I hear a whole lot of people that have never dealt with autism (or ADHD, for that matter) say things like, "Well when we were younger, there was no autism" or "A good ass whooping would probably knock the autism right out of them." These are both commonly said by very jack-assy individuals who have no idea what they're talking about. They are uninformed and ignorant. Why? The first documented case of autism was in 1799. Clearly autism WAS around when we were kids; it just wasn't talked about as much. There were probably more undiagnosed cases of autism than one can imagine. For quite some time, only the most severely non-functioning autistic children were diagnosed. Now, there is more known and we are very concerned with early intervention. Autism has been around forever.
The second comment is the one that gets under my skin most, though. Let me paint you a picture: Imagine going to the grocery store, except the music isn't lightly playing in the background...it's blaring. The lights are strobe lights with some spot lights that keep following you around, just for fun. Everyone is invading your bubble of personal space. Everything you touch shocks you. The colors are all overly bright and painful to your eyes. Does that sound appealing to you? Of course not! Autistic children, and those with sensory processing issues, experience many, if not all, of these symptoms in public places. It's not just limited to public, though. It might be a backyard picnic or just getting dressed in the morning. Over-stimulation is everywhere that they turn.
With over-stimulation comes outbursts and meltdowns. Believe me, these children (and adults) do not CHOOSE to have a meltdown. In fact, they will go through every therapeutic step they can to prevent it. They don't want to have a meltdown. They are counting backwards, taking deep breaths and doing everything else that they can to occupy their brain and distract them from the over stimulation. Sometimes it works. Other times, it just doesn't come close.....not....even....close.
The misnomer that you can "whoop" the autism out of a child is ridiculous. You can no more whoop autism out than whoop the diabetes out of a child or whoop the vision deficiencies out of a child. In my experience, parents of children affected by autism are some of the most involved and aware parents. They do their best to avoid situations that will over stimulate their child but it's a delicate balance. They need to, also, involve their child in real life situations to help them learn to cope. My experiences have been that the children are some of the most bright, sensitive, kind children you'd ever meet. They are not in need of a "whooping." They are in need of a little bit of compassion. Their parents might be in need of a little bit of empathy.
Let me tell you what WOULD happen if you whoop an autistic child during a meltdown. You'd create a bigger meltdown. You see, these meltdowns are not temper tantrums. The child is struggling to gain control over their very over-stimulated brain. The parents' goal is to talk them down....to help them stop cycling. Spanking them takes an overstimulated brain and adds even more over stimulation. Most children do not even want to be touched when they're experiencing a meltdown...striking them would do nothing but harm. Striking them would be even more confusing, upsetting and (in my opinion) harmful to their well-being. You can't "whoop" the autism out of a child.
If you want to help, the best thing you can do is educate yourself. Spread awareness. Let's get more funding to get more research. The more research done, the more we know and the more we can help these children. If you want to "whoop" something, "whoop" the myths with knowledge about this condition. Be an encouragement and know that these kids (and their parents) are doing their absolute best, just like every other kid out there.
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