My Time At The Option Institute

Two years ago I had one of the most unbelievably wonderful experiences of my life.
I can even go as far as to say that it changed my life for the better and introduced me to a wonderful group of people who not a day goes by when I don't think of them.
A lot of wonderful people banded together to make this possible for me and I will always be eternally grateful to them.
I went to The Option Institute in Massachusetts.
It was a week long course teaching people how to enhance the lives of people with Autism.
It was a week long course in discovering myself.
I learnt many things that week.
One of the greatest things that I learnt and I think this helped to change my way of thinking and how I dealt with my children with Autism was that I wasn't alone.
Of course, I knew that there were other families out there with children who had Autism but, it wasn't the same.
Now I knew 69 other families who were going through the same things I was.
Who were feeling the same things I was.
The helplessness, the despair and the hope.
Each night as I pray for each of these families I know that there are at least 69 other families praying for us.
At least 69 other families who are sharing in our triumphs and crying over our disappointments.
The week changed me immeasurably and I came back from it renewed.
There were others out there going through everything I was.
It made me look at my children differently.
I was able to let a lot of stuff go and move on.
I was no longer looking for cause or blame. I was looking for a solution.
Little things that would bother me in the past like their stimming and flapping. All had reason for them and therefore for me.
The lessons that they taught us were nothing compared to the new way that they helped me to feel.
They built me up.
They made me feel worthwhile again.
As a result, I think my children were able to progress better.
Little things that would have upset me in the past, I was able to laugh about.
I have had 9 fairly large, children caused floods and now I just go get the mop and get on with cleanup.
oh well.
My curtains don't match.
I should have known better than to leave a thread hanging and I am getting pretty handy with a needle and a thread.
Nathan ripping up paper or tearing open a mattress to get at fill and throwing it over the bannister into the stairwell.
I clean it up once a week. It is just something that he needs to do to regulate himself.
If visitors don't like it's appearance, I can show them where the garbage bags are and they can pick it up. I am not going to get upset about it anymore.
He doesn't do it all the time, only when he needs to calm himself and it only shows up when he is improving in some other area so it is actually a good sign.
The Option Institute is full of people who care about what they are doing.
They are a wealth of information and are not hesitant to share it.
They can be contacted at www.optioninstitute.org
I will be eternally grateful to them.