I Can’t Imagine

I thought having one autistic child was hard enough, I can't imagine <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/MedicalMinute/story?id=1040687&page=1">having 5 of 6 kids</a> being autistic. Just the one takes up a lot of My Darling Wife's time so I can't imagine how she would cope with more. I work enough that she shoulders the load with the kids so any progress with the boy is hers and she does a damn fine job.<br />n<br />nThe one thing I notice in the story is that the family talked about must live in an area that the schools deal with autistic children well. We've had professionals in the area here tell us the worst thing we could do was send our autistic boy to public school. Most teachers in Montana, except a few they named by name and I had no access to, aren't trained in what to do or how to educate autistic children. They told us they normally just sit them in a corner and let them do their thing while they work with kids they know how to help. This isn't a criticism of teachers, it's just what these people had observed. <br />n<br />nIt was really reinforced to me when a friend of My Darlings Wife just recently graduated from a Montana college with a degree in special education had to ask us what autistic meant and how you deal with it. She said in college autism was mentioned but no training on how to deal with it was taught so she knew nothing about it.<br />n<br />nI guess I rattled a long way on this one but suffice it to say My Darling Wife is home schooling our boy and having real good luck with it but I am sure glad it's only one. That's enough for us.<br />n<br />n<b>Every moment of your life is infinitely creative and the universe is endlessly bountiful. Just put forth a clear enough request, and everything your heart desires must come to you. Mohandas Gandhi</b><br />