Autism Spectrum Disorder is the name applied to individuals who have a particular neurological difference and myriad related symptoms. At the core neurodiversity; having a wide variety of different ways of thinking, is good for the entire world. Every person born with or without Autism has the potential to enrich his or her community. Alternate perspectives, different intelligences and variations of creativity are amazing gifts.
But lets talk about the dark side; sensory sensitivities, communication issues, social confusion, pain, anxiety, depression, gastro-intestinal problems and a compromised immune symptoms. All of these issues are incredibly common in people with ASD.
Let’s look at the two parenting approaches:
- Positive; There is nothing wrong with Autism. This can lead to parents without an emotional outlet and the autistic person is left questioning their lack of success.
- Negative; Autism is a horrific disorder. Parents are left to despair for their child’s future and the autistic person identifies themselves as fundamentally flawed & wrong.
But Lisa you have just identified that both methods destroy the autistic person’s self-esteem. Yes I have and yes they do! That’s why we need a new language.
We need to separate the neurological difference from the many horrible co-morbidities!
Parents, family, therapists, communities and autistic people need to celebrate the enrichment neurodiversity brings. Benefits of Autism can include enhanced intelligence & creativity (so much brain room not wasted on social junk), enhanced senses, attractiveness (yes there have been studies), and apparently neurotypicals find the sound of laughter of autistics more soothing and enjoyable than the sound of ‘normal’ laughter (Oh I so wish I could remember where I read about that study).
Then we can join together to fight the horrible co-morbidities. Pain, nausea, sickness; we autistic people don’t enjoy these (not even the self inflicted). Why would our loved ones be happy that this was happening to us either? Do you think we enjoy not being able to talk, having melt downs, etc.? Of course not! So you don’t have to enjoy those aspects.
We need to change the language of Autism so we can differentiate between the individual, the neurological differences, and the destructive symptoms. So a distraught parent doesn’t have to say “I had a bad day because my child is autistic”. They can say “My child and I had a bad day because their co-morbidities were acting up, weren’t they darling even though we both tried”.
Love the person, welcome the autism, recognise there are challenges and gifts, work together to cure or reduce the unhelpful symptoms and co-morbidities & try to avoid maladaptions.
Thank you helpfulhev for giving me this idea with your beautifully written post:
Autistic moms warrior blogs
This lady started following me just yesterday . I am so impressed & I really hope we can become better acquainted.
autistsix 
🙂
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😉
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Reblogged this on helpfulhev.
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Thanks you so much, I love this blog x
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Thank you so much, I was so scared you would hate this!
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Thanks for enlightening me more on this subject.
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Thank you for your kind comment.
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My pleasure!
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This ‘might’ be what you are looking for with regards the laughter : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5okza8D0eA
I actually do find it very difficult, sometimes impossible, to fake laugh, which people do for politeness.
Those cuddly toys look absolutely vicious and I don’t think you should allow them near your children. You might consider chaining them up outside as well, for everyone’s safety and well-being, before the Health and Safety Executive come along and stick their noses in.
But all in all, love the post 🙂
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Pink Panther is 38 years old and normally completely trustworthy; he’s just a wonderful actor. But that bear needs watching I’m glad you made the suggestion in hind sight, way too much enjoyment of the attack. Thank you so much for the video link.
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Sometimes it is hard to find the in-between. There are many of us who could never understand what the challenges are, having never lived with autism or parenting a child with autism. But, those pictures show such hopefulness and wonder!! I love them!
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Thank you they were so much fun to make. The girl involved got approval on all the photos and captions; she loved them because that is her humour style.
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Thank you, every time I read something like this, I feel a little closer to my autistic son and I realise more and more how broken the “normal” world is, thank you for writing this.
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Thank you! Just in case you have heard to the contrary; we may not understand it but the bonds between autistic people and the people they love are incredibly strong. We love intensively and are capable of more loyalty than your average neurotypical. The best thing you can do for your son is to receive the love he may not know how to show you!
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Interesting and thought-provoking. Autism is a many faceted subject and I enjoyed reading more about it. You explained it so well and your photos are great. 🙂
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Thank you, the photos were so fun to take.
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Incredible article!
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Thank you very much!
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Thank you!
I have a son with autism. I am not always positive. But definitely not negative only a bit the first years. I love him to bits. He is so positive, despite what he has to deal with. I am so in awe with him. No wonder he is a popular person. I am just the mum of Y…. and proud of it!
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Good luck to both of you. Diagnosed autistic males are usually wonderful; loving and loyal. Mis/un diagnosed autistic males can be almost as bad as neurotypical males (normal brained), worse if they self medicate (my father). You have a real treasure there!
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🙂 thank you!
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As an autistic person in high school, I can tell you some of the pros and cons of being on the spectrum in the teen years. Of course, since it’s a spectrum, it will not apply to every single person with autism.
Apologies for length, I got excited 🙂
Pros:
– Super memory (I can recite the entire periodic table)
– Excellent learning capabilities, helpful for getting a job (I speak English and French fluently, I can also code in binary….but I really don’t enjoy this tedious task)
– If interested, learning is a breeze (I love chemistry, and can apply and explain it better than the older grades and those that actually took the class, as I am not old enough for it. Also, the binary I taught myself in 25 minutes. Not because I wanted to code, but because I wanted to write words in a confusing way 🙂 )
Cons:
– People believe I’m showing off my intellect to be ‘superior’ (Seriously? I literally don’t even think about being ‘better’than others. What I lack in social, I try to make up in academic)
– Drama (Teenage drama + Relationships = lots of arguments and stress, manipulation and revenge)
– I am female, in a program meant only for students with ASD. I am the only female in this program. (Need I say more?)
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Great comment, never worry about the length when you have something so interesting to say!
I was an undiagnosed ASD female in high school & the only thing I don’t understand is your last con, have you met NT girls they can be the worst! Funny thing we had a science teacher who thought our entire class where showing off with their intellect and thus refused to help us, we were so smart we could work it out for ourselves.
As an ASD adult I want to tell you hold onto hope. I’m happily married for 25 years in March, I can have as many pets as I can con my husband into, and my kids are so much less obnoxious than other peoples’. Life is good!
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Awessome blog you have here
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Thank you
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