autism the reality of it
POSTED BY: boris
UPDATED: Friday, October 15, 2010 01:42
VIEWED: 8324
PAGE 4 of 4
The right kind of support is the key...not just for the kid but for the family as well. Despite having a torturously overwhelming childhood and adolescence I've always had good people around me. And very determined parents. They did their own version of ABA on me which I resisted and hated them for at the time but appreciate now (their version was a bit heavy on the punishment side whereas ABA uses a lot of praise/reward). We had family friends who were very patient with me and I had one or two good teachers. Temple Grandin often says good teachers are the most important thing for Autistic kids. High school sucked as I was at an all girls catholic school. At University both now and my first degree I pretty much approached teachers and told them what my learning issues are. I find being unprecious and up front about things works well. I don't tell people I'm Autistic unless it's relevant. I have Tourette's as well so I already stick out anyway.I'm not precious about the Tourette's either and find others tend to stop noticing it because of my attitude. My basic philosophy is we all belong, we should all be accepted and stay outta my way if you don't hold to that. Seems to work well for me...also helps blast some of the myths people believe about Autism e.g. Autistic people don't want to connect or make friends. Poppycock! Haven't met a single Autistic person severe or mild who didn't want friends and connections...we just go about it a bit differently. I'm sure there are ASD'ers who don't want friends just as there are other people who have the same sentiments. I've never been short of friends though I do have to actively remember to ensure they know I care about them and consider their needs...and occasionally let them hug me...and very occasionally initiate a hug.the kids at work have observed I'm more at ease patting them as I would a cat or a puppy than hugging. They don't seem to mind.
Rose S
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Hey NC Browncoat. Glad Your daughter is follwong her career aspirations.too many ASD'ers are restricted in terms of what other people expect they can or can't do. You sound like my parents who've always helped me believe I can achieve what I want...as long as I'm prepared to go a more creative route. It's great her Maths tutor is so on the ball...sometimes it only takes one decent teacher to help you set your learning patterns and how you should approach other teachers. I find communicating via computer pretty liberating as you don't have the noises and other distractions to worry about (e.g. the other people). The only problem is you can't always get all the humour and emotion nuances in writing and I have gotten myself in pickles here and there when I write and respond to people who don't know me well. I think it's coz I don't do "subtle" very well.
Rose S
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