My Autism Insights

Adonya Wong

As promised, today is the big day!  Adonya Wong, author of In My Mind and also of the blog Healing…Through the Eyes of Autism , joins us to share some experiences with her son Nicholas, her feelings on inspiration, and her thoughts about her book, which sheds light on autism and the way Nicholas may see the world.

Adonya’s had a diverse professional background, and started writing in her youth.  In My Mind is her first publication, just released earlier this month.  Her intention is to raise autism awareness and tolerance for those with differences.  She currently home-schools Nicholas in Oklahoma, and is donating a portion of her book’s proceeds to the Autism Center of Tulsa.

Without further ado…

Describe a “typical” day with Nicholas?

I am thankful that we do not have typical days.  However, we do have some days where it seems like I’m in a forever tailspin of déjà vu. 

There isn’t a whole lot of  “structure” in our lives.  I know… it seems as if everywhere you read, folks are telling you that our children “crave structure and routine”.

During my early homeschooling days, I learned that it was the structure and routine that frustrated Nicholas most.  Since incorporating more of an unschooling approach, life has been very relaxed.

For the most part, we spend our days traveling the information super highway or engaging in a favorite board game or reading stories or drawing or whatever HRH (aka His Royal Hiney) feels like doing.

Life is good!

Have you attempted any biomedical intervention?  If so, which one(s) and what was the outcome?

When Nicholas was in kindergarten, I put him on the GFCF diet; he was on it for 3 months.  I didn’t notice a single change in anything he did or said.  His baby tooth was also tested for toxins by the Autism/Asperger’s Research Center at Arizona State University, and the results were very interested.  He wasn’t overloaded in any way, so I didn’t bother trying anything else after I reviewed the results.

We’re pretty organic and holistic now, and we no longer eat junky foods or drink junky stuff.  I also no longer clean my house or launder our clothes with toxic chemicals; I use vinegar & water with a touch of essential oils to clean my house and natural washing soda & Borax to launder our clothes).

I’m doing my best at keeping his environment as toxic-free as I can.

Your husband is Nicholas’s stepfather, was the transition difficult for Nicholas?  How has their relationship grown over time?

Nicholas is very intuitive which makes him a pretty good judge of character.  If he doesn’t like the vibes you’re emitting, he won’t have anything to do with you, or he’ll shy away from you.

During our courtship, I told my husband that if Nicholas didn’t take to him, there wasn’t going to be a “he just has to get to know me” phase.  Fortunately for him, Nicholas greeted him with a hug.  {wink}

Their relationship has since grown into one of great strength and love.  If you didn’t know them, you would naturally “assume” they were biological father and son.

Are you easily inspired to write?  If not, what do you do to keep the writing fires burning?

Not really.  My past writings have come from great love for the recipient.  What I mean is I don’t write unless I have deep feelings for my muse which is why it should come as no great surprise that I wrote In My Mind.

Nicholas is such a joy; he inspires me every day.

Is In My Mind the beginning of a series or theme?  If not, do you foresee chapter books in your writing future?

I see In My Mind as the pilot for other stories written about autism; there’s definitely a theme.  I’m not sure at this time if I’ll transition to chapter books.  My imagination is vivid and child-like, and me likey pictures too much.  {giggling}  Picture books are such a joy.  Given the subject matter of my work, I’m going to always want to educate children about autism while these children are still very young (K-4).  I want to teach them about “differences” and about the importance of patience, compassion, and tolerance before they’re taught how to judge others.

The tour doesn’t end here!  Please follow Adonya to her next stop: the Rainbow Mum Forum.  Don’t miss out!

Thanks for joining us, and thanks so much to Adonya for sharing this wonderful book with the world!

I will veer slightly off topic for a moment to say that first I am thankful that President Obama’s inauguration went well!  I’m also thankful that Gus’s school made it possible for the kids to see it.  Gus was excited about it, but his only comment when he got home was that the speech was too long.  That’s valid coming from a seven year old.  My five year old was a bit…disgruntled about having to watch “the bad news” at first, but then became more engaged after I explained, “We have to watch this because it will never, ever happen again. No matter how many African-American presidents we have after President Obama, we’ll never be able to see the first again.”  She seemed to get it!It was an awesome day.

I am thankful that Gus’s behavioral evaluation (evaluation done by a behavioral specialist)  went relatively well, according to his teacher.  He had a good day on Tuesday and didn’t have his rough day until yesterday.  She’ll be back, but at least she’s seen that he can have a good day, and often does.

I am thankful that my buddy Adonya Wong, author of In My Mind, will be here in just a couple of days, stopping for her Virtual Book Tour!  She’ll be discussing a typical day with her son, Nicholas, biomedical interventions she tried and their effectiveness for Nicholas, and other very interesting topics!  Save the date and stop by on Saturday January 24th and see what she has to say about life Through the Eyes of Autism!

And as always, please share your thankfulness below.