An Autism Dad's Birthday Wish
Managing Editor's Note: Happy one day late birthday, Chuck.
By Chuck Hancock
Another birthday today. Catching up to my friend "dirt," slowly but surely. My present however came yesterday, sitting in, of all places, Chick Filet. Charlie, my almost 6 year old son, wanted to go there to play in the play area, lots of climbing. Of course, french fries were also involved. See, 3 years ago, if he said 2 words in a row that was a big deal. For those who don't know, he has an autism spectrum disorder. 3 years ago, he would have been, if he was in the play area at all, not even looking at the other kids playing, or trying to play with them, or talk with them. But, yesterday, he was playing with them, actively communicating with them, laughing with them. Wow. Just wow. He has been working his little butt off for 3 years, hardly a day goes by without some sort of therapy, class, something. He has a long way to go, but boy has he come a long way. Off to kindergarten next Monday. I call him my little science project. Every day he surprises, and brings joy to, his Mom Susan and me. Ok, maybe a little agony. Many think autism cannot be cured. I'm not among the many. No doubt about it, his autism will be cured. Rest assured, as long as I have birthdays, together with Susan, we WILL do virtually everything possible to rid Charlie of this awful disorder.
Happy Birthday Chuck! And thank you for mentioning that there are actually some autism dads around. We don't get much press.
Posted by: Frank | August 29, 2011 at 05:35 PM
I'm with you, autism is treatable and I fully plan on recovering our son, Matthew. Why, there freely is no other option, is there? Keep up the good fight and Stay Well.
Maryann
Posted by: Maryann | August 29, 2011 at 12:40 PM
And go, Charlie, GO!! We are pulling for ya!
Posted by: Lin | August 29, 2011 at 12:14 PM
Happy birthday, Chuck! We stand with you and Susan my friend!! Thanks for all that you do!
Posted by: Lin | August 29, 2011 at 12:13 PM
Happy birthday and I wish your son continued progress.Never give up hope,love,support,patience,good nutrition and individualized care plan will go a long way. My son has
excellent communication skills now,we keep learning and growing together.I am broke now but I do not care,he is my number one priority.
Posted by: oneVoice | August 28, 2011 at 12:47 PM
Zoey,
When my son was young the books I was advised to read were horrible. Michael Power's book was one and I read one of Simon Baron Cohens. What they described in their books never resembled what my son has encountered and what he has been like-he is affectionate, he is very aware of his surroundings and people in his lfe, he looks you in the eye, etc....He also has had all these medical problems that affects his behavior and "autism". Powers and SB Cohen never touched on anything about health problems in their books. There are people who have an "autism" label who make great strides and accomplished great things. Several people come to mind. I do not pretend to understand all forms of autism and why something like Son Rise helped Raun Kaufman so much. Son Rise will not help everyone exactly as it helped him. Some children recover with intensive ABA-not the case for everyone. Alll I can fully understand and speak of his my son's kind of autism. His autism is very much affected by his health issues. It is a constant battle to keep his issues in check. He is nowhere near recovered, but he cetainly does not completely mimic what I read "autism" was supposed to be in those books. Maybe we are evolving in our understanding of autism, but I also believe our "autism" or should I say a portion-a large portion is different from what those authors were seeing when they wrote their books. I think so many kids have these health issues that need addressed first and foremost.
Posted by: Andrea | August 28, 2011 at 09:30 AM
Thank you for sharing this. My son is now 8. We have been plugging away for over 6 years at this "puzzle". My son is my inspiration and my hero. Every day he amazes me and floods my heart with joy. I asked him, "What is Mom's job?" His answer, "Loving". With all my work aimed at healing him, the bottom line is "loving". If we could love this "awful disorder" away, we would have no autism! Happy Birthday!
Posted by: C. Arnett | August 27, 2011 at 10:36 PM
Happy Birthday and thanks for sharing Charlie's progress!
Posted by: Jeannette Bishop | August 27, 2011 at 03:47 PM
Andrea, how do we know that they knew what they were talking about in the "old books"? The autism they wrote about may be identical to the autism we know, they just didn't know where it came from or how to get rid of it. Son Rise was written before this epidemic and Raun Kaufman recovered completely. His parents were told (when he was a toddler) to put him in an institution because he would never be able to learn enough to function in the "normal world." Well, they proved all the "experts" wrong when he graduated from Brown University.
Go, Charlie! I'm rooting for you!
Posted by: Zoey | August 27, 2011 at 02:17 PM
So touching and heartwarming. Happy birthday to the both of you!
Posted by: Lisa@TACA | August 27, 2011 at 10:18 AM
Happy Birthday Chuck! Great to hear Charlie is getting better with lots of hard work thru his therapies. "Autism" as we know it to be today in many children can be reversed and the symptoms of "autism" can be eliminated or lessened. This is not what was written in the old books. Autism is a life-long condition. I don't think what we are dealing with is the same condition those authors were writing about. This is a more recent condition that affects the entire body and thru the proper therapies and treatments can be recovered in many cases! Good luck to you all.
Posted by: Andrea | August 27, 2011 at 08:55 AM