Small Wins, Big Impact: How My Autistic Child Conquered a Grocery Trip
Prior to having a child on the autism spectrum, I never noticed how loud the outside world was.
The sound of a cart in the grocery store, the cash register dinging, or the music playing as you walk down the aisles. It all blended into the background. The truth is, I never even noticed the music before my daughter. I never noticed how bright the lights were. I never noticed how loud the automatic doors were.
For many years, we couldn’t go to unfamiliar places or through unfamiliar doors. She would bear down, and that was that.
Everyday life skills can take weeks, months, and sometimes years to master, and then there can be a regression, and you’re back to square one. We’ve kind of been in that place with grocery stores. She refuses to go in. So when I told her I needed to go shopping, she said she wanted to come. I told her she had to go into the store.
When we arrived, she was a little anxious, but she walked in with a strut I wish I had caught on camera. She was ready to take it on. She was confident.
As we walked down the aisles, I pointed out a new flavor of applesauce she might want to try. She passed on it but then went back, stood in front of it, looked at it for a while, and then came back to the cart, and we carried on. At one point, she even pushed the cart.
As we made our way through the store, I was beaming with pride. Seeing her push through her anxiety and conquer a task is so dang exciting and brings me so much joy.
A simple trip to the grocery store.
And then, on the way out, she announced a lady’s pregnancy. I was just so thankful the woman was, in fact, pregnant.
It may have been a small moment in the grand scheme of things, but to me, it was everything. Progress, confidence, courage—all in one grocery store trip. These little victories remind me that no matter how slow the journey may feel, we are always moving forward.
Written by Jennifer Dunn of Keeping Up With Kya
