Life with a brother who has autism
We would like to remind everyone that April is Autism Awareness Month.
Our brother, Christopher, is 12 years old and has autism. Sometimes it is hard having a brother with autism because we can't always do everything together like other families do, such as go on vacation or even go to some things at our schools. Chris comes with us to Mass at our church every week and is at all of our family events. He also attends many of our sports events.
Our family is lucky because Chris is pretty easygoing and handles change, strangers and loud, crowded places pretty well. However, there are times when he does not want to go with us and that can be hard.
Chris does not talk at all but will occasionally laugh or make loud noises -- we ask him to be quiet and sometimes he listens. He does a little bit of sign language and also can show us pictures when he wants something. He knows each of us for sure.
He goes to a special school where he learns how to take care of himself, how to communicate and how to be safe in public. Sometimes he stays up very late at night or wakes us up really early in the morning with his loud noises. He also likes to lay in our beds when we are not in them. He always has a stick and pretzels or crackers with him so he leaves crumbs and twigs wherever he goes.
We used to have a handicapped license plate for Chris, but recently the Illinois government did not renew it because they do not think Chris is handicapped enough to have one. Because he is completely unaware of safety, Chris will run out into a parking lot or traffic to get to wherever we are going or he will run across the lot to get back to our car because he does not like the sounds in parking lots. Our parents or oldest brother, Pat, have to watch him very carefully.
Through our brother, we have all learned a lot about caring for and helping others and looking out for other people. We have even done some fundraisers to raise money to help people with autism, like the Autism Speaks Walk Now, which is in May.
We love our brother very much and cannot imagine our lives without him. We hope that you will take the time to learn something about autism this month.
Patrick, Eric, Eve and Colleen Shanahan
Glen Ellyn