Reply #25: My son is autistic and is a love too! [View All]

[earth mom]

Dh and I love him as he is and wouldn't change a thing about him now! He's almost 10, and while it was rough at first, the GFCF diet plus ABA have worked wonders for him. The diet is hard but we never gave up on it and he's been on it almost 5 years now. He had ABA for 3 years which helped with his behaviors and also his ability to focus. And you said it DianeG5385-stucture, a loving environment and acceptance are key. We take it one day at a time and celebrate every inch of progress. But we don't sit around mourning the loss of anything-what's the point in that?! We accept him for who he is and he's a happy and loving kid because of it.

I met another parent recently who was practically boiling over with anger over his sons condition. I asked him if played golf as he was wearing a jacket with a golf insignia on it and he said "no, not anymore!" in a harsh tone. Later as we discussed our sons he told me that his son spends 3 or 4 hours daily on breaks and over the summer months not on ABA but on academic pursuits. I was floored. Because mind you neither of our boys have aspergers but just have plain old autism to differing degrees. My son is a bit more higher functioning than his because he is much more verbal and is able to communicate. However, his son is a couple of years younger and may possibly progress to my sons level. Our sons share the same special ed teacher and when I told this parent that the teacher had told me and dh to just let our son be a kid and to most of all to enjoy him for who he is-this parent looked at me and in a furious tone of voice said "it's important to us that our son is able to achieve and progress academically!" Sorry, but his ideas sound like militant boot camp to me, and I was stunned by his attitude from start to finish. While I would never say to any parent that it's "my way or the highway", this attitude to me was absolutely the wrong way to go about helping any kid with autism. The last thing you do is push these kids in directions that they themselves aren't interested in. Even ABA is a gentle prodding to improve behavior, not some extreme mind bending exercise!

Love em, guide em, but let them be who they are!