The picture above was taken a few days ago. I believe anyone can look at the picture and see the happiness on my 19 year old severely autistic son Conor's face. What is truly remarkable is that his happiness has been a constant feature of his life despite the very severe challenges that he faces with severe autism, intellectual disability (like 50% of persons with autism), epileptic seizures, life threatening adverse reactions to some seizure meds and self injurious behaviors. What is perhaps even more remarkable is that Conor's happiness has been a constant in his life even without his parents listening to or giving any weight whatsoever to the opinions of self annointed autism experts like John Elder Robison, Ari Ne'eman, Shannon Des Roches Rosa, Jim Sinclair, Michelle Dawson, Steve Silberman or any of the other persons who attack parents for speaking honestly about their child's severe autism disorders and who actually support efforts to find cures and treatment for their autism disorders.
The following are pictures of my happy son Conor thoughout his life although not in chronological order. We didn't follow or need the advice of the army of neurodiversity activists who are actually arrogant enough to believe that they know better than parents how to raise, care for and love their own children. I have never hidden my disdain for their attempts to impose their so called self advocacy on other people's children. When I see my son who struggles with far more severe challenges than the self advocates who want to rule the autism world and yet is still happy and loved by those who know him I am very glad that I do not subscribe to their ideology.
3 comments:
Irrefutable evidence of a very well-loved child.
Robison, Ne,eman, Siberman are not even on the same page with us when it comes to severity. Like your son, ours is a well loved and happy young man. I appreciate your advocacy for those who just don't fit the mold of the most prevalent form of autism. What we need for him is a future but with that he will need help. What type of jobs can he do and want to do? Many really are capable especially of doing repetitive or even intricate jobs. On the other hand, many say that "workshop" jobs are not inclusive and demeaning. States are closing them down, but, working at a sheltered workshop can also be positive experience for a small percentage of young adults who feel they could not otherwise cope with the stresses of the outside world. They like sameness, security that comes with having a job coach. Somewhere where he can take pride in his work even for the few meager dollars he earns. http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/201... I am hoping that in the future we can see more discussion on this matter since adulthood does come. I am sure that 90% of people with autism have the opportunity and motivation to work inside the community but a small minority do not. Please advocate for job opportunities and speak about it on your website. Thank you
If anyone needs a reality check about what some forms of autisms is like, they should watch the documentary "The Best Kept Secret." It is about a dedicated teacher who is trying to find a life for these young men after they can no longer attend school. This story is at times joyous and heartbreaking. Of course we are all "neurodiverse" on this planet and we all need respect and understanding but some of us need a little help to live a full life. Just practical things like something to make us feel we belong. We have somewhere to go each day. Somewhere to work and live. Even though this film is about lower income families, it is also true about any income children who have aged out of the system and who have a true disability.
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