Wordless Wednesday: Air Show!

Last month I was invited to participate as a vendor at a special needs VIP event on the day before a big military air show. Not only did I get to go, I was able to get permission to bring my boys, my husband, and Miss C! The weather did not cooperate and a good portion of the show was ultimately cancelled, but we still had a lot of fun!

In the hangar before the air show, we were hanging out at my vendor table waiting out the weather. The Thunderbirds jets are behind the boys.

Miss C had just helped the boys get pins on their coats from the Thunderbirds flying team. Men in flight suits everywhere...
She was loving the scenery! ;-)

I saw this sign and had to take a picture of it! It says:
WARNING
Restricted Area. It is unlawful to enter this area without permission of the installation commander. While on this installation all personnel and the property under their control are subject to search.
USE OF DEADLY FORCE AUTHORIZED
This area is patrolled by military working dog teams.

And, I HAD to get a picture like this! Monkey is such a rebel. Well, insomuch as his mommy forced asked him to pose this way.  

Ten years later

Today is a day of remembrance for the events of September 11^th. It’s hard to believe that it has been 10 years since that infamous day. As with all Americans, I remember where I was when I found out that the Trade Center towers were falling. I was unemployed, a victim of the high tech bubble bursting. My husband called me up from his work and told me to turn on the TV. I did. I could hardly believe what was happening. I watched in disbelief as the events unfolded. And then I began to cry. I cried for days on end as I kept vigil by the TV.

I had family members who were on planes during those moments and had to be diverted for immediate landing at the nearest airport. Since they weren’t allowed to continue the flight, they had the enormous task of trying to find their way home. Car rentals were scarce and they had to pair up with strangers to drive in shifts, nonstop, until they got home. It was all very stressful, confusing, and concerning for everyone.

The strangest part for me was the empty skies. I live in plane country. Washington State is the birthplace of Boeing. There are also several military bases out here. As a result, I see numerous planes every day. With no commercial, private or military air traffic in the days that followed September 11^th, the skies were far too quiet. It made me uncomfortable. It was extremely odd to not see any airplanes crisscrossing the sky during the day, and it was so quiet at night that I had a very difficult time sleeping. It made me feel very uneasy to not hear the regular background noises.

I took such huge comfort when the air travel restrictions were lifted and I began seeing airplanes again. I remember lying in bed with my husband the first night when planes were back in the sky, and we quietly laid awake listening for planes. We commented softly to one another about how good it sounded to hear planes in the sky again and we quickly fell into a truly restful slumber.

The only reason why this particular facet sticks out in my mind is that I am constantly reminded of it whenever I look into the sky. Since September 11^th I see planes a bit differently now. They serve as my own personal reminder of a very dark time 10 years ago, but they also symbolize comfort in the days that followed.   

Does anything immediately come to your mind when you remember September 11^th? What significant moments do you recall? What gave you comfort during that time?      

   

Stress of autism similar to that of combat soldiers

Today is Memorial Day 2011. As we all take a moment to remember the fallen that have protected our freedom, I thought it would be interesting to share an article that draws a comparison between combat soldiers and that of autism moms.

The article states, “Mothers of adolescents and adults with autism experience chronic stress comparable to combat soldiers and struggle with frequent fatigue and work interruptions. They found that a hormone associated with stress was extremely low, consistent with people experiencing chronic stress such as soldiers in combat.”

Now, this should come as no shock to those of us in the trenches, particularly those parents who have children functioning at a low to moderate level and/or who have concurrent medical conditions. Even though I am personally stressed out quite a bit with the raising of my boys, I know I cannot even begin to imagine what other parents go through with much more complex situations than that of my boys.

Another article along the same lines discusses stress among autism dads. “More than 30 percent of fathers of grown children with autism experience symptoms of depression so severe that they warrant clinical attention. Fathers of adolescents and young adults with autism experience high levels of depression and are pessimistic about what the future holds for their son or daughter, much more so than dads whose kids have other disabilities like Down syndrome and fragile X.”

As with the first article, I don’t think this is a surprise to anyone. I have come to learn (from my own experience and that of my friends) that men process the diagnosis differently than women. They can really struggle moving forward into action mode. I think this is where symptoms of depression can easily come into play.

For good measure, I found one more article about the stress of autism from a study done locally at the University of Washington. “The parents in the autism group had higher levels of parenting stress and psychological distress compared to moms of children with disabilities without autism. They had higher levels of stress, but the relationship of the stress to problem behavior was different. Problem behavior accounted for more of the stress in moms of children with development delays without autism.”

If you are a parent to a child with autism you know what the stresses are. None of the information in any of these articles should be astonishing news. If anything, you now have undeniable proof that you are most definitely not alone in your experience.

Memorial Day weekend is a time to reflect on the service and sacrifices of our troops as well as relax and spend some time with your family. We are the veterans of autism and our duty is a lifetime of service. I hope you are able to take a moment to recognize and appreciate the daily efforts you make on behalf of your child.