Andrew and I went to an Autism conference today. It was an amazing opportunity. Dr. Temple Grandin was a speaker, and my god did she blow me away. I am very familiar with her and what she does. I have two of her books, I’ve seen her movie, I've watched her on YouTube. She is remarkable and so knowledgeable. I feel so lucky and blessed that I got to see her speak in person. I even put my Social anxiety to rest for a hot minute and stood in line to meet her (Andrew did have to give me a good push). I bought a children’s book for Nora at the conference. It’s called “Temple did it, and I can too!” I asked Dr. Grandin to sign it. I told her it was for my daughter and that she was almost three and was diagnosed last year. Temple asked her name, and after I told her, she signed the book to Nora and said “remember to give her choices.”
She talked a lot about choices. She spoke about how her mother pushed her, and was her biggest supporter. Dr. Grandin said no matter what, her mother gave her choices. Something else that stuck with me was when she said “give the instruction instead of saying no.”
Whenever I find myself getting frustrated, I will think about Dr. Grandin saying that. I will do better. I will be more patient. I will try harder. I go to work and find myself in a huge room filled with people who have so much potential...but they were put into an institution or not pushed or not given opportunities or experiences.
I will always push her. I will always do what I think is best for her. I will support her. I will always give her choices.
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