Autism can be very difficult sometimes. Believe me; I have high functioning autism, so I know. At the same time, I know of many things that have helped make the experience a little easier. One of them was my cat, Tippy. One night in August just two months before I was first diagnosed with autism, my aunt brought a kitten to our home. A scrawny black and white tornado of energy. His one distinctive feature was that his tail was black but the tip was white. So we named him Tippy.
This cat really bonded with me. Even now, he is lying behind me, on the sofa, keeping watch. When I got home today he trotted up to me, his eyes seeming to smile with unreserved joy, and he meowed at me. He has slept in my room for the past twelve years. When I get a place of my own sometime in the next year, my plan is to take Tippy with me. He is twelve right now and in seemingly good health. Hopefully he still has a number of good years left in him.
A study was recently conducted that explained how introducing a pet into the family can improve the social skills of children with autism. Quoting my source: "Researchers found that children with autism who got a pet after age 5 showed improvement in their abilities to share with others and to offer comfort, whereas those who had a pet since they were born, and those who never had a pet, showed no such improvement."
This is a topic that I have touched on before on previous posts on The Voice from the Spectrum, and I would like to take this opportunity to share another great link. To read more, click here: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/08/02/new-pets-may-help-autistic-kids-socially/
This cat really bonded with me. Even now, he is lying behind me, on the sofa, keeping watch. When I got home today he trotted up to me, his eyes seeming to smile with unreserved joy, and he meowed at me. He has slept in my room for the past twelve years. When I get a place of my own sometime in the next year, my plan is to take Tippy with me. He is twelve right now and in seemingly good health. Hopefully he still has a number of good years left in him.
A study was recently conducted that explained how introducing a pet into the family can improve the social skills of children with autism. Quoting my source: "Researchers found that children with autism who got a pet after age 5 showed improvement in their abilities to share with others and to offer comfort, whereas those who had a pet since they were born, and those who never had a pet, showed no such improvement."
This is a topic that I have touched on before on previous posts on The Voice from the Spectrum, and I would like to take this opportunity to share another great link. To read more, click here: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/08/02/new-pets-may-help-autistic-kids-socially/
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