Saturday, December 10, 2011

What Autism?

I feel like I need to take time to address that issue.  Parents, the absolute worst thing you can do for a child with ASD is to try to make them "normal."  To this is to deny your ASD child everything that he (or she) is.  Do not deny that your children have autism.  A child raised that way is going to grow up feeling worthless, because he or she has been nurtured to deny his or her nature.  I understand that raising an ASD child is tough.  Remember, I was an ASD child, and believe me; it was not easy for me either.  To use discipline to try to eradicate ASD characteristics can make an ASD child aggressive, who then becomes a burden for teachers and childcare workers.

It is not shameful thing to have an autistic child.  Hey, I'm autistic and I'm a published writer.  I have had about two dozen news articles published in The Oakland Press and I am writing a blog that has received 2300 hits in more than fifteen countries.  You are reading that blog right now.  How many people can say they have done that?

Some parents try to hide their child's autism from friends and associates.  "Oh, I'm sure he'll grow out of it," becomes a common phrase used by parents to explain their child's behavior.  No.  Their child does not need to grow up.  Any parent who tries to deny their child's autism needs to grow up and get their eyes checked, because they cannot see that gifted individual who is their child for who he (or she) really is.  To deny that a child has autism is to deny that child the life they would have had if the parent had thought about meeting the needs of their child, rather than trying to make that child "normal."

The best thing to do is to take a step back and try to understand, okay, I didn't ask for this, but this is what I have.  I owe it to my child to step up and understand that my life will not be how I planned it to be.  Raising an ASD child will a hard, but enriching experience. My child  didn't ask for this either and any actions I take now will impact my child the rest of his (or her) life.  For better or worse.

1 comment:

Ryan said...

My friends Dani Bowman brought up an important point regarding this last post. Some parents do not understand autism and are not sure how to handle the situation they find themselves in. I don't mean to say that what those parents do is wrong. Through my writing, what I am trying to do is to help such parents to better understand their children so that they may be better equipped to meet their unique needs.

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