Wait, What?

~ Clearly Muddled ~ 

I got a letter from the Social Security Administration letting me know that they’ve decided that Josh no longer has a disability.

I found the address of the person that made that decision…Josh will be on their doorstep early tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, he doesn’t function very well then, so they’ll need to prompt and redirect at least a half a dozen times before they’ve even had that first sip of whisky laden coffee. They’re also not going to make it to the office on time, because no matter how pressed, Josh doesn’t have the hang of hurrying up. When they give him breakfast (mandatory, and must happen by 9:00am, if that doesn’t happen, a meltdown will) his drinking glass must be placed on the left side of his plate. Never the right side.  He will need to be reminded to take his medicine, brush his teeth, shower, and then reminded again a couple more times. By no means can plans change.  If plans are changed, he must be given advanced notice…3 days notice works best. During a conversation, when he says okay, it doesn’t mean he agrees, it usually means that he heard something said…and it may or may not be recalled.  He is brilliant, so if the subject of rocket science comes up, believe what he says – he’s always right. He has a heart of gold, so be kind, and patient. Everything must be the right temperature, the right color, the right volume, the right words, and must feel just right…so, buckle up buttercup!

I jest. No I don’t, he’ll be there.

In everyday life, since the time of his autism diagnosis at age 7, I’ve stayed away from the word “disability” as much as possible. But because we have to communicate with the government, and that’s the word they focus on, I’ve obliged. In every other area of his life I’ve encouraged him to focus on the possibility and opportunity to thrive.

Josh has been diagnosed with Autism over and over again. He’s participated in hour, and sometimes multiple day-long psychological evaluations. He has been through counseling, life skill training, therapy, modeling, transferring of skills, ABA, Mobile therapy, had a TSS for years, social skills training, anger management classes (oh, that was me, sorry), and he’s made huge progress.

The Social Security Administration is twisting the very labels that they’ve insisted on using, in an effort to eliminate benefit eligibility to millions of people with “disabilities”.  It’s deliberate, it’s not ethical, and they know it.

The thing is though, they do not get to decide who Josh is. I don’t get to decide who Josh is. It’s time for Josh to discover who he is. Maybe for the first time in his life.

Let me grab my newly minted ‘you can do it Josh’ pom-poms. Hold my beer.

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Listen to the Podcast: Josh Has Autism #082: SSA Madness | http://sonyaking.com/josh-has-autism-082-ssa-madness