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Be patient with those who live in a nonverbal world
Date published: 1/10/2006
After reading Laura Echevarria's op-ed, I decided to send a comment ["When the one child in 166 is yours, autism casts a giant shadow," Jan. 5] I have a beautiful 6-year-old granddaughter who is in the autistic spectrum. Because she looks "normal" we, as her family, have to endure some rude looks, stares, and occasional comments from people who think she is a spoiled brat when she has an occasional meltdown. It is hard enough to raise an autistic child, dealing with all the various issues she has on a daily basis, without the blatant rudeness of people who these days are quite vocal about saying things they seem to think they have a right to say. Fortunately, the older she gets, the less frequent these meltdowns are, but she still has quirks. Her social skills are improving. If my granddaughter had Down syndrome, were blind, or had some other obvious physical disability, I doubt that her parents would have to endure what they do now. With the rate of autism being one in every 166 children, people need to be made aware that the child they see behaving in a bad way may be a child who is living in a mostly nonverbal world, and that is the way they communicate their displeasure or discomfort. The meltdowns normally don't last very long. When appropriate, we will calmly inform someone (recently, airport security--when she didn't want to take off her shoes and had a meltdown) that she is autistic, and we're sorry for the commotion. We find that once the person is made aware that they are dealing with an autistic child, their attitude towards the child and us changes, and it is a much more pleasant experience. In this day of political correctness, perhaps everyone should be given the benefit of the doubt first, before the dirty looks, shaking heads, and comments are made. I don't think she should have to wear a "scarlet A" identifying herself as autistic before she gets accepted by judgmental people. Linda Philpott Lake of the Woods
Date published: 1/10/2006
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