5 Things to Forget About Autism
As a father of two children with autism, I often encounter misconceptions about autism. This does not make me angry. Before our son was diagnosed, all I knew about autism came from Rain Man. I believe that is the job of parents to educate those who do not understand autism. Here are five misconceptions that need to be forgotten by everything.
1. If you know one person with autism, you know them all. Some people think that knowing one person with autism gives them insight into everyone with autism. The truth is that there is a huge spectrum. Judging autism by one person is like judging people without autism by one person.
2. People with autism are not affectionate. The stereotype of people with autism are those who are in their own word who do not interact with others. Some may be that way but not all. Our children have severe autism and yet they are incredibly affectionate. There are lots of hugs and kisses and they definitely interact with us.
3. All people with autism are savants. I often get asked what special abilities our children have. There certainly are people with autism who are savants but it is not universal. Many people with autism live fine without being musical geniuses.
4. People with autism are unintelligent. There are people with autism who are globally delayed (mentally retarded) but even they are not unintelligent. Our daughter who is 12 years old has a mental age of about 2 years. Still, she has tremendous problem-solving skills and it is a challenge to outsmart her. Our son is also considered globally delayed and yet there are many areas where he has above average intelligence.
5. People with autism should be pitied. The truth is that many people with autism are very happy and content. They are different and they experience the world differently, but that is not necessarily bad. Let people with autism enjoy life their way and respect them for it.
If people forget each of these myths, families dealing with autism will be much better off.
