I’m trying something new today. I want to help create a dialog within the community. I want people to feel comfortable expressing their feelings. There are two ways you can do this. If you prefer to respond in a more private manor, please feel free to reply and share your thoughts in the Lost and Tired Community Autism Support Forum’s. Only other members will be able to see and respond to your post.
If you would like to share the answers with the world, simply post your answer in the comments. 🙂
Lost and Tired’s Question on the Day: 03/07/2012
I would like to ask you this question:
If you could make the world understand just one thing about Autism, what would it be and why?
Guest I agree with understanding of the shrieking and loud whine. I would also like people to understand that children with ASD process things differently and react to things in a different way.
The old saying "if you met one child (or person) with autism you've met ONE child or person with autism.
Don't generalize. They are not rain man. Don't ask "what are their special skills". Or I though kids with autism can't talk. Or they talk about washing machines all day long. Everyone is different. They will write their own book
Also. Don't underestimate their skills. You need to remember the doctor is not always right when they say "he will never _________". Challenge then. Teach them. Help them learn and learn from them.
Umm, disagree with Sara, but I would want the world to understand the sounds of autism. Then when they hear my kid shrieking like a pterodactyl or doing the loud whine, they will know he's autistic and something has upset him. Right now, I just get a lot of the other looks that seem so judgmental of my parenting.
I agree, that I wish people knew that just because my daughter LOOKS normal, doesn't mean she's just a poorly parented brat. But my number one wish would be that people understood that we didn't do anything wrong, and are doing our best with an extremely difficult situation. When my daughter is screaming in the store, she's much more miserable than the people who have to listen to her, and I'm not lazy because I don't volunteer to coach soccer or come to the school council meetings. I put in more effort with my child each day than many other parents do in a week, on less sleep in a week than many of my friends get in a day, and I'm MAXED OUT. Please, cut us both a little slack.
I would like the world to understand this…… 1.My son is not spoiled 2.No, a good spanking wouldn't help 3.He has Aspergers 4. I don't care if you know someone else with Aspergers and they don't act like this 5. I would appreciate if you would quit looking at us with such disgust on your face.
I agree with Cheri. My son is "high functioning" and his interests are extremely different from other kids. He tries to interact with peers, but when he starts talking about history, the other kids fade away. He knows he's different, but that doesn't mean his feelings aren't hurt. When he was first diagnosed, every time something like that happened, he would tell me that it's because of his "odd-tism" He got really excited a couple of years ago because his teacher had a son with the same "odd-tism" as him. I think it's a great way to describe it, but at the same time it hurt my heart to hear him describe himself as "odd"
ASD manifests itself differently with everyone. Just because you appear to be high functioning does not mean that you have less challenges and your life is easier than someone who is more severe. I have seen and found that the opposite is true, the higher functioning the more difficult it is for those living with ASD.
For me, since both of my boys are High Functioning, a lot of people don't believe they really have Autism or believe it is just bad parenting. I would like them to understand that even High Functioning kiddos need understanding and support and so do their parents!
We dont' know if my son is autistic (he has developmental delays, he's 17 months old) but after reading a bunch of blogs and my own experiences with therapy/appointments/etc, all I can say is: for people to have an understanding of the exhaustion level that goes along with caring for someone with delays or autism.
That's a great answer
We dont' know if my son is autistic (he has developmental delays, he's 17 months old) but after reading a bunch of blogs and my own experiences with therapy/appointments/etc, all I can say is: for people to have an understanding of the exhaustion level that goes along with caring for someone with delays or autism.
I don't know how you do it…I think you're incredible. Any time I start to think "woe is me" about our situation, I think about your blog and think how much strength you have!
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