Why do many Autistic people protest against Autism Speaks? How does their rhetoric hurt the Autism community? What the video, below, and continue reading!
It may come as a surprise to some, but, we—my family—are not the biggest fans of Autism Speaks...
“WHAT? WHY?! EXPLAIN!”
Here’s how Markie explained it on FB:
In my experience, there are 3 steps when it comes to being the parent of an Autistic child:
1. Denial: My kid isn’t autistic! He’s just REALLY fussy, INCREDIBLY picky & quirky! He’ll grow out it! He’ll talk when he ready! It’s just a phase!
2. Anger: WHY MY CHILD! WHAT DID I DO? DID I DO SOMETHING WRONG? AM I A BAD PARENT? MY CHILD DOESN’T DESERVE THIS? IT’S UNFAIR!!!
3. Acceptance: My child IS Autistic. My child will ALWAYS BE Autistic, and that’s OKAY, and we will ALWAYS LOVE him / her!
Honestly, #3, for me, was the product of experience, time, countless therapy sessions, as well as reading & watching EVERYTHING I could find on the subject...
If you’re the parent of a child who was recently diagnosed, this book really helped me during that first year:
The learning never ends... This book has helped me understand Lincoln, better, in just the past few weeks:
Simply put, there is no cure for Autism, and Autism can’t be cured, because Autism isn’t a disease—It’s a Disorder!
it’s important to not only understand the difference, but, to also accept & love our children for who they are, while, simultaneously, doing our best to help them achieve their maximum, God-given potential!
Raising awareness is great, it’s needed, appreciated & necessary, but, in my opinion, one of the most important things to make people aware of is this:
Just because my Son is different than the neurotypical child, doesn’t mean he needs to be fixed, cured or ignored... Just because his brain is different, doesn’t make it broken!
He’s not just an AUTISTIC person... He’s a PERSON with Autism—with all the intelligence, hopes, wants, feelings & fears that being a PERSON would entail...