Emily's adult future with autism

While all children need help with things like bum wipes and having their meals cooked for them, I do worry about Emily will interact with the world as she gets older. I assume she'll be able to dress, bathe, cook for herself, etc. but I'm not guaranteeing it.

I've just found an infographic from NAS (copied below) that outlines what adults with Autism currently need compared to what they receive in way of aid. It's not really all that optimistic reading at the moment.

Have a look for yourself below and if you feel compelled to get your MP on the case, you can add your name at the National Autism Society website.

Random words. Could it be communication?

Emily has just come to be and said this seemingly random list of words:

Baby.
Swim.
Painting.
Sitting.
Planting.
Drawing.
Smartboard.

I'm just wondering if there's any connection here to what she did at work today. As I'm repeating the words to her in an effort to communicate with her and to string the words together ("drawing on the smartboard?"), Emily's becoming more animated and smiling quite a bit.

It would be nice if ANY of this was tied into her school day as communicating with her about what she's experienced would be a lovely thing.

Terrible story from Ottawa

I know how tiring it can be with two small kids with special needs. Sue, also feels quite sluggish quite a bit (which may be due to her medication). This means our spare time is usually filled with doing stuff for the kids or praying for bed.

I read a story today on CBC.ca about a family in Ottawa that just got to the breaking point of exhaustion and had to give their Autistic child away to the government.

I can't even begin to imagine the horror I would feel if that was my ONLY option left with Emily.

The article also made me start to extrapolate into the future - something I don't like to do with Emily. At the moment, she's dependent on us for everything, which children should be. As she gets older and peers become more and more independent, I'm afraid she'll remain dependent on us. In some ways I don't want her to ever grow up, so this disparity will never manifest itself.

I know every child is different and there's no guarantee how Emily will end up, but I still can't help but worry and reading articles like this only amplifies my anxiety.