When you think of the word trust, what comes to your mind? When I think of it, I think about someone that I can rely on, someone who will offer support, just to name a couple.

When I think of trust in relation to being an autism parent, it kind of changes things for me. It’s not necessarily harder, as much as it is different. It is things that can make you extremely vulnerable as it takes you out of your comfort zone.

When you are a parent of any child, there are always situations that may not be comfortable that you need to deal with; whether it is with one of your child’s friends or their parents, or teachers - you get what I mean.

When you are an autism parent, there is always something in the back of your mind that makes you wonder what people are thinking; what is my child going to do today? Perhaps at home or in a social situation? This feeling just gives you uneasiness in the pit of your stomach because of the unpredictability of autism. I have personally spent many days, in fact years, with that pit in my stomach always being present.

One situation (out of hundreds!) that comes to my mind is our son’s grade 8 graduation. I was wondering if our son would be able to sit and stand through all of the parts of the ceremony. Secondly, I wondered if there would be any outbursts because of the noise situation or someone else’s little brother crying. I also wondered if he would be able to walk across the stage to accept his diploma. Since our last name begins with “W” it was a very long wait!!

I can always sense or see fear and anxiety in the face of an autism parent. It’s almost like an unspoken language.

Trust is something an autism parent has a hard time with. It’s hard to trust the outside world like teachers, EA’s, school situations, extra-curricular activities, just to name a few. It’s something that has to be built up and you always try to have consistency with these types of things so that your child will be able to establish that “trust.”

There’s someone who you can always trust in and that is God. He will never let you down and He knows what you are going through at all times. Psalm 9:10 says,

“Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.”

It is a comfort to know that we can always trust God for everything and that He knows our heart, our situation and we can always count on Him!

Wishing you all Easter blessings as we approach this season.

Shelly Wedge
Exceptional Family Ministries Coordinator
Amberlea Church

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash