Like an oceanic wave, autism takes form in the relatively unexplored territory of the deep blue sea…
Shaped by unseen Forces of Nature, it slowly gathers momentum and begins to move with purpose towards the mainland. With an awesome inevitability, it rolls into the quiet shallows of our bay, heaving upwards against a cloudless sky.
Basking in the sun on the shoreline, we watch the wave come in, idly measuring its size and strength, deciding whether to swim or surf. It’s only as it towers above us, all bubbles and froth and sting, that we realise we may be out of our depth. As it crests above us, we have a moment of panic, considering all our options. And as it crashes down over our heads, we know in our hearts that we will have to dive into the unknowable churn of it, in order to come out the other side, and catch our breaths.
Finding ourselves in the pipeline of an unpredictable wave is an unsettling, sometimes scary, experience. We never would have imagined we could flounder so close to home. All of us had taken a step into the water feeling confident that we can swim. Not even a skilled surfer is ever quite ready for a dumper. It’s a think-on-your-feet moment and we almost always revert to basic instinct: what we’ve seen, what we’ve been told, and what we think we know about the ocean. But the truth is, that every wave requires an evolved and adaptable skillset to manage safely. And that skillset is built tool by tool – as we go.
If you fear that the sea you’re navigating is completely ungovernable, let me reassure you that it isn’t. Yes, the waves will continue to roll in, and the odd dumper will knock you off your feet, but you will learn to work with the swell instead of against it. You will begin to identify the high tides, the low tides, and the riptides. You will become a strong swimmer, a skilled surfer, and one day your heart will beat to the rhythm of the waves against your shore.
