My Twin Boys With Severe Autism

It's 6am and I have the fan on; I always do when I sleep.  For the third time I shut it off because I thought I heard screaming as I often hear it these days all the time, everywhere.  

This time I definitely heard a scream and ran to Alex's room but he had already gotten about 10 blows to the head. I ran around looking for his helmet and he put it on, thank God.  His eyes were wild and looked into mine with pain and I said, "point to what's wrong bud." He pointed to his head so I ran and got tylenol.

 I'm never sure if this is accurate because it could be his belly or his teeth or a bad dream.  I looked at my watch and saw we hit the 20 minute mark for a PRN which I gave him to calm down.  

After shaking it off, I went into the bathroom to help Tommy brush his teeth.  First, I put a big smile on and counted to ten so Tommy didn't get upset. If I'm upset, he will start vocalizing and although he doesnt have many words, he looks at my eyes for signs of distress.

Sometimes, severe autism looks like this

Other times, when things are going well.  Like this:

I wake each day with a knot in my stomach hoping for a good day but ready to deal with what the day brings because not all autism comes with language. 

I see other parents of adults with autism  jump at loud noises and give a nod. A nod to years of living knowing that each moment can explode or be calm and that the isolation that engulfs us can be deafening.

 People mean well, but most walk away. I am a single mom with twin 25 year olds with profound autism who would draw her last breath repeating each worst day until acceptance becomes a thing of reality, of action.

Our adults and kids deserve acceptance. They will need life long care for everything they do for the rest of their lives. A safe place to live with caring professional staff and safety measures in place so that they can live their version of the inalienable right to the pursuit of happiness in this great nation because all men are created equal....