This past month, my wife and I were overseas on a cruise. One of our stops was in Dubrovnik, Croatia, and as we waited in line to board a cable car to return to the old city, we struck up a conversation with another couple also waiting in line.
We found out that they were on the same cruise and lived in Arizona. Almost the exact same age, he shared that despite being 70, he still worked in a new career after retiring as a practicing dentist. I then shared that I, too, had been fortunate enough to start a new career and that my work involved helping children, adults and their families dealing with intellectual/developmental disabilities and autism.
Both he and his wife then turned and said, “That is so needed, and we know because our youngest son is on the Autism Spectrum with Aspergers.”
What ensued from there was a conversation about how their 31-year-old had graduated with honors from a university and yet despite an excellent academic record, was having difficulty finding a job. Not because of his intellectual capabilities, but his social skills were lacking.
The father of this young man then went on to talk about the importance of working with businesses to teach them about working with the neurodiverse, that there were wonderful opportunities for organizations if they would give individuals like his son a chance to be involved in a work capacity.
Mom then began to tell her story about how she was so involved in their son’s schooling, and that they worked hard to make sure their son had a chance to excel in school. She talked about the various meetings she had over the years to make sure their son had the opportunities to learn as they thought he deserved.
Given the gentleman’s history as a dentist, I shared with him Little Friends’ plan to implement a Whole Person Care Center that will be a sensory-friendly environment that includes a number of services including a dental clinic. His response was that this is sorely needed and something that will help a lot of families. He even offered to connect me with some pediatric dentists that he knows who have specialized in helping individuals with special needs.
We ended up getting on the cable car and the conversation ended.
Here I am the next morning after our paths crossed thinking about their story about their son, and how similar it is to others I hear about back home. I’m struck by the fact that Autism is not local and the six degrees of separation knowing someone who has been touched by Autism is real. I’m also reminded how important the work we and others do to help individuals and families who deal with Autism every day.
To everyone who does the “heavy lifting,” whether it is a family member or employee of an organization like Little Friends and others, thank you for what you do. It is important, no matter where you are!
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