9 April 2017

Autism Awareness - #YourJourneyMyBlog - Riko's Journey




The month of April is best known for the explosion of Easter Bunnies, obscene amounts of chocolate as gifts for children and a magnificent feast to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. To many people April is Easter, They plan, they organise, many months in advance sometimes, Children have the time of their lives, gorging on chocolate, receiving gifts from extended family members, but to me, April is Autism Awareness month.

So to celebrate this, I am going to dedicate my blog for a whole month to families who wish to share their Autism Journey with you. Some of these people have autism themselves, some are autistic parents to autistic children. We have teachers with autistic students and even Bloggers who want share their journey with me, which I am very grateful for.

This is Riko, from Riko’s PDA Page, and this was one of the very first blog pages about autism I ever came across. When researching some of her son’s behaviours she came across autism and realised that a lot of thing also related to her own behaviours. Here is a summary of Riko’s Journey.


Riko's Journey

I first found out about Autism when googling help for my eldest son, I was struggling to manage him and turned to the internet for anything that could explain why his behaviour was so different from that of other kids. I came across Autism, having no previous understanding of what it was, and quickly realised that what I was reading not only described my son, but also myself. It wasn't difficult to get a diagnosis for myself and although it took nearly two years to get a diagnosis for my son, his wasn't difficult to get either. Despite Autism explaining most of the why's of our behaviour, there was still something missing. I continued to research, inhaling information on Autism and any other condition I could find, wondering what the missing piece was. Then one day I happened to watch 'Born Naughty' and the final puzzle piece was revealed, PDA (pathological demand avoidance). More internet research and lightbulb moments followed. My journey from ignorance to understanding might seem like a quick one, but it isn't over yet, everyday I'm still learning and understanding. PDA is the right fit for us and has made life so much easier. I no longer blame myself for being unable to do certain things, now I know why I struggle and have worked out ways around the issues. I've made many new friends and found my clan. I've become known in the advocating world, started a blog and facebook page and am making waves in the world to help others understand this little known version of Autism. I may have finally found the place I belong, but my journey has only just begun. 


Thank you so much for sharing with us, I'm sure that many people will relate to your journey, and I'm glad that by finding the right fit your lives are so much easier now.


To follow Riko's Journey you can find them on FB:


To read more about Riko's Journey you can follow their blog page here: 
 

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