Rant!

I have gone to some so called support groups for parents of ASD children. I have to say that I'm very irritated with what I hear and see in this part of the parents of ASD community. I hear parents talk about their ASD children as if the diagnosis was a death sentence. There is nothing further from the truth! Your child is alive and well. Don't buy into the "your child will never" talk that you're bound to get from somebody. I say again, this isn't true. Maybe you'll have a hard time, but I don't believe in anybody saying that a child will never do something. I understand that Autism is hard, I also understand that if you've met one child with autism you've only met ONE child with autism. I know that there are some children who really can't be in mainstream programs, that being said, I know that there is hope. I know that eventually these children will be adults, and it is our job to give them the tools to function and survive in the world at large. It's up to them to do the work as they mature. As parents, I believe it is our job to guide our children into adulthood, and through all of the stages that they will be going though. I believe if we give our children the tools that they can make it work. ASD children and adults have the full range of emotion, they have strengths. As with any child, use your child's strengths to get them interested in working on their weaknesses. I realize that to a certain point, I am preaching to the choir. These points have been on my mind for years now. I wish that I had somebody tell me these things when we had gotten our son Timothy diagnosed that there is hope. I had to stop talking to many friends and family because of what they would say. I've heard so many people blame different things for their children's autism. There is no cure for autism, it is NOT a disease, just as there is no cure for skin color nor is there a cure for having an accent. I've never believed that there is a specific cause for autism or a way to make it go away. There is hope, hope for you and your child. I really have to stress this point. There are therapies available to help your child cope with the world around them, take advantage of them! They are provided by your county office of education.