Living with Autism

Last week, we watched a short portion of a documentary about a women named Sue Ruben who is 26 years old and who was diagnosed with autism at a very young age. Autism is a brain development disorder that results in impairments in social interaction and communication. The documentary was written by Sue, but she was not the narrator. Still, there was a positive attitude that could be heard in the way that the script was written. By making this documentary, Sue wanted to bring people into the world of autism and show them how she has grown into an adult and her struggles that she has experienced along the way.
Sue has always lived with the assistance of others and her neighbor, Jackie, is her psychologist. Between these individuals who help her with daily life and her family which was also shown throughout the movie, Sue has a lot of support. She even said that she "has never felt aloneness" which I thought was absolutely amazing. I think it would be so difficult to trapped in this world that no one else close to you can fully relate to, and having a difficult time being able to communicate with others would definitely make relationships difficult.
I loved the scene when the video showed her eating dinner with her family. Her father talked to her like she was completely normal. He did not speak slowly or censor big words; he spoke to her as if she was any other normal adult. If Sue's parents treated her like this throughout her life, if can be easily seen why she is so comfortable and positive with her disability. I can't imagine what it would be like for her parents to raise her in this state, and I respect them for their extreme patience and unconditional love that she seemed to show throughout the documentary. There was mention of self-abusive behavior that would occur with Sue when she was without supervision. This would be so scary for a parent; I would want to be with my child every minute of the day!
Watching this video reminded me of videos that I watched in CEP240 about children with both physical and learning disabilities. Just like those, this video opened my mind and my heart up to people who live with this disability, and it made me more aware of just how difficult simple tasks and daily life can be. I must admit that sometimes I do forget that people with these disabilities do exist out there right now and are living a completely different life that I could never even begin to imagine. Seeing videos like this helps me remember that this is a real problem, and encourages me to want to find out more information on this and other disabilities.