The video is private so I can't see it.
I don't think it's wrong for parents to want better for their Autistic kids. I don't think it's wrong for them to hope for a cure. I don't think it's wrong for them to complain that it's hard for their kids or for them. I have a relative with a severe mental disorder and I wish there was cure for him and that life could be better for him and for his parents. And I know he would like that as well. What I don't think is right is that just like some parents of Autistic kids don't think that HFA's should speak on behalf of their kids, I don't think that they should speak for us. And in the article the person does say that, that if there was a cure no adult would be forced to take it which would be the correct viewpoint as far as I am concerned.
I guess the controversy would lie in whether children should be forced to accept a cure were one to be found. And as far as severely affected children, I honestly don't know how I would feel about that if I were the parent of one. I understand both sides so it's just a really hard situation. But when a child is old enough to be considered medically responsible of his or her life, I should think that it should be up to that child to decide if he or she wants a cure or not and to be able to express what he or she would need or want to make life easier for him or her.
The only time I was every bothered by people complaining about how hard it was to have an Autistic child is in one specific situation when they were speaking about it right in front of me as if I were not in the room. That made me really uncomfortable. I have also had people tell me that I should understand how so and so's life sucks because they are so overwhelmed raising an Autistic child. That, I found particularly personally offensive. And that statement was told to me by someone who knows I am Autistic.
But the truth and reality is that it can be very difficult. And that is not just for Autism. Any person with a disability especially a severe one will be a challenge to the family. That is just a fact. And even kids without disabilities are a challenge to raise. So I don't think parents need to be silenced or need to stop hoping that things could be easier for them or for their kids, I just think that there are times when speaking about it might not be as appropriate than at other times.
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"I'm bad and that's good. I'll never be good and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me."
Wreck It Ralph
30 Oct 2015, 9:42 am
