Sunday, September 11, 2011

the isolation of autism: letting your friends in.

Over the past three years, Scott and I have not made much effort to be social. I dare say we have done the opposite - doing our best to keep to ourselves. Part of it was because going out with Max was (and still is) a lot of work. It can also be hard to see Max through other people's eyes. Explaining why he behaves the way he does, the ins and outs of autism, is exhausting. So we turtled, only letting a select few into our world.

These past few months, we've started to turn our ship around. We are attempting to get out more (sometimes just with Cammie, so she can get a taste of birthday parties and the like). I have slowly been extending invitations to friends to come over to our house to visit. We're lucky that our friends have been so patient and understanding of our situation. I know that every one of them really wants to help, but is at a loss as to what they can do.

Our friends Jeff and Korrie came over for dinner yesterday with their son Jared. It was so wonderful getting to spend time with them again. Best of all, they made a real effort to interact with Max, and Max responded (especially to his honorary Uncle Jeff). Seeing how much fun they all had, it makes me wish we had let them in sooner. Friends are where it's at.

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