There have been a lot of posts this month about Autism Awareness, and I am so thankful for that. What really makes my blood boil is ignorance.
If you don't have a child with Autism, you simply do not understand what our families go through. Many people make uneducated, downright rude comments coming from pure ignorance. One person even said she didn't care to be aware, and thought Autism was just undisciplined children. Really? If you know me, you know that Amanda had been raised with the strictest discipline possible. I never let Autism be an excuse for her to not do things. I push her to the point of many many meltdowns. I cannot handle it when people call it the latest "fad" diagnosis. This is one "fad" I would give anything to not be a part of! I was reading a post about early screening as early as 12 months. I am mortified by the comments of some people. Some are saying "Why? Stop with all the testing. Love the child you have." The fact is, I Do love the child I have. With all my heart. That is why I advocate for early testing and intervention. If I did not "love the child I was given", I would not care what her life holds. One poster even said that "Maybe they will come up with a test before the child is born, that way you can abort it." If I was standing next to this person, they would have a mouth full of bloody chicklets. They have many tests for children before they were born. Downs syndrome, trisomy 18, and many neural tube defects are detected well before the baby is born. Some are life threatening, some will need treatment. But these tests are made, not for the mother to have the option to abort, but to give the parents all the information they need in order to give their baby the best shot at life from the second they are born! Grow a brain people!
If your child were to have one of the many childhood cancers out there, would you not want to have the diagnosis as early as possible in order to give them the best treatment to overcome this disease?? Early treatment is essential for all diseases, and Autism is not any different, so why the haters? Just because you used to be a childcare worker, or a preschool teacher does not make you an expert on this. It does not give you the right to say if these children were disciplined they would not have Autism. Yes, there are many undisciplined children out there, but Autistic children are not in this category. Chances are, the parent of a young, possibly currently undiagnosed Autistic child just does not understand what is going on in their very complex brains. I have been dealing with Autism for 12 years and do not claim to be an expert. Just because you babysit does not make you one either.
Autism is a complex neurological disorder. It is not caused by lack of discipline. We don't know what causes it. We don't know what causes leukemia either, but there is still research! It is not the newest "fad"! Believe me, it is one diagnosis you do NOT want! It changes your life forever! It does exist. Who are these people, some of them are not even parents, to say otherwise? Are they going against the experts at the CDC who are recognizing this epidemic, no pandemic? To say to stop the testing is not only ignorant, it's absurd. Make educated comments, or make no comment at all!
I will now step off my soapbox.....for now....
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