Boy Playing with Car

What Parents of Autistic Children Want You to Know

1.

Our children are so much more than their diagnosis. Kids with special needs are smart. Talented. Creative, and thoughtful. It may not be obvious all the time – their minds work differently.

2.

Their struggles in day-to-day life are sometimes great, but it makes the successes they achieve that much sweeter. Every milestone and every step forward is a celebration.

3.

Don’t take pity on us. Help if you can, empathize if possible, but always afford us respect and dignity.

4.

From onlookers who think I am not addressing my child’s odd behaviors: I ask for a little empathy. Don’t judge. Try to understand that his environment strongly affects him.

5.

Autism has many faces. Children with autism come in all sizes, shapes and faces. Don’t assume someone isn’t autistic because they don’t look like what you see as autism.

6.

Our children love to play just like everyone else, but lack the social skills to approach a group of kids he or she doesn’t know. The kids may seem awkward if they do, but they’re not “weird,” and ultimately they just want to be part of the group.

7.

Every minute of every day, we are mentally preparing for the next activity and it’s exhausting.

8.

While autism isn’t a terminal diagnosis, the possibility of danger is always there.

9.

If you see a child older than two or three screeching versus talking, there is a good chance that child has autism and is not just “acting out.”

10.

We learn to see the world in a unique and beautiful way that those not walking our path may not be able to comprehend.

 

 

Do you have more to add to the list? Leave us a comment in the section below!

 

 

 

Compiled by Black Hills Family Magazine