Life with Autism: A Sister’s Perspective
My oldest daughter (13) is guest posting for me today. She wants to raise awareness about autism and help others understand the special gifts and challenges that go along with having a younger sister on the spectrum. I’m so proud of my daughters and I’m glad to share this post today!
{She made the image, too.}
Life with Autism: A Sister’s Perspective
It is not always easy to have a sister with autism. Sometimes she tries to tell me something, but she can’t find the right words and I can’t understand her. It makes us both sad. Sometimes she has a meltdown because she’s frustrated or just overwhelmed. I don’t like to see her cry because I know she’s trying so hard.
But it is not always hard. Most of the time it is really fun because she’s my sister and I love her. Her creativity is not affected by autism — she always has some really good ideas for games and we have fun together. She loves to draw signs for a restaurant that serves pretend food, or she will say “Come on! Let’s go on an adventure!” and then she makes up stories about princesses and knights and dragons. She’s silly, but I go along with her anyway because it’s what big sisters do, right? Sometimes we laugh so hard she falls over and that’s the kind of time that autism doesn’t matter at all.
She is very talented at art. Her drawings are very interesting and beautiful. Sometimes she explains them to me and sometimes I have to guess, but they always tell a story.
I get mad sometimes because people have the wrong idea about autism. They don’t try to understand. They think she is just the “crazy girl with autism.” They think she’s too different, and not in a good way. They don’t know how special she is, the way she’s good at sharing, or her talent for art. They don’t know that her favorite color is pink or how much she likes to read or that she always lets our youngest sister go first in games. She’s smart and loving and happy. I don’t always understand her, but I always try. Because she’s my sister and I love her. Autism won’t ever change that.
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