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my sons autistic - oh, like rainman?

shopgirl

im getting so fed up of certain people thinking my sons not autistic or autistic enough. 

its like his teachers have had experience of one other asd child who was more extreme than my son and its like they think nothings wrong with him because he cant have autsim as hes not like the other child.

and fmaily who think they know what autism is as their friends neighbours dog has it. 

how do you tactfully tell these people its not like that and to stop uderestimating the situation?

  • Very very glad I found this site shopgirl x

  • Shopgirl, thank you that is exactly how I feel with my son and for same reasons you cheered me up as am struggling with my sons school etc at present.

    I totally agree with that statement crystal12

  • i like that phrase too crystal12.

    its interesting you say about NT understanding as i sometimes wonder if i understand my son better than many as i have so many autistic traits myself. i dont know if i have enough to get a diagnosis or even if it would be worth it for what i would personally gain from a diagnosis. i hear many mums saying how hard it is managing with an asd child and yes i find my son challenging in a young child kind of way but when i see his struggles i seem to be able to easily find ways to support him. i dont know (shrugs).

  • i like that saying Hope. 

    i wasnt familiar with savant syndrome until you mentioned it or at least that the condition had a term so thats interesting and thanks for drawing my attention to that.

    :)

  • Hi - know what you mean Frown.  "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing" (someone said).  Also I don't think autism is particularly easy to explain to neuro typical people.  They experience the world via a NT brain so if you said, for example, that certain noises really upset your child, they would draw on their NT experience to understand that.  Whilst written info, radio/tv progs etc can be useful, most people don't apply themselves to learning about autism in any depth.  My son has a sensitivity to a few sounds.  I explain it by saying "how would that affect you?"  Well yes, then multiply it by 5 or 10, then you might undestand better.  I try to use an NT's experiences to illustrate how different autism is.  It's an uphill battle.

  • This happens to me all the time, and it can be  very upsetting. You could say that autism is a huge spectrum that affects each person in very different ways. Once you have met one person with autism you have met one person with autism, a circular argument of course, and completely true.

    You could say that savantism in autism is very rare, and  every person with autism has different strengths and weaknesses, nothing should ever be assumed.

    Maybe give your friends some simple literature to read, such as an NAS leaflet or short booklet.