I dont know if anyone else can understand this but im fed up with people seeing the Autism before the child.My child is an individaul not the bloody rain man off the film.He does have a personality and no he cant count a dropped packet of tooth picks or draw an in depth picture of the houses of parliment .

This can be frustrating. But honestly that is the only thing I knew of autism before my child was diagnosised.

Take what they say...expand on it. Relate it to your child. Give this a chance to educate the uneducated. Sometimes it may be difficult to think of something on the spot. Give the the statistics 1/166. Tell them that only a small percent of autistics are savants.

Just a thought.

Denise

Hi, my name is molly, my sister lacey has autism, and that is only what people see. but there are some people who have actully taken the time to get to know her. i got lacey involved in some after school stuff to make friends. umm i dont know if you have it but its called sib shop. its like a support group kinda, find other people with children with autism or other special needs, and get together with the parents, and thier children, so then the children can iteract, and the parents can met and rant. have a play day at the park, stuff like. if you dont. you can make it. i have a group that i made called SoS kids, in my high school. for siblings that have siblings with special needs can come in and just talk. talk about thier siblings, home life almost anything. my life has a meaning now. but you really should think about doing that. contact the local schools, and find people who have children with special needs. Molly

I am in so much agreement w/you, i had posted this same type of statement on another board in here and someone really ranted at me, i stated that a person has autism, they aren't autistic..it's merely a part of that person.... check out that debate...it's sad i think...and i take every chance i get to remind folks w/my two lil ones that they have autism not are autistic....

YES thank you!!!! Lol
People need to learn, that just becasue someone is handicapped, doesnt mean that they arent human, that they arent real, that they dont live, breathe. Its just a handicap, everyone has one. wether it be that you can write with your left hand, your mentally or physically handicapped. The handicap doesnt make the person, it is what the person makes of the handicap
Molly

The term "autism", itself, is not a handicap, per se. It is a description of how an individual or individuals cope with life in their own world, which is often quite different from the "normal" world around them. It is often the issue of others not accepting this different way of coping that is the problem, not the "autism", itself.

As stated in another post, just because a person is given a "label", whether that label be "black" (due to skin colour), "diabetic", "gay",
"savant", "genius", "autistic", "athletic", or whatever, these labels, themselves do not dictate what the person is or how he or she must "adjust" to others around. Neither do these labels put the person into a virtual "handicap" for the rest of the person's life, and the person is only looking for acceptance of what he or she is, despite this "label" that is often a virtual "prison" that follows the person hour-to-hour, day-to-day, for many years (if not a lifetime).

There is no reason to search for a "cure" for a "label". That would be as folly as trying to find a "cure" for black skin, claiming that the person born "black" is not "normal" and needs "treatment" for his/her condition. Only acceptance, for any condition, be it skin colour, neurology (as is the case with autism), sexual orientation (as with gays), or obsession (as Albert Einstein was obsessed with physics and mathematics) will provide relief. Trying to "fix" these conditions as though they are "not normal" only adds stress to all involved, both for those trying to "fix" the issue and for those who do not need the "fix".

As one book stated years ago, the term "support" is composed of three basic elements: affection, affirmation, and assistance. That, basically, is what persons on the Spectrum are looking for: Affection for themselves as individuals, Affirmation of what they are doing as being a move in their direction (even if another person deems it to be in the "wrong" direction), and Assistance towards that move in that direction. If, for example, an child on the Spectrum shows a keen interest in trains, it would be very supportive to show affection for the child at that moment, affirm the child's interest in trains (even if the parent or guardian loaths trains), and assist in the development of that interest by providing books and other assets (such as a trip to a railway museum).

This is the call of those with autism---support for their autistic way of life. Belittling them in any way (even attacking them for calling themselves "autistic") will only add stress to an already tense situation where they are not completely accepted for who they are in this, their lifetime....