Published on 12, July, 2020
Today the weather was fine so I went on one of the long walks with the ramblers association. This is often a social thing with people talking about their lives etc.
Most of these people are white, middle class professionals aged fifty plus.
I got talking about my most recent job, helping people with challenging behaviour lead better lives. And how i got along with people who were reputed to have the worst behaviour. But I managed ok. I gave one example of a woman who had meltdowns, screaming and shouting, she also kicked people, punched, spat and even bit someone. And how I had to keep sharp kitchen knives out of grabbing distance of her when preparing her meals. One of our group told me that, that woman definitely sounds Autistic and must have Asperger's syndrome.
Actually she has Cerebral Palsy, epilepsy and severe learning disabilities.
Maybe the word “meltdown” triggered the autism association... there is still quite a simplistic understanding out there with many hidden disabilities.
A friend of my son popped over yesterday. He’s autistic and just successfully made the transition to college. My OH noted that he seemed calmer and that “his pills must be working”. I replied.. “where can I get theses pills!”