Autism isn't real - it's just parents making excuses for bad parenting

    Yes, this is my blog today. I am, by the way, AGAINST the title. Not for it.
I can't believe that some people honestly believe that Autism, Depression, ODD (Oppositional Defiance Disorder), ADD, ADHD and a lot of other disorders are being disbelieved. There's a few things being said that I don't agree with:

"Every kid's got some diagnosis these days"

"What have you got to be depressed about?" (depression is a chemical imbalance, NOT a mood)

"She's autistic? But she looks so normal" (so you'd prefer my kid to do the typical autistic hand-flapping and spinning instead of going on and on and on about her latest obsession?)

"Maybe you should pay less attention to *insert sibling's name here* and more attention to her" (this one came straight from my mother)

"The kid just needs a damn good smack"

"Send him to me for a couple of days, I'll sort him out"

"Autism's caused by vaccines you know... did you vaxx your child?" (of course I did - because the autism study linking vaccines to autism were falsified... there IS no link between current vaccines and autism)

"But she has great eye contact" (yes, but she has too MUCH eye contact - she'll stare you down if she knows you well, and she has no concept of personal space)


All these frustrating things are NOT what a parent needs to hear.
Pre-diagnosis, there isn't much you can say, other than to listen and be supportive.
DON'T say "are you sure he has autism? surely he'll just catch up when he's ready"
It's hard enough to admit that something is NQR with your child. Please don't make us re-doubt ourselves.

DO be there for us. Bring cake, have coffee with us. Feel free to talk about things other than autism/ODD/whatever else. Do be unconditionally supportive and understanding that our child/children may not behave as you'd expect them to. Like most parents, we're doing the best we can.

It INFURIATES me that some people are STILL so ignorant to disabilities. If someone's in a wheelchair and nonverbal, most assume their intelligence is affected. I have a friend whom I've known since we were little kids, and he's one of the smartest people I know. Nonverbal and in a wheelchair doesn't mean stupid or illiterate, or any number of other things you might think. He's an amazing guy that I'm proud to know. Bloody good sense of humour too. Non-verbal just means that he communicates in other ways. Facial expressions, and most of our conversations are yes/no or assisted by a book of words for him to point to.

And if someone's child is running amok in the supermarket and stimming, or spinning, or making weird noises, or suddenly runs off? Don't assume bad behaviour. Don't judge. Parents who belt their kids for no good reason and yell and swear at them? Judge THEM, not us who are trying to do the best we can with what we've got.


END RANT.
Thanks for reading