My journey with autism has been like the weather in Michigan: days of rain, ice, and snowstorm (my meltdowns from sensory overload and seasons of underemployment) but also sunny beautiful days (graduating with a Master of Divinity degree and a perfect 4.0 GPA and marrying a wonderful wife).
On March 20 at 3:13 am, my beautiful daughter, Makayla Marie, was born. Four days later when we arrived home from the hospital, the first copy of my book A Parent’s Guide to Autism: Practical Advice. Biblical Wisdom was waiting for me. Another beautiful day.
Due to autism and sensory issues, my life was not always filled with so many beautiful days but sometimes included autistic thunderstorms. As a young child, I had difficulty managing my emotions. When I became frustrated or angry, I would scream and bang my head full-force repeatedly against my bedroom wall. I also struggled with regulating my sense of fear and anxiety.
As a five-year-old, I went with my family for the first time to the movie theater. During one of the movie previews, a hand began to expand. After the hand covered the whole screen, it suddenly exploded. The unexpected sound of the explosion caused me to have a meltdown. I screamed, cried, and ran from the theater. My mom had to take me home immediately.
To help me reach my full potential, my mom quit her job as an art teacher and became a fulltime Ron teacher. She implemented pre-ABA art therapy to teach me social and communication skills.
She decided to help me refine my disabilities into beautiful gifts and talents. When you walk on the hot pavement to the beach and your bare foot steps on a sharp jagged piece of glass and you shout out in pain, that is what autism unrefined was like for me; jagged autistic quirks, unfiltered inappropriate comments, out of control stimming, and relentless head banging, screaming, and meltdowns.
Autism refined, on the other hand, is like walking on the warm sandy beach lapped by bright blue ocean waves and discovering a smooth piece of glass that has been refined by the power of the ocean. Such glass we put on display as art.
My autism was not always refined. Autism caused my speech to be delayed and my brother Chuck at seven years old bragged to his friends, “My brother sounds weird; he speaks Norwegian!” Through intense speech therapy I have overcome my speech impediment of mispronouncing words with the letters “TH” and “L” sounds.
My mom’s passion to empower me to succeed in life and her unconditional love was my motivation for writing A Parent’s Guide to Autism: Practical Advice. Biblical Wisdom. I desire to provide hope to parents with a child or children with autism and share the insight I learned from my mom. While writing the book I also interviewed over forty of the top experts in the autism field and also forty parents who have a child with autism.
I share the dark stormy days when I experienced horrible sensory overloads and teach parents methods to handle sensory issues. I also share the beautiful days getting married, having a baby, and setting the school record for the 3,200 meter relay.
Autism is not an illness to be cured but a different neurological way of processing information. You can’t cure autism but you can refine it. Autism refined is beautiful. With therapy and love all things are possible.
Ron Sandison works full time in the medical field and teaches theology at the Destiny School of Ministry. Ron and his wife Kristen reside in Rochester Hills, MI, with their baby daughter, Makayla Marie. Ron has memorized 22 complete books of the New Testament! You can contact Ron through his website or email him.
