My cousin’s grandson was diagnosed with autism a few months ago. He is 3. I don’t really know this side of the family as they live away from us and we don’t see them, but due to a family illness recently, they had been visiting alot so I was seeing him regularly and chatting about autism and his grandsons reactions and also his approach to dealing with it.
He gave me his daughters email address and I forwarded on some course info, and we chatted a bit. I was conscious that it is alot to deal with and she may not be ready to chat yet, but I let her know I was here if she needed me.
Sadly, the family illness resulted in a funeral. We took our son to the funeral – there was no one to watch him – plus he was very fond of the person and, although he didn’t know what was going on, it meant alot to me to have him there to say goodbye. He was great during the mass, and at the cemetery he threw some dirt in over the coffin and said goodbye. I know he didn’t understand what was happening, but I explained it as best as I could, and he may understand and remember this when he is older.
The family all gathered at a social club afterwards, and the little boy was there. He had on a t-shirt that said “Autism is my Superpower” and was acting just like our son at 3. He was clinging on to his mum, and she had the Argos book which he was flicking through which was keeping him calm.
The mum was coping so much better than me. It seems her way of dealing with it, is to tell everyone about her son and being very open about it. Something I cannot do.
We are keeping in touch so hopefully I can be some help to her, even if it’s just to listen to her vent.
Super Autism Mum 