Children with autism
Hi ladies,
In my lecture today we looked at children with autism and were shown a video (very old school i know lol) on everyday interactions and life in general for children with autism and their carers ie. parents, teachers etc.
I always wondered what i would do and how i would cope if my child was autistic but after watching this video it totally changed my views. I would probably be inclined to give up work and study as oppose to taking mat leave as those with autism tend to favour a routine. Although there are obviously ways around this.
What do you think you would do if you had a child that was autistic? Is there anyone on here that has/ works with autistic children who could share their opinion?
Obviously i hope we all get healthy babies in every way when we finally get that BFP and i don't mean to offend anyone by this post, but thought it would make an interesting topic to discuss )
In my lecture today we looked at children with autism and were shown a video (very old school i know lol) on everyday interactions and life in general for children with autism and their carers ie. parents, teachers etc.
I always wondered what i would do and how i would cope if my child was autistic but after watching this video it totally changed my views. I would probably be inclined to give up work and study as oppose to taking mat leave as those with autism tend to favour a routine. Although there are obviously ways around this.
What do you think you would do if you had a child that was autistic? Is there anyone on here that has/ works with autistic children who could share their opinion?
Obviously i hope we all get healthy babies in every way when we finally get that BFP and i don't mean to offend anyone by this post, but thought it would make an interesting topic to discuss )
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Replies
My little brother has autism (Asperger's syndrome). He's my stepmum and my dad's child and was born when I was nearly 10 and dad was 40 (a big accident, hehe!)
My mum has been a special needs teacher for 30 years as well, I used to go in to the schools she's worked in and help out. Most of the children's disabilities were autism, some had down's syndrome, others general learning difficulties & some have been genuinely 'difficult' kids who don't have disabilities but have had hard lives, been abused or in care....
My brother's 12 now, he can be a complete pain as he loves rhythmic sayings and throughout his childhood he was always driving us nuts with them (there are 4 of us older ones). He makes up songs...He's got one about me called 'the worcestershire girl' (I'm not even from worcestershire!?) and he wants to be a comedian when he grows up...
Routine is a big part of his life, he doesn't like change which is why his little habits keep him sane, he gets a lot of phases that last a long time. He likes to be different, at the moment his obsession has been being an old man for a while. Watching last of the summer wine, carrying a stick around and wearing a waistcoat...my stepmum gets v embarrassed ...!!!
He went through a phase of writing the football scores down obsessively but grown out of that now. But he does like lists a lot.
I think sometimes my dad and stepmum find him a bit difficult as they couldn't really go abroad even if they wanted to as the change would upset him. My stepmum has always worked as a teaching assistant since he was 1. He started showing signs of autism around then, as he REALLY hated nursery, unlike most children.
I'm not denying I'd be upset if I had an autistic child as I think ultimately we all want our children to do all the 'normal' stuff and want them to sail through life with minimal difficulties - I think just as you would not want your child to be in a wheel chair and have difficulty getting around, you dont want them to have difficulties in social situations either.....
I've already got a son and he's nearly 2, it's pretty clear to me he's not autistic which I'm thankful for ....But if I did have an autistic child I would just do what I do with my son, try my best for them to live a happy life and be independent, I think I'd also try and 'let them go' a bit, hard as that might be! As my mum teaches 17/18 y/o autistic kids, and gets them to be independent. They are really good at shopping and catching a bus on their own and stuff now x
Having said that, he is the most gorgeous little boy in the world (just my opinion ) and even if someone could come and wave a magic wand and make all his little ways disappear, I wouldnt let them, because then he wouldnt be him any more and I adore him just the way he is.
As for wondering how you would cope, the answer to that is that you just do, if someone had said to me 3 years ago that we would be going through everything that we are right now, I would have run a mile and said no way could I cope, but you do and it is an amazing (if not a bit difficult at times) journey.
Sorry for the ramble, but just wanted to share my experience.