Making the Invisible...Visible.

How many times have you heard something about another family and reacted with "I had no idea that was going on?" Divorces, conflicts, deaths, challenges...there is so much about a family dynamic that can be invisible to others. Even if you think you are close with the family, you can still have something come up which made you give the "I had no idea that was going on" reaction. I think this is something that families in the autism community face all the time. We all go about our daily lives, what is expected from us in our communities, our workplace...all without people really knowing what our lives are like with our families.We seem invisible to what we really do every evening....every night....every morning....every waking moment outside our homes.

On Sunday, Tim and I saw the play Autistic License. It was written by the very talented Stacey Dinner-Levin about her life with her son Geordy. The lights in the theater went completely dark to signal the beginning of the show. The intro music began and then stopped. Suddenly you hear BURSTS of laughter from the pitch black stage. Then you hear "It's 2:00 in the morning!! GO TO SLEEP!!!" You know the cheesy saying from Jeremy Maguire "You had me at hello"? Well, Autistic License had Tim and I at "GO TO SLEEP!!!"

The play made me laugh as well as made me cry. At the intermission, Tim was just blown away at how close their story was to ours. Tim said to me, "Carlee, it's just like Parker is on stage and this story is about him. It's his eccentric little traits, random phrases, his body language...everything. Carlee, it's our story." I was still teary from where the play ended for the intermission anyways and when he said that, I just teared more, laughed and said "By the way others in the audience are wiping tears away from their faces, I think it's all of our stories Tim."

Then as if the entire play couldn't get any better, it did by the discussion that was held after the performance with the cast. Tim (being the very shy and timid person he is) spoke up and spoke to a woman in the audience who asked the question on when to show the play to parents who were just told of their child's autism. I saw his hand go up and I was just floored. He opened up and said how we learned of Parker's autism two years ago and how he thought every parent should see this play.

So many people spoke up and said how it was like it was their story too and how wonderful it was to see it outside of their family dynamic. While people were speaking up, they were crying talking about their lives with autism and how touched they were seeing it outside of themselves. I have never been to a place with complete strangers and have never felt so comfortable. I just sat back listening to people talk to the cast thinking how invisible our challenges are to others but here...with complete strangers...with this play....everything was visible. We all knew each others feelings because most of us have experienced them for ourselves. We watched ourselves on stage go through the diagnosis, we watched ourselves go through the hard realities of being a parent to our autistic child, we saw how terrifying and joyful our lives really are...at most times both of those feelings just moments apart....everything. Our lives were visible and brought to the stage. It was a great birthday present and of course....a great, MUCH needed and overdue date with my love.

 If you want more information about the play or would like to purchase the DVD, visit. www.autisticlicenseplay.com.