BY WAY OF EXPLANATION: Having spent the better part of two years trying to find a publisher for this manuscript, I decided to give up and instead post this work, one section at a time, on this blog. One chapter a week. What better platform that one that is already devoted to revealing what it’s like to be US?
This book is told from the sibling’s point of view (think of Thomas, our middle child, when you are reading). It’s meant to be a lighthearted work for siblings and their peers that promotes an understanding of autism through anecdotes. It’s intended to teach teens or ‘tweens about autism through the eyes of a brother. Please share with any teens or ‘tweens you know!
I KNOW there is an audience out there for this work. If any of you has a connection to the publishing world, by all means feel free to share these “chapters”! The more people that read about Life with Autism, the better to promote awareness and acceptance.
THE FUNNY THINGS: Introduction
Things can get a little crazy in our house. Did I say a “little” crazy? Okay, I mean a LOT crazy. There were times when I dreaded having anyone come to our house for a visit. I would be mortified. “Mortified” is an old-fashioned word that my mom says a lot, so I finally looked it up, and guess what? It’s the perfect word for me. It pretty much means you are so embarrassed you could just die. Yep – that’s me: mortified, as in: “Can I just sink into the ground right now and disappear?” Going out in public with my family was the same. Pure mortification.
“Wait, back up!” you say. “What is your problem?” Why is it that I’m so uptight about my family? Well, it all comes down to one thing. Or rather, one person. My baby brother.
Let me give you a little background. My name is Thomas and I’m thirteen years old. I have an older brother, Chris, who is a senior in high school. When I was six years old, my baby brother, Peter, was born. He was really cute, and it was fun having a new baby brother around, but after a while it seemed like my parents were concerned that there was something wrong with him. He was always a little fussy and a lot noisy, but I thought that was normal. Turns out my parents were right. Turns out Peter has autism.
Don’t freak out. I’ve learned a lot about autism in the past couple of years, and while it’s all still really confusing, I do know one thing: it’s not contagious. Autism is a disease that affects brain development and function, and nobody really knows what causes it. It’s a big puzzle. In fact, the puzzle piece has become a symbol for autism awareness, and you might see that symbol a lot these days because more and more people are being diagnosed with autism and the scientific community is in a panic. There is no known cause and there is no cure.
Pretty scary stuff, right? As Peter got older (he’s seven now and almost bigger than me!), his autism symptoms became more obvious. That’s when things really started to get crazy in our house. He does things that are totally unexpected, and as a result our house is often in total chaos. Things are said and done in our family that are just really… well… bizarre! Because autism is different in every person, you never know what to expect, and let me just say: this is totally the case for Peter. You never know what’s around the next corner; you never know what he might do. My little brother is completely unique.
So I spent a couple of years being mortified all the time, until I started to understand the reasons Peter does the things he does. I also found that a lot of stuff that happens to our family is actually kind of funny. I started keeping a log of the crazy stuff we say, just for the fun of it. Soon, though, I had a plan. I would write a little book highlighting some of the things a person might hear and see at our house, and then try to explain the reasons behind them. I thought that if I shared it with my friends before they came over, they might have a little insight into what they might expect, and learn a little bit about autism at the same time. With a little awareness of Peter’s condition, they might not be freaked out. Then, as an extra perk, I wouldn’t be quite so mortified.
So here goes. I hope this book helps people understand our family a little better. Heck, I hope it helps me understand our family a little better. Most of all, though, I hope it helps people understand autism a little better so that other families affected by the disease can feel a little more welcome outside the confines of their crazy homes.
(Tune in next week for Episode 1!)
Perfectly Peter 