“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” (Albert Einstein)
Imagine a fish in a world built for tree-climbers. It has different needs, shows different behaviour and acts outside the tree-climbers’ norm. But is there anything wrong with the fish, is it less able? No. The fish simply needs different conditions to unfold its strengths and special skills. Every one of us is as different as our fingerprints. Every one of us is unique and within this uniqueness we find our individual treasures: our beauty, our special abilities and our power.
What I adore about my son is that he never judges, compares, talks bad about or blames anybody and he never criticizes or complains. How peaceful would our world be if more people followed those principles and everybody could just be the way they are? My son has taught me that there is much more around us than we can perceive with our eyes. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said: “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye.” and my son has inspired me to follow my heart and to rediscover my own uniqueness by slowly lifting the many layers of trying to fit into society, adapt to others’ expectations, be liked and perfect according to society’s norm.
My son has this huge infectious zest for life. However, he is very sensitive and I’m trying to support him in finding suitable ways to cope with this often harsh world, so that he can shine in who he really is. I never look at my son with the ASD label in mind. I see this beautiful, bright, gentle soul – absolutely perfect and faultless who spreads his love and happiness if provided with appropriate conditions. Still, the diagnosis did indeed help to achieve suitable conditions at school for him so that he was able to feel safe and comfortable and to flourish.
“Everybody shows autistic behaviour in certain circumstances”, told us a very helpful professional once. So what can triggers autistic behaviour? He told us that diet can have a big impact. We changed my son’s diet and went free of gluten, white sugar, additives, preservatives, food colourings, flavourings and we skipped most dairy products. My son has been much calmer ever since, tolerates noise much more, is able to be in the classroom rather than needing a quiet space outside, has no red itchy skin issues anymore and is much less prone to colds and coughs. When he was a toddler, we also discovered that meditation through Quantum-Angel-Healing® helps him to fall asleep much easier, sleep through the night and feel calmer. When he becomes overstimulated by too much time on the screen or too much going on around him, he tries to regulate himself through physical actions which help him feel his body such as humming or flapping his hands. Other ways are swinging, being on the trampoline, stamping his feet, doing grounding exercises, spending time in nature or having a deep pressure massage. These methods enable him to stay focussed and calm also during lessons. Another trigger of autistic behaviour can be heavy metals in the brain (see Anthony William). We discovered that after drinking the Medical Medium Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie for some months, my son made a big step towards his own independence. Previously I had to reassure him that I would bring him to school and pick him up as long as he needed me to, even if it meant until A-levels. He now goes to school and back home completely independently and is very creative in exploring new ways and detours.
“We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them,” Albert Einstein. It is time to make a shift in our society towards accepting, appreciating and celebrating everybody’s uniqueness and everybody’s gifts. In my view, only by uniting all of our diverse abilities, different views and ideas, we can solve the many global challenges we face today.
One thing is certain - we can all make a difference, so never underestimate the impact of your tolerance and loving care (also towards yourself). Through your own behaviour and actions, you might be able to help someone unfold their full potential.
6.2.2020 ©Dagmar Jaksch