From the Parents

Today’s journey took me to the annoyance and frustration parents of children with autism feel when hearing the same phrases over and over again. “Autism Daddy” is a blog written by a 44-year-old father of an 11-year-old son with autism. In February he posted a list of frustrating things people say. The response from other parents of children with autism added to the list. I’ve chosen a handful to share here:

1.     “Even typical kids do that…”

2.     “Did you see the autism report on the news…”

3.     “Awww but he’s so cute…”

4.     “What do the doctors have to say?”

5.     “I don’t know how you guys do it…”

6.     “They might grow out of it”

7.     “You must be parenting him wrong at home”

8.     “She doesn’t look like she has Autsim”

9.     “God won’t give you more than you can bear”

1.    “You’re the strongest person I know”

I can only imagine how tiring it is hearing these phrases everyday. Through reading the comments and other post it is clear that parents are not looking for praise or pity, but want to be treated like other parents, have a conversation about their child like you would any child, talking about normal kid things (how fast they grow, how they don't like school, about fighting with siblings, their achievements and activities). Parents on the blog described being stared out all the time. They expressed frustration from bystanders offering advice and acting the expert. They said that what makes the most differences is people offering genuine help and most of all people who don’t judge. This last point was the takeaway point for me - DON'T JUDGE. Something that I need constant reminder of. 

I highly recommend visiting Autism Daddy: http://autism-daddy.blogspot.com/

It provides great insight into the life of a parent of a child with autism.