Hi, my name is Matthew Orquia. I am a sophomore English major at Southern Adventist University.
As the youngest of four boys, my childhood was full of the typical bottom of the totem pole hardships (although being the youngest certainly had its benefits). However, my family and I also faced something else: One of my older brothers had severe autism. This resulted in a number of out-of-the-ordinary changes to my childhood. When I was younger, I couldn’t be home alone with my brother. When he wasn’t at school (where he was frequently sent home because of outbursts), someone had to supervise him at all times. For my parents, this meant their work was almost constantly interrupted. Without the help of our extended family, things would have been even worse.
Looking back, I realized we were lucky. My parents were able to fluctuate their work schedules often and keep their jobs, and we had family nearby that could help. We had the means to occasionally hire people to help us, and my brother was able to go to school for most of his childhood. I often wondered: “What would we have done if we didn’t have those resources?”
Unfortunately, many people who have children with disabilities are not as lucky as my family, especially in communities that don’t have resources available. Often government assistance is unavailable, difficult to receive or simply not enough to help. Properly caring for a child with disabilities can be extremely difficult.
This perspective is what I hope to bring to my work and research for this project, and I hope that I can educate others and further my own understanding of this topic.