I Have Autism. Here Are the 5 Things I Want Parents to Know.
I was diagnosed with classic autism when I was 4. I found the word a terrifying place. In some ways, it’s still a frightening place for me. But I have reached a point where I am a professional public speaker on autism.
Parents often ask me to give them advice for their children who are on the autism spectrum. There are many things parents don’t understand about their children with autism. Here are things I wish parents of children with autism would understand.
1. Autism doesn’t mean their child is lost.
This would probably apply more to parents who have younger children with severe classical autism. I’ve heard some parents say they feel like autism has taken away their child’s mind and soul and left their body behind. I’d like to help all the parents understand that their child’s mind is still in there.
When I was about 4, I mainly spoke in my own language, but I had a level of understanding to a degree. I found the world to be a terrifying place with heightened senses and frightening people. I go into more details about this in my book about my life, “Thinking Club: A Filmstrip of My Life as a Person With Autism.”
2. Don’t assume because a child can’t talk, he or she also can’t think.
This is closely related to my previous point. Some children with autism can’t talk, and there are some who will never learn to talk. However, just because they can’t talk doesn’t mean they have nothing to say. It’s important to find any way you can to communicate with them whether it’s using sign language or getting them to type out their feelings. There are also non-verbal people with autism who show extreme intelligence when they type out their words onto a keyboard...
Access the full story at The Mighty.
http://themighty.com/2015/06/i-have-autism-here-are-the-5-things-i-want-parents-to-know/
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