Ryan and his dog Bear, they are both thinking pretty hard. :)

This post is also an earlier post from www.fifthandfinal.com -

 

Ryan has many great qualities, even with the neurological disorder of High Functioning Autism. He is very charming, and when he was a baby we used to say-"He has charisma with a capital C!" He has beautiful eyes, which have that "look of the eagles", a piecing look straight into your soul, that he inherited from the Cherokee side of my family. He has a movie star smile, and an infectious laugh. He is beautifully handsome, and every woman that has ever made a comment about Ryan has said, "He's going to be a heart breaker!" These qualities are just the superficial, outward appearances of Ryan. It is his inner spirit, his innateness, what makes him who he is, that differentiates him from the "norm", and illustrates the positives of his disorder.
What is truly great about Ryan is his constant hunger for more. He has huge amounts of mental endurance and concentration. He is tenaciously stubborn, and he always wants to win his side of an argument. These are all traits needed in the world to be successful.
He is driven, and even at the tender age of 4, he wants to be a man. He daydreams, and discusses what he wants to be when he grows up, every single day! His personal obsession (which is by definition an Autistic tendency), has always been, and continues to be, trucks! He talks about them, he collects them in every size, shape, type, and color.  He has books about them, and even collects cards (like baseball cards) at every truck stop, and is not shy about asking the cashier if they have any. He is consumed by trucks.  In our two years of traveling (the many highways of America) for up to 18 hours a day, Ryan has never tired of looking for, and at, every single truck on our side of the road, and the other side too. He believes wholeheartedly, and has planned, to become a truck driver and own a shipping company. He repeats everyday that he is going to own ten trucks, and he will be driving them! His obsession has educated me, and inspired me. I have never known much about semi-trucks, but after Ryan, I am well versed! I often remind myself, that his obsession could have been worse, I could have been bombarded with trivia about guns.
I like that he has a plan for himself when he's a man. I also like that he has given me the perfect tool to inspire him, when he tells me he doesn't need to go to school. I tell him, "You have to learn how to read road signs, or how will you drive your trucks?" He complains he doesn't know math and doesn't want to learn it. Perfect opportunity for me to pipe up and say-" How will you count all the money you are going to make by owning trucks?", or "How will you know how much diesel (yes he knows the difference between gas and diesel fuel) you have to order for your trucks everyday?" He always thinks about it and says, "Ok I'll go...sigh".  I don't worry about him being obsessed, it is an integral part of Ryan, and of his HF Autism. I like to think that he will fulfill his dreams when he becomes a man.
I am writing this piece, the day after Apple founder Steve Jobs has passed away. I am reminded of just how different his thought processes were, and how his drive for perfection, and his obsessions radically changed the entire world. It gives me hope for Ryan, that his differences from "normal" children will serve him well, and I am comforted by the long list of "unique" individuals who have also changed the world one invention at a time. High Functioning Autism can (and will) be a positive aspect of Ryan's innate uniqueness. It is what makes Ryan, Ryan.
I leave you parents of  "unique" children, with the positives of HF Autism. In  the hope it lightens your burden, so that  instead of sadness and tragedy, you become filled with happiness and hope for your child's future. The hope that they will be able to fulfill whatever their dreams and fantasies are, as they become men and women.
Until tomorrow...
Best Regards,
Beth