A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Zehrs has, I am sure, seen many a strange things.  The wonderful people who work in the photo studio have lots of experience.  Even with all the people they see, they seem to remember us as we make our yearly trek in search of a viable family picture.  One of those pictures with a rosy glow emanating from the paper.  You know the stuff memories are made of.   The kind you send to Grandma and Grandpa so they can show off all the cute grandchildren.  Um.... I think I need to readjust my picture expectations.

You see, no matter how co-ordinated we are, no matter how perfectly groomed, autism still seems to rip through the picture.  Autism does not like to look at the camera or that annoying quacking duck.  Autism has seen a very interesting spot on the wall beside it. Forget the status quo.  Smiling is for those less interested in the minutia around them. It is for those who don't find sitting down in one place a concerted effort.  It is clearly for those with a group mentality.

 I don't know why I have come to terms with the presence of autism in every other aspect of my daily life, but find it so shocking when it is present in the family pictures.  I guess it only reaffirms the death of a dream... its kind of like seeing a cousin that you haven't seen in a year and they have grown so much you don't recognize them.  Not taking a family picture for a year, seeing the changes in everyone, except the child with autism, it makes the reality slap.  It is probably a little vanity too.  I want people to look at my children and say “O my gosh, look how cute they are”.  There is no denying, Scarlet is a cutie, but she always has that pose that makes people think, there is something not quite right there.  In fact that is the truth.  A picture is worth a thousand words, I am just not liking the story today.    Paul is always very quiet after family pictures.  I use to wonder what was wrong.  Now, I know, he doesn't like the story either.   

On a more positive note, it seems that Scarlet is on her way to getting a voice output device.  Our meeting with speech therapist, liason from the Children's Treatment Network and our therapists from S.T.E.P.S.  Has led us to the begining of the journey toward implementing said device.  In fact, another family that S.T.E.P.S. works with has a beginning device that they might be able to lend us.  I am looking forward to this new step in her journey.