Parents of autistic children, particularly lower functioning autistic children, often fear that ultimate autism reality check. Their child is now an adult. What do they do now? Parents grow older and become more feeble. The child is now a robust adult. But sometimes lacking in understanding of the world and lacking the ability to function fully. As the family's ability to care for the now grown child diminishes, all the tests that Dr. Laurent
Mottron comes up with to demonstrate the innate intelligence of autistic persons will not help the family as it wrestles with real life issues such as where their child will live, how will he be cared for, and by whom, and what quality of life will she enjoy or endure as the case may be. Services are generally not readily available as the school system is left behind. Internet autism divas and gurus will be dispensing their wisdom on the
internet but they will not be there to help your child. In
Parents of older autistic children wonder: Now what? Quincy Herald Whig, August 15, 2007, the
Cawthon family faces the reality of adult autism and the future for their 21 year old son Nick.
http://www.whig.com/332192695708984.php
Parents of older autistic children wonder: Now what?
"Come school time, it's going to freak him out not to go somewhere every day," she said. Nick, who speaks very little, told his mom that Friday night, "want to go to school."
She reminded him that he graduated.
"Want to go to CRC," he said, shifting his weight from leg to leg, then moments later repeated, "Want to go to CRC."
For now, that's not going to happen.
"Come school time, it's going to freak him out not to go somewhere every day," she said.
Your posts about autistic adulthood are strong and moving.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I am sorry that you brought into this particular one the confrontation between your and some other people's views.
I am sure that when Dr. Mottron probes the hidden intellectual abilities of autistics, he hopes to find ways to help these abilities come out, develop and improve the lives of the people having them.
Of course he may never find such ways. I can say about my own research that the results I obtain are always despairingly modest, compared to my hopes.
"Autism Diva" not only is autistic herself, she has a child on the spectrum. She doesn't want, for the moment, to tell more about her child, so I don't know his degree of "functioning". However, I suppose that she also has thoughts and worries about his future as an adult.