I know we have all had them, client's children that run around the house you are showing, screaming, yelling, or just being a disruption. And maybe you're thinking, "gosh that child is just bad", or "what kind of parents would allow this?"
I contend that maybe you look beyond what you see for there is often much more there. My own recent experience in a restaraunt prompted me to write this blog. My wife, 7 year old son and a friend were eating at a popular casual dining restaraunt and my son was making some noises in a playful way even despite my urging him to keep an inside voice he continued to make funny noises a little more loudly possibly than what is considered normal but not extreme. There was a man maybe 55-60 years old eating dinner with his wife sitting to our right and the man looked over to us and said somthing that I could not understand, so I said "I beg your pardon I did not hear you" and the man replied "can you keep your kid quite I am trying to eat my dinner here!" in a very impolite voice and manner. Having experienced this situation many times before I did not immediately get angered by the man's comments I simply and politeley replied "I am sorry sir my son suffers from Autism and sometimes makes noises." Then to my astonishment the man replied "what the kid needs is some old fashioned discipline!" This of course angered me intensly and an arguement ensued.
The point here is that you can't always tell what is going on in any certain situation. My 7 year old son looks like any other 7 year old, likes what other 7 year olds like, and can speak as a 7 year old (not in traditional way however) but he does not understand societal norms at all, does not understand much of his actions, has huge episodes of frustration sometimes exhibited as tantrums or even hitting & kicking.
He is not a bad child, he has a disability. I know maybe you are thinking that this could be true for your child but how common is it, whats the possibility I would encounter this? I ask you, have you seen a 133 different children in your life? Then the answer is you have most likely encountered an Autistic child. The newest numbers suggest 1 out of every 133 children born have a form of Autism and 1 out of every 99 boys have Autisim. And please remember these children are not retarded or brain damaged and even though it may not seem so, they understand alot more of whats going on around than what it appears.
I leave you with a request: Next time you encounter a child either in your business or just out in public that seems like a brat, rowdy, disorderly, or just odd stop and consider the possibility that there is more to the picture than what you may realize. And if you're a person that tends to make audible remarks to others or to yourself even(that could possibly be overheard), please pause and re-think, we as parents of Autistic children have a very tough road and deal with quite enough sadness that we really don't need to be reminded of our situation by others nor do we deserve to have to defend our children in public when trying to enjoy a family evening.
Thanks you for reading and God Bless
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