Today I am going to write a little about autism

It's a subject that really is quite an important subject to me - not because I am directly affected by it but, because I know people who are, I know how they struggle and I feel that there is too much ignorance, even now when the wealth of information is there for all to see. I am writing this post to hail those I know (and those I don't) who have to live with autism in one of its many forms, and who do not give up. I know four different families who all have an autistic child, and I thank heaven all the time that there are people like them on this earth.

The autistic spectrum is immense. A child may show 'autistic traits' such as communication and relationship issues, (often developing in to ADHD) through language impairments all the way to something like severe Asperger Syndrome. Living with a child with the mildest of these syndromes is difficult enough. Firstly, diagnoses are often made very late in a child's development. There is no cure (even with a disorder like ADHD where Ritalin is handed out like candy). It's not like you can give a child with autism a pill which will suddenly make them "normal". Children at the milder end of the spectrum, like those with ADHD are prescribed drugs which are known to de-humanize them, often causing terrible tics, psychosis, paranoia and in some cases, suicidal thoughts. Although the drug does quiesce the symptom (your 'unruly' child is put on a downer) for some children with ADHD, there are no such 'medical' treatments for children with more severe forms of Autistic Spectrum Disorders. Treatments are of the educational variety. It is very slow progress and, often enough, there is no visible progress at all. It is heartbreaking to watch the strain that some of my friends and their families are under. Relationships are pushed to critical capacities. There are never enough hours in the day to look after your autistic child. Everything takes longer than it would otherwise when you are trying to communicate with someone who does not know how to communicate with you. It's like me, in London, trying t communicate with someone who has been plucked out from their village made from mud huts in the Congo. The barriers to hurdle are numerous and, even with these, you are likely to be able to communicate better with this person from Africa than you are with a child with autism.

Don't get me wrong. There are some fantastic therapies out there. Things we take for granted, like simple thought processes, are often nigh on impossible, (yet are often achieved with a lot of therapy and even more hard work) and really should be given miracle status. But what I find most incredible, in all of the cases I have come across - whether personal or during my studies - is the strength of the parents. As far as I can tell, being a regular parent is stressful enough. But to have the extra difficulties of non-communication, severe violence, (because even kids - maybe that should read especially - kids can be violent) financial troubles, difficulties in social situations plus other worries about the future, must make life feel like wading through molasses; to be able to continue to exhibit such patience, the desire to keep going and this all-enveloping and totally unconditional love - in my book, that makes these people saints.