So sometimes I read things from friends with children on the spectrum or have experiences with the children I care for that, for privacy's sake, I don't post here. But, had I written about those experiences, here are the points I would have driven home.
1. Autistic people have empathy. If I ever had any doubt, multiple touching and caring events of compassion I've seen from an autistic child would have wiped it from my mind.
2. We really, REALLY need to create a world that accepts autistic people. They are suffering from the way society views them, and we must make it our goal to change that.
3. The Jenny McCarthy "try everything" approach? Yeah, I've seen it at work, and the road it can lead down I'd liken as akin to child abuse.*
If you'd seen what I've seen, or even heard me tell you of my experiences, you'd know these already. But as it is, you'll just have to take my word for it.
-Creigh
*If you are someone who thinks of themselves as trying everything and is offended by my comparison to child abuse...I'm probably not talking to you. The problem with trying everything is that if taken literally, the road it leads to is one where people end up trying things that can cause physical harm to their children (eg the parents who swear by the Judge Rottenberg Center, for a more extreme example). And that is when efforts to help can turn into abuse. No matter how well intended it is, I think we'd all agree that's unacceptable.
1. Autistic people have empathy. If I ever had any doubt, multiple touching and caring events of compassion I've seen from an autistic child would have wiped it from my mind.
2. We really, REALLY need to create a world that accepts autistic people. They are suffering from the way society views them, and we must make it our goal to change that.
3. The Jenny McCarthy "try everything" approach? Yeah, I've seen it at work, and the road it can lead down I'd liken as akin to child abuse.*
If you'd seen what I've seen, or even heard me tell you of my experiences, you'd know these already. But as it is, you'll just have to take my word for it.
-Creigh
*If you are someone who thinks of themselves as trying everything and is offended by my comparison to child abuse...I'm probably not talking to you. The problem with trying everything is that if taken literally, the road it leads to is one where people end up trying things that can cause physical harm to their children (eg the parents who swear by the Judge Rottenberg Center, for a more extreme example). And that is when efforts to help can turn into abuse. No matter how well intended it is, I think we'd all agree that's unacceptable.
RSS Feed
