Friday, September 18, 2009

A friend in need.....

We have some friends who are dealing with a crisis involving their child this week. It's not a life-threatening crisis; more a life-CHANGING one. And I mean that in a lemons-to-lemonade kind of way. How well I recall the feeling of thinking you know your child, then having them blind-side you and do something you would not think them capable of, in your own adult-experience way. At the time it's one of having the rug pulled out from under you, upsetting whatever teneous hold you have on "normal". (oops, there's that word again) After having time to reflect, you realize that you have look at the situation not through your eyes, but through your child's. It's not really a matter of knowing your child, it goes deeper. It's realizing what motivates them, and how they interpret all that. Always tricky with a spectrum kid, but sometimes equally tricky with NT children, as in our friends' case.

But I digress. My real point in posting about this is that I feel like I've become a parent resource. I'm here to tell you that this is something I'm proud of, not complaining about. Tom and I have worked so hard (and continue to work) over the past couple of years, that it's such a compliment to think that friends would actually seek us out for advice. First there's getting over the hurdle of realizing that the RDI training we have received can really be applied to so many situations- not just the ones that result from the Autism Spectrum. Then there's the thought that people look at our family and appreciate the hard work we do and see that it's actually having a positive affect on how we live our lives.

It makes me so happy to see the effects the RDI program is having on our family, and it makes me even happier to be able to offer suggestions to people who are struggling with important issues. It's like a widening of the circle of influences all around. Our friends have a lot of work to do to restore peace to their family, but we know that the hard work is worth it. It took a crisis or two to get us where we are today, and really it was a blessing in disguise, as I hope is the result of what our friends are going through.