A Tremendous Amount of Normal

by Chase Connor

Normally, I don’t have a meltdown when we run out of oranges.

This is a wonderful opening line; tells me so much about the speaker, and also about their level of personal awareness.

Routine is the antithesis of Anxiety. Anxiety is chaos. Routine is not.

This is a sentiment I empathise with greatly; my own anxiety is largely managed with a mix of routine and order.

I like my brother being around. I like it when he’s at home all night. I’ll be his brother forever.

As a carer for a young adult with complex support needs it’s fascinating and heartbreaking to read such a profoundly relatable sentiment from the perspective of the person being supported, a perspective that can often go overlooked.

On The Spectrum? Aren’t we all somewhere on the line of some spectrum or scale somewhere?

Noah is my normal. I’ve never wanted any other kind of normal.

This is harder to relate to; as a carer there is not a second that passes where I don’t wish I was somewhere else, but I accept I am where I need to be.