{"id":278,"date":"2012-08-15T15:36:57","date_gmt":"2012-08-15T19:36:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/muslimahinprogress\/?p=278"},"modified":"2012-08-15T15:36:57","modified_gmt":"2012-08-15T19:36:57","slug":"autstic-kids-at-my-eid-party-sure-why-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/muslimahinprogress\/2012\/08\/autstic-kids-at-my-eid-party-sure-why-not.html","title":{"rendered":"Autstic Kids at my Eid Party? Sure, Why Not?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah.<\/p>\n

So Ramadan is almost at an end and I\u2019m planning my Eid party.\u00a0 We decided last year that in order to make the Muslim Holy Days \/ holidays special, we\u2019d have a big get-together with a bounce house, snacks, crafts, and lots of friends.\u00a0 Our first Eid party was small but fun with several families and the neighborhood kids.\u00a0 The bounce house was a major success.\u00a0 I just made my reservation for a large Dora \/ Diego bounce house for our party set for September 1.\u00a0 I created an event on Facebook and started inviting friends.\u00a0 I was a bit floored when I realized that at least three of my friends who are coming have autistic children.<\/p>\n

Now, I don\u2019t have a huge circle of real-life friends.\u00a0 I am a work-at-home, cook-at-home, recreate-at-home mom for whom a trip to Wal-Mart is a major event (and no, I don\u2019t usually take the kids with me!).\u00a0 So the people I know in real life are fairly small in number.\u00a0 For me to pick three random friends and have them all have children on the autism spectrum is just a real wake up call.\u00a0 Autism.\u00a0 It\u2019s for real.\u00a0 It\u2019s epidemic.\u00a0 It affects all of us, whether our own kids have it or not.\u00a0 I have an autistic nephew.\u00a0 My next-door neighbor\u2019s son is autistic.\u00a0 If my nephew were to come and my neighbor and her son as well, the autistic kids might well outnumber the non-spectrum kids.\u00a0 It certainly gives me pause.\u00a0 It makes me think that I better talk with my friends and see if there\u2019s anything I need to do, anything I can provide that their son or daughter might need.\u00a0 A quiet place?\u00a0 A cuddly toy?\u00a0 A favorite snack or flavor of juice?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m so honored to have great friends, and I\u2019m blessed if they feel comfortable bringing their kids, ALL<\/em> their kids, to my home.\u00a0 A lot of times families of kids with autism don\u2019t get to have fun.\u00a0 They either anticipate problems and don\u2019t go out, or they spend all their time on high alert to make sure their child doesn\u2019t act out, or stray, or melt down.\u00a0 Some have an apology always on their lips.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry, he\u2019s a bit tired, and we forgot to bring his favorite stuffed toy.\u201d\u00a0 All parents seem to have their head on a swivel, looking after their kids to make sure nothing is amiss and little Johnny isn\u2019t squishing bugs in a puddle, but autistic parents have to be even more alert.\u00a0 Autistic kids can be especially creative because they often don\u2019t have the filter that slows them down and makes them think before they act.\u00a0 They live in the moment and if it seems like a good idea to play Superman and jump off the back balcony, well, there you go.\u00a0 So I just want to tell my friends with children on the autism spectrum this:<\/p>\n

You are welcome.\u00a0 Your kids are welcome.\u00a0 Your specially marked bag of toys and snacks that no one else gets to touch are welcome.\u00a0 If your son needs a quiet room in my house to retreat to for a while, you are welcome.\u00a0 If your daughter doesn\u2019t want to come out of the bounce house for four hours, you are welcome.\u00a0 If your kid has a meltdown in the middle of the driveway because someone else took the last Berry Berry Koolaid, you are welcome.\u00a0 If you need me to keep everyone busy with crafts, or have my kids show them where the frogs live behind the house so you can go pray without being interrupted, you are welcome.\u00a0 You are my friend and that includes your spouse if you have one (hubby is great at entertaining the guys with stories) and your kids.\u00a0 My yard will survive spilled drinks and gravel tossed on the sidewalk.\u00a0 My living room will survive cat litter spilled on stairs and chocolatey handprints on the sofa.\u00a0\u00a0 My bathroom will survive water on the floor and toilet paper draped over the mirror.\u00a0 Seriously, my kids have done all that before, so we can handle your kids for a few hours and inshaAllah, God willing, you can let down your guard just a little bit and maybe even sit down and eat some cookies.<\/p>\n

So come to my party if you are in the area, and know that I invited you because I want you there, you and your loved ones, to share the joy of Eid after a long month of fasting in Ramadan, and perhaps a bit of cooler weather, and not having to cook because the kids will fill up on junk food just this once, and I don\u2019t remember there being a check box on the application for being a friend that says \u201cparents with special needs kids need not apply\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah. So Ramadan is almost at an end and I\u2019m planning my Eid party.\u00a0 We decided last year that in order to make the Muslim Holy Days \/ holidays special, we\u2019d have a big get-together with a bounce house, snacks, crafts, and lots of friends.\u00a0 Our first Eid party was small but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[57,56,14,58,52],"class_list":["post-278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-islam-2","tag-aspergers","tag-autism","tag-eid","tag-party","tag-ramadan"],"yoast_head":"\nAutstic Kids at my Eid Party? Sure, Why Not?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah. 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