RE: The Odd One — WeAreAliveAndSocial

You would see the world differently if you were autistic. It is Nagel's "what is it like to be a bat" isn't it? Having an autistic child, gives insight into it, but not the experience of having it. I suspect there are only a handful of people in the world who know what it is like to have some of the issues I have, but I suspect that most people can never know. Yet, I can provide some insight, and this might help them deal in some other area, whether adjacent or altogether different. We only ever get to truly experience the life we are born into, everything else is through observation, secondhand experience, and assumption.

You have said recently "don't assume" and that you don't judge others, right? How do you know I would see the world differently if I had an autistic child? Because you do? Isn't this an assumption and a judgement? It might be accurate, but it isn't absolute. I might not be different at all. We all make assumptions and we all make judgements of others, on how they should act.

I have had two children, both on the autistic spectrum. Sofia passed away at the age of 10 due to leukaemia, and Matthew is now 8 years old and has the same clinical features as Sofia. My little Sofia felt the world through music, and Matthew felt the world through his drawings. They are two different visions of having contact with their own world and in the middle is me, an interpreter who has learned sign language to silently understand this sordid world.

No one can put themselves in the shoes of others, each person is a hermetic sphere, each person lives their own internal battles. It is enough to be a fighter in our own wars to be aware of the struggles of others. I do not judge you, it is your own vision of the world from your own experiences, just as you yourself express it… So live my friend, take advantage of as much time as possible with your family, go out, enjoy nature, listen, see, feel… Try to be happy. Blessings.