Every time I read something about autism ,about a professional who has worked with autistic children and adults for years and years. I can not but help conclude that they know very little about what it is they have been studying for all those years. I read what they have to say with keen interest , in the hope that I will glean some  piece of information that will give me a better insight into what is happening in my son's mind. But find myself only a little bit wiser .Although there are exceptions .

In my experience , the people who have the deepest understanding  of autism and what is going on in the autistic mind are the people who spend real time with them . Helping with  eating or dressing or bathing and so on . Just the basic day to day things that need to be done , day to day. They might not have degrees and they might not be able to articulate as well as a Dr or Professor but their understanding of the children and adults in their care is far in advance (I feel ) of the so called professionals .

Data gathered over many years tells only a small part of the story , I am sure . Never have I heard a professional talk about the emotional side of things and to me the emotions are everything , the emotions are what drives the behaviour. Off course it is understood that a calm environment creates a better atmosphere for any one with autism, there is evidence that the autistic brain is wired differently ,with all the research that has been done it is possible to predict the behaviour of an autistic child or adult .There are tried and tested methods of helping autistic people have a better cognitive grasp on the world and the people in it. But no one can tell us where is comes from  or why it is here,( not definitively anyway )

My only real qualification is my experience. And with that I can deduce only that our world of today is full of stimuli to the point of over saturation and perhaps unbeknownst to us a growing child in the womb of it's mother is picking up all of what is going on outside it's safe temporary home. Only for this to continue after birth (relentlessly). As to why it manifests itself after 18 months of the child's life, must have something to do with just growing . But there is no PHD after my name.

My son now is very aware of his autism, he started to ask me about it a couple of months before his 12th birthday, many adults with high functioning autism say they would not have it any other way . But not so my son. On more than one occasion he has either written or said he would like to find the cure for autism . If any one does, there is no reason why it should not be him . He is after all in the eye of the storm .

All through his young life I have looked forward to the day when I can ask him about what it is that goes on in his mind , why he chooses to do the things he does why he can't eat certain foods ,why he does not seem to have any sense of urgency about one thing (getting dressed for school) but gets extremely excited about another ,( bringing the correct P.E. kit to school ).

' Dad ! Dad ! you forgot my P. E. clothes , you MUST get them and bring them to the school'
'As you wish my son '

Although he is voicing some of his feelings and concerns about his autism, to date he has not been able or perhaps willing to explain to me what is going through his mind .He does however lament the fact he is not the best at anything among his peers. I feel he is being a little hard on himself , but this feeling of his does give me an indication that it is not always easy being him.

There is no doubt in my mind that he has the keenest of intellect and he can think himself out of difficult situations, brought on by his autism . A simple example would be making eye contact with new people he meets , it is obvious to me when I watch him in these situations , that he is working very hard to overcome this difficulty. Another good example is when he feels a panic coming on, in a situation where his immediate future is uncertain . He can talk himself to a calm place, and this is not something that has happened over night he did not wake up one morning with this amazing ability, this is something he has learnt. In my opinion that indicates a very keen mind indeed.