As parents of an adult child with autism, we would love to know that someone who is caring, wise and well trained will be there once we are gone, to ensure that our loved one has a good and happy life. We want to know that our loved one has a secure feeling of belonging and that he possesses the internal strength to follow his dreams. The words to the song Someone’s Watching Over Me tells an optimistic story with a happy ending.

"Someone's Watching Over Me"…sung by Kara DioGuardi, written by Kara DioGuardi & John Shank and made popular by singer Hilary Duff on the Raise Your Voice film soundtrack. Here are the lyrics:

Found myself today
Oh I found myself and ran away
Something pulled me back
The voice of reason I forgot I had
All I know is you're not here to say
What you always used to say
But it's written in the sky tonight

No I won't give up
I won't break down
Sooner than it seems life turns around
And I will be strong
Even if it all goes wrong
When I'm standing in the dark I'll still believe
Someone's watching over me

Seen that ray of light…And it's shining on my destiny
Shining all the time
And I won't be afraid…To follow everywhere it's taking me
All I know is yesterday is gone
And right now I belong…To this moment to my dreams

So I won't give up
No I won't break down
Sooner than it seems life turns around
And I will be strong…Even if it all goes wrong
When I'm standing in the dark I'll still believe
Someone's watching over me

It doesn't matter what people say
And it doesn't matter how long it takes
Believe in yourself and you'll fly high
And it only matters how true you are
Be true to yourself and follow your heart

So I won't give up
No I won't break down
Sooner than it seems life turns around
And I will be strong
Even if it all goes wrong
When I'm standing in the dark I'll still believe
No I won't give up
No I won't break down
Sooner than it seems life turns around
And I will be strong
Even if it all goes wrong
When I'm standing in the dark I'll still believe
That someone's watching over, Someone's watching over
Someone's watching over me

A personal message from Karen Kaye-Beall:

In my professional capacity as Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation for Autism Support and Training, Clinical Director of the Center for Autism Support and Training, Founder of the Autism Speech, Communication and Reading Center and most especially, in my role as a parent of two teenagers with autism, the words to this song have great meaning to me.

No one can understand more than parents of an adult/child with autism just how vulnerable our love one is and how much care and support they need in order to live a good and happy life. Perhaps that is why we are so fearful about the many issues of their future care and we understand deep down, that no one will love and care for our child so completely and fully as we do. More painful is the realization that one day, we may no longer be able to actively care for our adult child and we will inevitably pass away, leaving that care to others who may not fully understand our loved one’s needs. For many, this is a valid concern, because there is a severe shortage of affordable housing, group homes, residential programs, autism-specific treatment, support services and job training to support the needs of a building tidal wave of adults with autism. With the number of individuals with autism on the rise, now is the time to act to ensure that they will all have loving, autism-appropriate care thoughout their life spans.

In a perfect world, we would love to be able to imagine that someone who is both caring and wise will be there to ensure that our loved one has a good and happy life once we are gone. The words to the song Someone’s Watching Over Me tell the story of a once vulnerable person (possibly a person with autism spectrum disorder) who remembers all of the love and guidance their parents gave them in the past, (including autism treatment, autism therapy, autism education, etc.) But also, as a result of all that love, hard work and effort expended, our loved-one, now grown up, is able to follow his own destiny. He is able to find the internal strength and confidence not to give up or break down “even if it all goes wrong.” He comes to terms with the fact that even though his parents are gone, “right now I belong to this moment”… and to my personal dreams of achieving my own life potential. Realistically, he is able to access this personal strength and follow his dreams partly due to the fact that he now lives in a place he can call home, and he has the proper services and supports he needs in order to live a good quality of life. As the song says, “when I’m standing in the dark I’ll still believe… that Someone’s Watching Over Me.”

I hope this song carries this message of optimism to all parents of children with autism. Together, let us join forces to meet this enormous challenge and make sure we develop high quality, autism-specific supported housing and autism group homes, residential facilities, community living options, autism services, job training, and a wide range of housing alternatives for all adults with autism spectrum disorders, regardless of whether these individuals are high functioning on the autism spectrum, or if they are challenged by many difficult symptoms on the lower end of the autism spectrum.

For more information on how you can make this dream into a reality, contact the Foundation for Autism Support and Training.