The Snowflake Project

It's April 11 and we are expecting temperatures in the mid 70s. But when you live in Syracuse NY, you just never know when that snow might hit again. Indeed, last year on Mother's Day, we had a dusting. Although the snow might not fly again outside for a few months, there's some other snowflakes I would like to concentrate on.

In order to try and get Zach's needs met, I have taken on the best approximation I can muster of what the world looks like from Zach's perspective. In this process, I have focused on his symptoms of his autism and attempted to determine what may be the cause of these symptoms other than just letting this mystery blanket term "autism"be the answer. Through this lens I have built, I realize that I sometimes forget that this is Zach's version of autism, and no one else's. I am now cognizant enough to realize that I need to take my filter off and be open to all the possibilities when talking with someone whose child also has autism, as they, too, have their own version.

Much like myself, I have found that a lot of people tend to define autism by the one individual they may come into contact with that has it. From my realization that this just aint so, I have to chuckle at the very true tone of one of my favorite quotes : "You KNOW one person with autism, you know ONE person with autism."

I am attempting to create a series of profiles of children that describe how unique each child is. I have begun to ask parents to provide me with brief narratives describing their children in the form of a template. I am hoping this brings some awareness that each child is as unique as the snowflakes that fall from the sky, and should be approached as such. I am also hoping that this allows some parents the chance to express what they want others to know about their child than can't be done in a fleeting conversation or quick glance.

I will post these profiles - perhaps at rate of once a month depending on how many I receive.

If you would like to participate, please download and fill out the document located at this link and make sure to add in your city/state to your response.