"If for some reason Autism had been erraticated from the face of the Earth...Men would still be socializing in front of a wood fire at the entrance of a cave"
Temple Grandin

Now I don't buy into the whole caveman concept but I do agree with Temple's suggestion that if autism was completely removed from the face of the earth....many of our great ideas in the world would eliminate. Have you all seen the way that Miss Gradin thinks, draws, designs? I'm not saying that all autistic children are creative...but I do know that there is always something they are really good at or really like and if we encourage them (as any other child)....they can excel beyond what we have ever imagined!!!

Did you ever wonder if you could see inside your childs mind...what are they thinking? I find myself doing this so often. Somehow when your child is not so vocal....and you know they are retreating somewhere in their mind....you really have to consider how much he/she is taking in. I am reminded of an old nursery rhyme...


A wise old owl lived in an oak
The more he saw the less he spoke
The less he spoke the more he heard.
Why can't we all be like that wise old bird?


As I look back over history....children with disabilities were not always accepted into society. It is hard for me to imagine the idea of institutionalizing a child because they lacked some type of ability. The fact that Caleb has a Speech delay does not mean he cannot function as a child that does not have autism.

You take the blind man for instance....he may not be able to see but all of his other senses are in tune. Infact, I would not be afraid to bet that his sense of smell, hearing, touch, and taste are so much more acute then someone with all five senses. He learns to function...maybe by the use of braille or a seeing eye dog. He uses his other senses to guide him. Same thing can happen for an autistic child...Autistic children and children without the disorder will use the same part of their brains for perception....but the part that brings everything together is out of sync. Is there a way to help Caleb bring things together more easily...maybe be able to focus.

Instead of being preoccupied with the things my children can't do....i want to focus more on the things they CAN do. I want to encourage them to be all they can be and if there is something holding them back.....overcome that obstacle. Maybe there is a different way to "sync" with Caleb's brain then that of the typical child. Maybe he's just like the Macintosh computer...just programed different but when his language is used....WOW:)

Have you ever heard of the 80/20 Rule or the Pareto Principle? This principle took into account that 20% of something is always responsible for 80% of the results. If I spend all my time focused on what Caleb CAN'T do YET instead of focusing on what he CAN do.....then he'll be discouraged and most likely all the things he is excelling at will soon fall behind.

In a few weeks we are going to see Dr Megson. Will she have all the answers? Probably not...but I do maintain hope that she will help us see things through his eyes. Are there things we can do better to help him gain focus? Is there really a way we can change his diet to help with this? Are there other avenues we could be taking? It has to be worth something knowing that she is focused on the autistic child. All the Doctors we have seen up until this point have not specialized in this area!!! I'm not saying that they did not have knowledge but I really believe when you have someone that devotes their life to a certain area...that has to count for something!!! You see, we want to make things better for Caleb...so his world can be less frustrating and more joyful.


Caleb is fixated on any kind of riding equipment...cars, riding lawnmower, four-wheeler, dirt bike. He LOVES riding with his dad on the various "toys" that we have around here. Did I mention the Moped? At first, I was nervous about his dad taking him for rides....but then I realized that Caleb really LOVES to do this with his daddy and I can tell that daddy enjoys it too!!! I could let my "fear" of what "could" happen discourage Caleb and have him withdraw even further into himself or I can learn to overcome some of my fear and encourage him. I could let my "fear" that he might be like this for the rest of his life...shelter him and stop him from doing things because he may not be "skilled" in a certain area. I think not!!!

In Mitch Albom's book, For One More Day...the main character Chick goes into the library to get a book. The librarian tells him the book is to hard for him to read and makes him pick another book. When he goes out to the car his mom questions why he got the same book they read before. Chick tells her he picked another book out and the librarian told him it was to hard for him to read. The mother marched him back into the library and she told the library to NEVER TELL A CHILD THAT SOMETHING IS TOO HARD FOR HIM. They walked out of there with the book. This is how we all need to fight for our children. We should NEVER let ANYONE EVER TELL US OR OUR CHILDREN THEY CAN'T DO SOMETHING! Where there is a will...there is a way!

Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own
Matthew 6:34