Autism is a neurological brain disorder exhibited by one or many children in your neighborhood. Some look very normal and show autism through their sudden outburst or strange behavior. This holds good for us as whenever we take our son to the store or to doctors chamber his uncontrollable behavior shows he is an autistic child.
We feel very awkward when after repeated warning and requests the child behaves strangely with people looking at him amazed. There have been embarrassing situations that make us pass rude comments as they do know that the child is autistic. This is because of the unawareness in the society.
So here are a few lines on autism. It is a serious neurological brain disorder which starts from infancy by the age of three and persists till adulthood. Autism impairs the social and communication skills of the affected children. They have other behavior problems like insensitivity to the surroundings, repetitive behavior, lack of response to touch even by parents, self stimulating activity like rocking, spinning without feeling giddy, self wounding are a few major behavior problems.
All autistic children are unique and the level of autism differs from one child to another. So this variation in autism is Autism Spectrum Disorder.
I would like to share the experiences I have with my seven year old autistic son who lacks speech and shows me things by pictures and gestures. His bad temper is due to the lack of communication. Guess how you would feel when you cannot express yourself clearly even when in pain and also feel very sensitive when patted or caressed.
My love for my child has helped me to face the problem bravely despite the fact some think bad parenting is the cause for autism in children. Lack of awareness in the subject of autism makes people say that the child needs discipline and autism is an excuse for many parents. This upsets me but one would know the pain only when they have an autistic child in their family.
There was a time when we felt we were a misfit in the normal society but we have braved the war on autism and after seven years my son is able to wave hello and bye-bye with the behavior therapies we followed. So autism does not affect us and come as an excuse for our normal and happy life.
Unfortunately there are millions of parents who love and support their autistic child in spite of being unhappy situation. It is sad to say that medical insurance does not cover the expensive and most needed therapy for these children. We feel upset when assistive technology and sensory integration are not included in our childrens educational program.
So, as a request to the society I would like to say that whenever you see an unruly child in the store or in public place never comment on the upbringing of the parent. It could be an autistic child unable to respond to the situation which needs your love and affection and not humiliation.
