Welcome to Holland

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 11/8/04 3:45:51 AM Central Standard Time, Autism and Aspergers Treatment writes:

Subject: Welcome to Holland

,

I hope this comes through. I have this piece on paper and LOVE it.

THis is it,. THanks much

in IL

[Guest guest]

This was e0mailed to me from other group I am one and thought I would share

Welcome to Holland

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability

- to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand

it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip -

to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The

Coliseum. The Michelangelo . The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some

handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags

and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in

and says, " Welcome to Holland. "

" Holland?!? " you say. " What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm

supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy. "

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and

there you must stay. The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a

horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's

just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new

language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have

met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than

Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you

look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and

Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all

bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your

life, you will say " Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had

planned. "

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of

that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy,

you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ...

about Holland.