Hi Sister, this post has got me worried. My son was baptised, but although I regularly attend mass, (his father doesn't as he is not Catholic and not interested), I don't take my son very often. He is autistic and has limited understanding and no verbal communication as such. He won't sit still for long and shouts out when he feels the urge and tries to run off. Should I still be taking him and explaining things anyway, in the hope that he may understand something. The priest is a little impatient with anyone out of the ordinary, which has put me off a bit.
You have nothing to worry about. You're doing the best that you can. And hooray for you to get yourself to Mass!
It's just like when you are on an airplane and the stewardess tells you that, should that oxygen thingy drop down, you should put your own on before helping any one else, including your own child. Why would she say that? Because if you pass out you won't be able to help your own child.
And this is EXACTLY like that. You are keeping your oxygen mask on. Taking your son once in a while is as much as you can do.
The people in yesterday's post not only did not put on their oxygen masks, they refuse to believe there is any problem with the plane. You can't see oxygen (and those bags don't inflate). Keep watching your movie.
They were planning on lying to the priest so they could get what they wanted, a ceremony in which they have no belief, to please an old lady and to quell the fear brought on by a dream. What a sad mess.
I think for you, though, it might help you a lot to go have a chat with the priest. Many people just have no clue when it comes to autism or the autism spectrum. So many people believe that if you just disciplined your child he would behave himself. That if he won't eat something because of the texture or color, you should just not feed him anything else and "he'll eat if he gets hungry enough". Not an autistic child. No he won't.
Think about what you need the priest to know. Can you explain your son's behaviors in a few sentences? Don't put him on the defensive. Tell him your concerns about wishing to bring your son to church but fearing that he will become too disruptive. Don't mention the impatience on the priest's part. Let him comfort you. I believe he will do that.
I can understand that you feel put off. You certainly have enough on your plate. But let's give the priest the benefit of the doubt about his level of understanding. If I were a gambling woman I'd lay a large bet that the priest doesn't understand autism or doesn't realize your son is autistic.
By the way, we've chosen St. Joseph Cupertino as the patron saint for autism.
