Subjects Of Importance For Family Members And Strangers Who Don’t Have Sufficient Awareness Of Autism | MyAutismTeam

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Subjects Of Importance For Family Members And Strangers Who Don’t Have Sufficient Awareness Of Autism
A MyAutismTeam Member asked a question 💭

If there is a subject you feel family members or even strangers are not aware of as far as autism that you feel is important to know, what would it be? And why? How can shedding light on this subject help educate the masses?

posted April 20, 2018
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A MyAutismTeam Member

Honestly, I think the most important ones are things that my child doesn't have to deal with much. But in my research, I've seen so many stories that show how people don't try to understand. A) It isn't contagious. It really isn't. There is no hand of evil that is going to reach out and inflict you or your child with some harm because they are near a child with ASD. B) Meltdowns are not bad behavior. They can be upsetting to those around, but it isn't a matter of bad parenting or something broken in the child. It will pass with the right amount of patience and comforts that are specific to the child. And if the parent/caregiver is hitting the child to make them stop, not only is it cruel but it is unlikely to help. So don't shake your head and mutter that the child needs to be spanked. The best thing you can do for the situation is smile at the parent; trust me, they are more stressed than you have a right to be. C) It is not an intellectual disability. While those can coexist, do not assume that a child isn't able to understand just because they can't express themselves well, or because they need different methods of instruction than other kids. A lot of autistic kids are smarter than you are. On the same note, autism doesn't equal intelligence. I know people who assume every person with ASD is a genius in disguise. And that's a nicer judgment, but don't categorize the person at all unless you know them. Just a few that popped into my head.

posted April 21, 2018
A MyAutismTeam Member

Yeah the spectrum is wide but even our extended family really can't picture our daily lives. The ASD all day everyday is we don't have extra freetime or get out in social settings as much as other families. My daughter isn't going to have the experiences that most kids have because has development delays but we do to encourage her to live good life whatever that means. For example, she can't answer a "why" question but she has traveled to different countries that most kids will never see. Widespread knowledge of ASD is only about 25 years old so everyone is in uncharted terriority on a least a national scale. If it doesn't affect you immediate family it isn't hard to find someone who knows about because of someone they know. I've compared it to AIDS as medical issue that went from rare to a major issue but there probably isn't a magic bullet for treatment. By the way, we still spend billions more annually on AIDS research ($2.5 billion) than ASD ($118 million) in the last 40 years and ASD isn't in the top 100 medical issues for the National Institute of Health.

posted April 21, 2018

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