"I'm just here for the Yo Gabba Gabba!"

One of the interesting parts of having a blog is being able to see stats on it.  I try not to get hung up on them.  I don't really write this blog to get stats, or to count up how many followers I have, or so on.  Mostly, I write it because I have to---because when I am overwhelmed with the life of a mother of a child with autism, I have to write.  I've always reacted to life's tougher moments that way, which is why high school required about 10 diaries worth of writing for me, none of which I hope anyone ever reads, unless you are very interested in hearing about what boys talked to me in study hall or on the bus, with detailed analysis of what they were wearing and what they REALLY were saying between the lines and what a nasty person the new girl they are going out with is...you get the picture.  I write because I am compelled to write.

Lately, however, in looking at the stats for this blog, I see a huge amount of new people looking at it, and almost all of them are here because of a post I wrote about Yo Gabba Gabba, in which I included some pictures.  I guess some search engine directs people looking for Yo Gabba Gabba information to here.  I wonder if they are kind of disappointed by the extreme lack of solid info on DJ Lance Rock and the crew once they get here.  If you are one of those readers, I wanted to just say "hi" to you, and to say---stick around and read a little about autism, if you wish.

You might be saying now "No, sister, I have no interest in autism.  My kid is fine.  Maybe a little seriously into the whole gang of monsters on Yo Gabba, but no autistic!"  And I say---I know.  I have some non-autistic kids myself.  But chances are, whether you have a child with autism or not, if the current statistics don't lie, you are going to be encountering some kids with autism along the way.  They maybe be included in your child's class, or they might be in a special class at their school.  You might see them at the playground, or at the beach, or on a bus.  You might have one as a niece or nephew, or the child of a friend.  But unless you live in a world very unlike mine, you will intersect at some point with autism.  And you might want to learn more about it.  It's a pretty interesting world, if I might say so.  It's also a tough world.  Maybe that glazed-eyed woman in your office is dealing with an autistic child.  Maybe that kid at the grocery store throwing a tantrum is a poster child for the autistic spectrum.  Maybe the boy in the class your daughter is telling you about, the one that only wants to talk about bridges or Thomas the Tank Engine or flags of the nations, maybe they are autistic.  They are out there everyplace!

So, if you happened on this blog but you don't have a child with autism, welcome!  Before I had a child with autism, I read a lot about it, just because it was interesting to me.  The reality of autism is not quite as interesting as reading about it was, but I understand if you are just curious, if you just want to glimpse another way of thinking.  And if you learn a little about what the autistic world is like, all the better!