Week 9 of Serialization: Where Does My Autistic Son Belong? Chapter 9: INSTITUTIONALISING SEBASTIEN

In 2019, I published Where Does My Autistic Son Belong?. It chronicles my struggle with raising my adolescent autistic son, Sebastien, and my subsequent decision of setting a home for him in Bali. As part and parcel of A Mother’s Wish initiative (amotherswish.com.sg) to raise awareness about the need to learn treat autistic individuals with genuine respect and empathy, I am serializing the book on Medium, Chapters 1-8 (Please see the links below):

A We-Fie After Sebastien Returned Home from the Hospital

In 2019, I published Where Does My Autistic Son Belong?. It chronicles my struggle with raising my adolescent autistic son, Sebastien, and my subsequent decision of setting a home for him in Bali. As part and parcel of A Mother’s Wish initiative (amotherswish.com.sg) to raise awareness about the need to learn treat autistic individuals with genuine respect and empathy, I am serializing the book on Medium (see the links below):

Chapter 9 INSTITUTIONALISING SEBASTIEN

(December 7th — 20th, 2015)

Working my way to Ward C — a block of buildings away from Emergency, I could hear high-pitched wails emitting from one of these blocks. What a sensory nightmare for Sebastien! I wished that I could just take him out right away, but I knew I was not ready yet. I was a trembling mess, feeling in no shape to handle Sebastien or life in general, for that matter. I shut out the wails by telling myself to focus on today. For today, this was Sebastien’s new life and my new routine. Like the first day of school.

What I didn’t know was the extent to which I would be thrust into a whole new ecosystem with its iron-clad set of procedures, routines, and realities for its inhabitants and visitors. Because there is no one giving you any kind of introductions or orientation in this strange new world, the mental hospital is intensely bewildering for a first-time visitor. Yet you don’t give way to any panic; there is no room for that as your feeling of dislocation keeps you on edge and alert. With no “guide”, you have to figure out everything, one step at a time, with each step giving you the “clue” or the insight to take you to the next place...

To purchase the book, please use this link (https://www.amotherswish.com.sg/product-page/crowdfunding-pledge-s-30). Thank you very much!