Another Gillian Poem

Thank you Gillian!!! You are amazing!

A PARENTS’ BATTLE

By Gillian Naysmith

Autism is a spectrum

from mild to severe,

1 in 100 children

are now on it somewhere.

Statistics are still rising

at an incredible rate,

so for an official diagnosis,

you may have to wait.

The therapists have waiting lists

which are a mile long,

early intervention is imperative,

so waiting seems so wrong.

This is the parents battle,

of which you are now a part,

you have to keep on pushing

for therapy to start

and when it comes to schooling,

it’s more stress again,

if your child needs extra help,

it’s ‘who, what, why, where, when ?’

As your child gets older,

things may get tougher still.

You have to advocate for him,

because no-one else will.

You have to fight his corner,

get all the help you can,

no-one else would fight this hard

to help your little man.

Later on in life,

after school is done,

trying to find work,

may not be any fun.

So we need our Government

to make employers see,

our kids just need help,

to cope well socially.

So they need to do some training

and make employers aware,

Autism wouldn’t keep them from work

if employment was more fair.

So you see a parents battle

is never really done,

until the fight for fairness,

for Autism we have won !

New Dreams – a Poem about Autism

I wanted to share a poem from a fellow Autism Momma. (Her beautiful children are pictured above.) She has such an eloquent way with words – I am thankful for her because she is helping all of us who’ve “been there” to grasp a hold of our self-awareness. Thank you, Gillian, and keep on fighting the fight.

NEW DREAMS

by Gillian Naysmith

When you have your baby

you’re overcome with joy,
it really doesn’t matter

if you have a girl or boy.

As you watch your baby grow

you know it’s all worth while

the pain and all the worrying

disappears with that first smile.

As time goes by you notice

that somethings not quite right,

your little ones not doing

the things that others might.

He may not really look at you,

or listen when you talk,

he may seem quite unsteady

with that funny tip toe walk.

More time goes by and finally

a doctor you must see.

You know there’s something different now,

though you’re not sure what it can be.

When Autism is eventually diagnosed,

you really can’t explain
all the hurt you feel inside,

the anguish and the pain.

Your dreams are all but over

for the perfect child you had,

now you have so much more to learn

and it really hurts like mad.

But Autism is not the end of things,

it’s really just the start,

a different mind and way of life

of which you’re now a part.

It’s a chance to meet new people too,

make lots of wonderful friends,

It’s a chance to really learn alot,

it’s not where your dream ends.

It’s time to re-arrange your life

and organise your mind,

your little Angel needs you now

so leave your fear behind.

I’m not saying it is easy

in fact it’s very hard,

reminders pop up every day,

just like a calling card,

of the life that you had planned

the way you expected it to be,

but life with Autism is not all bad,
just you wait and see.

As time goes by, acceptance will

start to take a hold,

true friends will help you through it all

they have a heart of gold !