My Son/Daughter, Is Not My Report Card of Self Worth
My son/daughter, is not my Report Card for self worth as a human being. I get into trouble when I forget that. If my daughter has a bad day at school, it does not mean that my value as a person and parent is likewise not OK. With Autism, there are ups and downs a lot . It is best if I don't get on that roller-coaster and ride it like it determines how well I am doing as a parent. The phone rings, and my heart drops. "Oh no! Not again!" And my day ends up being a tortured dance of me kicking myself and thinking that I am responsible for "making" my daughter behave normally. What happens to my daughter today, has nothing to do with my value as a human being. I am not responsible for her autism. I did not cause it, for today I cannot cure it, and I no longer see it as my job description to control it.