#YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf

I was blog stalking reading through some friends’ blogs the other day and I ran across a great post at BloggingObsession (http://www.bloggingobsession.com/2011/11/you-might-be-autism-parent-if.html).

I really the #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf hashtag, it reminds of the old Jeff Foxworthy ‘You Might Be A Redneck If…’ cassettes I’d listen to as a kid. I honestly don’t think living with autism is a bad thing, I have to admit I get so sick of all the whining and griping about how much autism parents hate their lives and how much it all just sucks….it doesn’t…I promise…but that’s another post in itself….Sorry I tend to get off track ridiculously easy…anyways, I think this hashtag is a great way to vent, laugh, and realize it’s not that bad..

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you have truly learned the beauty of the small victories #CelebreateTheSmallVictories

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you know that public schools only guarantee our kids FAPE..& that ‘appropriate’ is to be determined by the district

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you constantly find yourself trying to protect your kids from all the arses in the real world who’ll stare/pick on/etc

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you buy multiple copies of DVDS because your kids go through them so quickly, and you still have VHS because they are tougher

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you realize despite every challenge your child faces they are 100% perfect just the way they are!!

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you barely even notice the loud constant stimmy noises & sounds of pounding on the walls that echo through your house all day

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you watch PBS funding credits 24/7 & though your cutie can’t have a convo w/you he knows every company’s sales pitch

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you are constantly doing headcounts to make sure every child is accounted for

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you’ve given up hope of a full night’s sleep

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you’ve stopped buying things for your house because you know whatever it is will be wrecked within an hour

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf every wall in your house is colored on with sharpies, pens, mud…whatever is on their fingers

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you can understand most of what your child says as if they are speaking perfectly clear, yet the rest of the world hears a foreign language

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you have learned the importance of picking your battles and of consistency

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you are a huge believer in the power of bribery positive reinforcement

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf many days potty training seems like a losing battle…that we choose to must fight anyways

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you have come to the realization that you must live forever for the sake of your children

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf your dinner options consist only of PB&J, chicken nuggets, grilled cheese, and bacon

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you have learned to zone out everyone but your children when in public in an effort to not snap at starers

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf your kids can work iPads, iPods, and computers better than you can

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you watch the same 30 second clip of a movie, over and over for hours at time, with your kids

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you only serve finger foods, and you cut everything into bite size pieces

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf sometimes you wonder how parents of non autism kiddos do it #HatTip

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you can tell what every child is up to by the sounds coming from the room they are in

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you don’t understand it, but have to come to accept that everything will get dumped out (food, toys, drinks)

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you dread check-ups at the dentist because you know it means you +3 of the staff will have to wrestle your child to tackle the cleaning

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you can tell the happy yells from the angry yells

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you have installed extra deadbolts on every door to help prevent escaping

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you dread any break from school that’s longer than 3 days, not because you don’t want the kids’ home, but because it screws up their schedules [https://livinlife123.wordpress.com/2011/09/21/summer-school-holidays-and-screwy-schedules/]

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you honestly can’t imagine life any other way :):):)

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you will drive 5 miles out of your way to avoid driving by a place your child would want to go to avoid a meltdown

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you know there are not nearly enough special needs friendly activities out there

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf don’t know if your child will ever understand the meaning of ‘shh’ or ‘quiet voices’

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf while you know candy isn’t the best thing for kids, words are words, and if you use words to ask for candy, YOU GET CANDY!

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you check and double check locks on doors at any house you and the kids go visit

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you don’t see autism, you just see a kid

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf every report of a new finding on autism is something you’ve known for at least 3 months

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you ask yourself why you didn’t become a therapist every time you get an EOB for therapy from the insurance #InTheWrongProfession?!?

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you’ve found all sorts of unidentified objects stuffed into the DVD player

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you desperately understand the need for someone to invent disposable furniture

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you clean unidentified objects out of clogged drains daily…well an autism parent or a plumber ;p

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you know that while meltdowns happen we must teach our children to function in the real world and therefor meltdowns are met with a, ‘I know you’re mad, it’s okay to be mad, but go be mad in your room and come out when you’re done’…followed by 30 minutes of shenanagins…(taking kiddos back to room, grumpy children, slamming doors)…It honestly amazes me…if when I was a kid I got sent to my room for acting an ass…a room with a TV, DVD, toys…I would have been happy to go to my room lol

• #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf you know that our kids are so smart, it’s just finding ways new and different ways to teach them and explain things to them

There are so many great #YouMightBeAnAutismParentIf tweets and quotes floating around out there…these were just a few a mine….the list could go on forever, and I’m sure some things non autism parents can relate to as well, and some of the things on my list no one can relate to but us…that’s the thing with autism, no two cases are the same. Hope you enjoyed my ramblings