My Journey to Better Body Control

I am a 13-year old boy with autism. I can’t talk to communicate and I need help with my daily hygiene. It is not easy for me to share my thoughts and feelings with others. I type with my index finger. It is slow and takes lots of effort but it allows me to express myself and learn my academics. I want to share my experiences and hope it can help you better understand your child with non speaking autism. It can be a very lonely journey to be non speaking. 

I was not able to communicate until I was nine years old. Before that I was thought to have intellectual disability because my stupid body just couldn’t do the right things. I had no way to share my thoughts or feelings. I was so lonely in my prison of silence. I was so sad, so frustrated, so helpless. It took lots of work to practice typing but it’s really important to do that because it allows me to share my thoughts and feelings. Otherwise I’ll be trapped inside my strong emotions, which could lead to behaviors such as hitting myself, hurting others, and destroying properties. Few people understand what it means to not have a voice. 

It is very important to work on muscle strength, which could lead to better control of my body. Better control of my body means better confidence and less stress, which helps me stay calm. Instead of being dysregulated, I can focus on doing meaningful things, which makes me feel even more confident. This is a positive loop instead of the vicious cycle that I got trapped in over and over again before I worked on my body’s strength. 

I also worked with the doctors to update my diets, supplements and changed my medications. In addition to the changes in my physical care, I work with my therapist and mentor to manage my stress, depression and anger issues. It’s not easy, but it can be done if you have the right support. I know many people suffer from mental health issues. But they never have the help they need to manage the difficult emotions. It is very difficult for them to cope and it could lead to mental health issues and “behaviors” that are unsafe or harmful for themselves and others. 

To summarize, it is essential to help your child to learn to communicate in any way that works for them. No matter how long or how hard it is for you and for them. Keep at it. Then work on strength training to make it easier to control their bodies. It’s also important to work with your doctors to fix diet and health issues as well as mental health issues.