AUTISM SOLUTIONS
The Best Ways to Support
Siblings of Autistic Children
By Julie HORNOK
Every day, my oldest son, Andrew, and
my daughter with autism, Lizzie, rode
their scooters down the block. They
would go just out of my sight to the
same crack in the sidewalk where Lizzie
would turn around; then they would
race back to me.
F
or months, I walked with them fearing they
would go farther, but Lizzie’s rigidity kicked
in, and she always turned around at the crack.
Over time, I began to see her repetition as a
luxury because I could sit on the steps in front
of my house, feeling confident they would be
out of my sight for only ten seconds.
Except for that day. That day, twenty seconds became
thirty...and thirty seconds became a minute...and a
minute became two, and then I started to panic!
My mind began racing. Where were they?!! Lizzie
would never break her routine. This must be Andrew’s
fault. I was furious as I jumped in the car and drove
around the neighborhood, methodically looking up
and down each street. My fury soon turned to fear as
I got closer to the busy streets with rush hour traffic.
There was no sign of them. I stopped back by my
house to see if they had returned home. They hadn’t.
This was all my fault. I had let them out of my sight!
I hopped back in the car to continue my search and
called my husband to tell him what was going on. I
checked the park. I checked the school. I kept driving
up and down the streets. Finally, I saw them slow-
ly scootering towards home. I let out a sigh of relief
that they were safe, then felt the anger return.
“Andrew!!!” I yelled. “Where were you? I have been
looking all over for you and Lizzie!!!”
“Mom, Lizzie got to the crack and kept on going. I
knew you would want me to stay with her to make
sure she was safe. She wouldn’t listen to me, so I
just followed her. When she came to a busy street, I
told her there were monsters down that street. That
would make her turn around and go a different way,”
Andrew replied.
As the tears streamed down my face, I hugged both
kids tight. I thanked Andrew for being a smart and
loving brother. That is when I realized I rarely gave
him the credit he deserved, so I began to practice
these six ways to support siblings:
Autism Parenting Magazine | Issue 71 |
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