What has autism done for you?

Someone posted this question and it got me thinking... here is my response:

Autism has taught me to notice the beauty all around me in the world
It has taught me to look for the best in people
It has helped me to become better at perceiving the world from different perspectives
It has taught me to appreciate every accomplishment, no matter how "small"
It has helped me understand what is truly important in life
It has taught me patience beyond what I thought I'd be capable of
It has taught me to laugh, to find the humor in things because it helps me hang on to a shred of sanity when I've about lost it(ok, I'll admit it's debatable whether I even have a shred of sanity left anymore, lol)
It has taught me how to be strong and advocate for my children
It has shown me who we can count on
It has brought some amazing people into my life that I wouldn't have known otherwise

Thanks to my boys and their obsession with everything Thomas, I know all the Thomas & Friends trains, their numbers and colors, and lots of Thomas songs (but I'm not allowed to sing them, the boys get annoyed when I try to sing along).

My boys have taught me:
- how to be more observant
- flapping actually is a good stress-reliever :)
- new ways to communicate
- how to be yourself w/o caring what others think
- kindness doesn't necessarily require great social skills
- there's more than one way to say "I love you" and it doesn't always require words