This is why I have a blog and a YouTube channel. So many times since Hayden's diagnosis I have been told by complete strangers that my son doesn't "look like" he has autism. It gets really old. What does autism look like? Would you say that to someone with a different disability, that they don't look disabled?
So I created a YouTube channel to show what autism "looks like." (Essentially, to show that there are sometimes ways to identify a person with autism, such as scripting or stimming, but sometimes autism doesn't have a "look. Sometimes it's a combination of characteristics that makes up that person's diagnosis. Things you can't see by looking at them.) But still people don't get it. I would love to add more videos to this channel when I have time, to help show the range in what autism really is.
Recent comment on my YouTube channel:
"With due respect and comment based on only what I see and hear in the video...the child/Hayden look perfectly normal to me and even in his earlier videos when he was around 2 years old he looked very normal...I see the problem is that there is not enough understanding on what is normal and there is lot of over diagnosis of autism by inexperienced practitioners and therapists...parenting can be tough and unfortunately we have a medical industry that has commercialized this to extreme levels...I listened to my mom and experienced parents and that helped me to keep sane as I went through this constant fear built by therapists about our child who turned out perfectly fine without much intervention..."
My response:
Thank you for your comment. When my son began therapy at age 4 he was put through a series of tests in order to be diagnosed with autism by a psychologist. He was then tested by a BCBA at an autism center and was shown to have significant deficits through their testing. He had only a few words at age 4, was having constant GI issues, severe meltdowns, sensory defensiveness, and was missing many of the skills a typical child at age 4 would have. I have shared about our daily struggles through my blog if you would like to learn more.
Today he does appear to be a typical child to many who only interact with him for a few minutes, but he still lacks enough communication, social, self care and other skills to require continued therapy and special education services. He still also needs medical services through a specialist.
Sometimes you have to spend more than just a few minutes with a person with high functioning autism (or any disability) to become aware yourself of the needs that person may have. These videos are simply a snapshot into our lives. Sometimes the blog posts give a better description of my son's struggles and successes.
Furthermore, minimizing a person's disability, or arguing that they are not in fact disabled, is hurtful to them and their family members and does not help anyone. If you would like to learn more about autism and the latest research, I would suggest visiting the Autism Research Institute at autism.com. Again, thank you for visiting to learn more about autism.
Sometimes I question continuing on with the blog, wondering if the work I needed to do has been done. But it appears that there is much work still to be done in order for everyone in the community to embrace people with autism and provide them with equal treatment. So, the blog will continue at its slow and steady pace. Thanks as always for reading!
So I created a YouTube channel to show what autism "looks like." (Essentially, to show that there are sometimes ways to identify a person with autism, such as scripting or stimming, but sometimes autism doesn't have a "look. Sometimes it's a combination of characteristics that makes up that person's diagnosis. Things you can't see by looking at them.) But still people don't get it. I would love to add more videos to this channel when I have time, to help show the range in what autism really is.
Recent comment on my YouTube channel:
"With due respect and comment based on only what I see and hear in the video...the child/Hayden look perfectly normal to me and even in his earlier videos when he was around 2 years old he looked very normal...I see the problem is that there is not enough understanding on what is normal and there is lot of over diagnosis of autism by inexperienced practitioners and therapists...parenting can be tough and unfortunately we have a medical industry that has commercialized this to extreme levels...I listened to my mom and experienced parents and that helped me to keep sane as I went through this constant fear built by therapists about our child who turned out perfectly fine without much intervention..."
My response:
Thank you for your comment. When my son began therapy at age 4 he was put through a series of tests in order to be diagnosed with autism by a psychologist. He was then tested by a BCBA at an autism center and was shown to have significant deficits through their testing. He had only a few words at age 4, was having constant GI issues, severe meltdowns, sensory defensiveness, and was missing many of the skills a typical child at age 4 would have. I have shared about our daily struggles through my blog if you would like to learn more.
Today he does appear to be a typical child to many who only interact with him for a few minutes, but he still lacks enough communication, social, self care and other skills to require continued therapy and special education services. He still also needs medical services through a specialist.
Sometimes you have to spend more than just a few minutes with a person with high functioning autism (or any disability) to become aware yourself of the needs that person may have. These videos are simply a snapshot into our lives. Sometimes the blog posts give a better description of my son's struggles and successes.
Furthermore, minimizing a person's disability, or arguing that they are not in fact disabled, is hurtful to them and their family members and does not help anyone. If you would like to learn more about autism and the latest research, I would suggest visiting the Autism Research Institute at autism.com. Again, thank you for visiting to learn more about autism.
Sometimes I question continuing on with the blog, wondering if the work I needed to do has been done. But it appears that there is much work still to be done in order for everyone in the community to embrace people with autism and provide them with equal treatment. So, the blog will continue at its slow and steady pace. Thanks as always for reading!
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