Today I was reminded of a time when my son was doing something off the wall… (I can’t specifically recall what that might have been – but sometimes trying to get him to put on his socks or brush his teeth has been like trying to teach Ricochet Rabbit how to crochet!) Anyway, H’s dad, Craig, caught me in the hall and with a straight face, and with exaggerated thoughtful earnestness he confessed: “You know… sometimes it almost seems like H has autism…”

We both completely cracked up. This was a new phase of acceptance for us, and also represented a change in our collective mental tone… (if one can have a mental tone??) Perhaps it was a sometimes-lighter heart, or a way to see the funny in what is often disheartening, but we were drawn together as a team that day.

The fact that we can still see and find humour lifts us, and whatever lifts us, in turn – lifts our child.

Hmmmmm…

If humour is the mortal enemy of stress – irony may be the new prozac!!

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30 Days of Autism is a project designed to fight stigma, promote civil rights, and increase understanding and acceptance for those who process and experience the world differently.

© Leah Kelley, Thirty Days of Autism, (2011)