I have to give a big shout out to Jonny and all the other autism siblings out there.

When I first tried to explain Jonah’s autism to Jonny (who was 8 at the time). I was worried about how he would respond. I worried that he would become concerned for his brother and want to do everything to help ‘fix’ him.

So when I told him he was ‘autistic,’ Jonny’s response was…

“okay.”

I tried to tell him about Julia the autistic muppet. I tried to explain i through different kid-friendly videos.

None of it kept his interest. Did he not care?

No.

Was it because he didn’t understand?

No.

It’s because Jonah is his brother. And he ALREADY knows his brother. Julia from Sesame Street isn’t Jonah. None of the characters in the video clip are Jonah. I’m sitting there trying to explain a profound truth about autism to my 8-year-old and he seems to have already learned it.

What has taken me the better part of a year to accept, was hardly a ‘blip’ on Jonny’s radar.

He doesn’t need the help of a “label” to understand his little brother. Jonny’s little brother isn’t “autism”… Jonny’s little brother is JONAH.

Thanks to Autism – Doesn’t Come With Instructions for sharing!

Original Facebook Post.