Life is Beautiful

I started this blog as a way to vent about all the highs and lows of having children with Asperger Syndrome and ADHD. There are days that my heart feels like it will absolutely explode with pride and joy over my children. Then there are days that I just want to scream, pull my hair out, and lock myself in a closet with a bottle of tequila (which is funny because I actually don't drink). That might seem a bit extreme, but a person can only handle so many meltdowns before reaching a breaking point. In many ways, we are so fortunate and blessed. My husband is military, so we have medical insurance. My degrees are in education and psychology, so I have a better than average understanding of my children's challenges and treatment plans than many parents. My children are high functioning and my boys each have an IQ well above average (my daughter has never been tested, but she is one smart little cookie). We have great teachers and doctors who work with us and our children to find the right treatments, medications, and behavior modification to fit each child. So what do I have to gripe about? How is my life so difficult? Those questions are the reason I really don't feel connected to other parents. My boys are not "normal" enough to fit in with their classmates, but they are not severe enough to fit in with other children with ASD. Many of our family members and friends do not understand the challenges we face with our children. I have been called a bad mother because we give our boys medication to help control their ADHD. I have been told that my children are spoiled and we just need to use a firmer hand with them. I have even been told that I let my children watch TV and play video games because I do not want to deal with them (which is funny because they are only allowed 30 minutes of video games and they only watch TV with us). Everyone seems to have an opinion, but none of them bother learning what Asperger's is or what challenges our boys face. I get so tired of the uneducated opinions, the unsolicited "advice" from people in stores or restaurants, and even the comments about how lucky we are that our son is so high functioning. Truth is, my children are unique, intelligent, compassionate, wonderful people. I get to see how wonderful they really are and I don't give a s#*! what anyone else thinks.