Happy thanksgiving! One of my favorite holidays, in fact. I get to see all my family, eat good food, and everything and everyone is in the mood. Except my brother.
My brother, who hates family gatherings, has very good reason. Autism can make many things bother you, and to my brother, its sound. Thanksgiving is where everyone is talking, laughing, and making noise. This of course is very hard for my brother, who would much rather be in front of a screen than in front of people. His social complications make it hard for him to communicate like most other people, and he has a hard time staying on subject.
Also, he has a very hard time with manners. He constantly bumps elbows, talks while other people are talking, and my personal favorite, chews with is mouth open. In this way, many people do not understand him, and they think that he has no manners whatsoever. However, my family has known my brother for a long time, and they accept him for his differences. Now that is something to be thankful for.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Autism's sister
So, lately I've been having trouble with my brother. He is autistic, and often has very, very different points of view. He is very interested in video games; which is part of the problem.
Anyway. A lot of scientists and doctors and neurologists research autism, the affects of autism, and social behavior of an autistic child. What I have yet to find is research on the sibling of an autistic child. So, I'm taking action and telling you about it.
From my experiences, many children who have autistic siblings tend to do things that pertain to perfection; not just "one-upping" their less developed brother or sister. In my life, I have found that I strive to be perfect to make it less hard on my parents, who sometimes must reprimand my brother for disobeying the rules. Sometimes I act as a "third parent," a sister who tries to help her brother, but who may look like a tattletale. I often feel extremely stressed and tired, due to trying too hard in everything I do. It's like I can't stop; I try to achieve perfection in most everything I do; whether it be performance creatively or intellectually. It brings an enormous amount of stress upon myself.
As of recently, my brother has become jealous and suspicious of my parents' love for him and I, constantly stating, "You love her more than me," or, "Why do you never get angry at her? It's not fair." But of course, a parent's love for their child is most always unconditional, but as a child with autism, my brother has trouble seeing that.
Anyway. A lot of scientists and doctors and neurologists research autism, the affects of autism, and social behavior of an autistic child. What I have yet to find is research on the sibling of an autistic child. So, I'm taking action and telling you about it.
From my experiences, many children who have autistic siblings tend to do things that pertain to perfection; not just "one-upping" their less developed brother or sister. In my life, I have found that I strive to be perfect to make it less hard on my parents, who sometimes must reprimand my brother for disobeying the rules. Sometimes I act as a "third parent," a sister who tries to help her brother, but who may look like a tattletale. I often feel extremely stressed and tired, due to trying too hard in everything I do. It's like I can't stop; I try to achieve perfection in most everything I do; whether it be performance creatively or intellectually. It brings an enormous amount of stress upon myself.
As of recently, my brother has become jealous and suspicious of my parents' love for him and I, constantly stating, "You love her more than me," or, "Why do you never get angry at her? It's not fair." But of course, a parent's love for their child is most always unconditional, but as a child with autism, my brother has trouble seeing that.
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