibling with autism, or any challenge that you face in life, put it in the hands of God and He will take care of it.