Monday, April 15, 2013

Truth Be Told #18

Truth Be Told #18
All you need is a little patience



Patience.  That is what it takes when you have an autistic brother or sister.

This is my sister Natalie.  She has autism.  


I really don't think of Natalie as autistic though.  This is how I always knew her.
She is older than me and she's always been just my sister.


Natalie is almost fifteen and she likes things like most normal girls.
Right now she is into mascara.  She gets kind of obsessive with it as you can see.


 Even though she likes normal teenage things like music, make up, and nail polish, she also likes these things.
Wiggly things, baby rattles, and beanie babies.  We can never get rid of them or she would be upset.


This was her favorite toy Sponge Bob.  She played with him until his leg fell off and his eyes rubbed off.
We think he looks like he is having a seizure.  


Natalie loves to take a bath.  She gets cranky if she is not home to get one at 7:30 like she normally does.  She still plays with the same boat and tub toys that she did when she was a baby.  She lines them up on the tub the exact same way every time.


The weird thing is this behavior is seen in other autistic children too.  This is a picture of some random kid my mom found on the internet.  He likes little plastic tub toys too and lines them up just like Natalie does.


Natalie just doesn't love the tub.  She loves to swim too.  


Erik especially likes to swim.  We think he is part fish.  Erik is my cousin.  He has autism too.  He is the one on the right.  On the left is Jack. 


 Jack, Sam, and I all help take care of Erik and Natalie.  Sometimes that means helping them get their shoes on or zipping their coats or holding their hands when they cross the street.  


Natalie and Erik make life interesting in a good way.

Below is a link of a video I found online.  It is about Mattias and his older brother Christian who has autism.   Even though all autistic kids are different, this video shows that some things are the same.  Christian loves to swim and has a hard time at night.  Bad nights are the worst thing about having a sibling with autism.  There is lots of screaming and everyone in the house gets crabby because no one sleeps.  Natalie outgrew that stage recently and sleeps pretty well now if she gets her bath on time and stuff.  

Show your support by clicking on the short video link below.  Just click on the words and the link pops up.
Have a nice day and become aware.

Ellen Louise