I found out about an opportunity recently that I knew I wanted to be a part of. The College of Human Medicine at the university located nearby were looking for parents to share their experiences with second-year medical students about having a child with Autism. I think the main purpose was to give them some insight about how to treat their future patients. Yesterday morning, two other moms and I sat at a table in a lecture hall with about 100 or so medical students in front of us. One of the moms had been on the parent "panel" before twice, the other mom was like me, she had never done it before. It was a teeny bit intimidating and I was little nervous when I first started talking, but I soon got over the jitters :) After we got done sharing our experiences, the medical students could ask us questions. They read about Autism and other related disorders in books, but to hear from parents on the "front lines" is something all together different for them. Looking out across the room while I spoke about Dominic and our family was a very moving thing for me. I have to say, the whole experience was one that I will carry with me for a long time to come. We only had a little less than an hour and after we were done talking, the medical students all clapped for us. I wasn't expecting that reaction - I guess that means they appreciated us coming :) As we left the lecture hall, one of the medical students came up to the three of us and told us that her brother has Autism. She shared a lot of her own experiences with us :) It was pretty cool to talk to her. She will make a terrific doctor, so sweet and compassionate. I'm glad that I participated in this "unique" opportunity and I hope to do it again soon!!
We are heading towards 600 orders for Dominic's business. Since our long-term goal for Baked Goods By Dominic is having a "brick-and-mortar" and hire those with disabilities, it is essential and imperative that I continue to teach him all parts of the business. Since I prompted Dominic for so many years for speech, he has become "prompt dependent." What that essentially means is that he will look at me for a prompt, like, "what do you do next?" I do that one a lot. Dominic has been going to a private speech therapist for over ten years and she reminds me often that Dominic usually will know the answer, if I am patient and wait for him. That has been a very hard habit to break! Dominic has an incredible memory, so I put it to the test this morning. I didn't write out the steps, I wanted to see how much he could do completely on his own. We have a customer picking up his order today, but the only thing that had been done is putting the cookies into t...
Congratulations on your sharing. I have learned that shared experiences make us stronger. You have been an inspiration to me and your handling of this major situation is outstanding. You are a good Mom. Love, Auntie
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Auntie, you are a spectacular mother :)
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