C2V wrote:
Autistic children get every support, every accommodation is made for them, whereas autistic adults get nothing. People still seem to believe autism evaporates at 18, and are only interested in autistic children, not autistic people. Annoys me. So no I don't feel sorry for them - they're certainly getting support they need, I doubt they need pity too.
Speaking as an under-eighteen in a "normal" school, I have to disagree with your comment. I know autistic students, both diagnosed and undiagnosed, who don't receive the support they need, who are misunderstood and misread by the education system and failed by the system as a result, and who are made fun of by their peers because people don't understand them. I'm not in any way trying to suggest that it's harder to be an autistic child than an autistic adult, and I definitely don't want to deny the fact that there should be way more help for autistic adults than there currently are, but I don't agree that autistic children always get what they need in terms of support.
However, it's possible that this kid has great resources and will turn out completely fine. Maybe he's diagnosed, that'll help. Maybe his parents understand and accept his autism, and will fight for him to get the support he needs at school, that'll help. Maybe his school is (will be?) really great at seeing both what he's really good at and what he really needs to work on. Maybe his therapy is great and respectful and be helpful for him. Maybe he has (will have?) classmates who connect with him and aren't scared of everything that's different. But are all of those things likely? Not in my opinion. And if he doesn't get these things, I don't think it's unreasonable to feel a little bit sorry for him because of all that he'll miss out on.