Two posts about Katie...
Jun. 12th, 2006 07:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
conuly
One
Two
And an archived article
Apparently, my little post on That Video has been making the rounds of![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-syndicated.gif)
autismhub. I'm all blushing. Really.
Now, when I posted that, one of my friends commented that parts of the video really hit home - the bits about running into traffic, especially - and that it was, for her, a moving video.
And after thinking about it a while, I think I have an answer to that.
It is a moving video. It was clearly designed to be. The question is - is it moving us anywhere helpful?
Because I watched it, and I got the idea that I was supposed to be drifted along to the idea that autistic kids need help, and the help they need is to be cured. That autistic kids are, untreated, a terrible burden on their loving families. That autism is bad in and of itself.
I don't believe any of that.
I understand that presumably-NT parents, confronted with autism for the first time, are going to go through a period of trouble. They're going to want their dream-child back instead of the real child they have. They're going to feel lost, and helpless, and they'll believe that the problem is as easy as a cure.
But how long can they keep feeling like this? Is it healthy to keep feeling like this? Is it healthy for the parents? I know it's not healthy for the kids, even the ones whose parents don't admit to their thoughts of murder/suicide in front of them.
Indeed, those thoughts of murder/suicide - and the fact that the woman felt no compunction or regret over the thoughts, nor any apprehension about admitting them to the world (and her daughter) - seem to indicate that these feelings are very unhealthy.
It's not the autism making you want to kill yourself, lady, nor is it autism which makes anybody want to kill their kids, despite the rationalizations they use.
As near as I can see, it's fine to have these feelings - for a time. To act on them? Well... certainly not to kill your kids, but even to make it clear that they're not acceptable the way they are - that's not healthy. It's not healthy for NTs, how can it be healthy for autistics?
And to go and promote the idea that wallowing in your feelings of loss, and hopelessness, and normal = good - that's beyond unhealthy. That's flat-out unconscionable. People ought to be trying to work into accepting their children, not encouraging others to think that autisic kids deserve to be treated as burdens, trials, trouble.
I can't say this right. I hope that my effort comes through clearly, instead, because if I knew how to say it right, it'd be a lot more persuasive.
Two
And an archived article
Apparently, my little post on That Video has been making the rounds of
autismhub. I'm all blushing. Really.Now, when I posted that, one of my friends commented that parts of the video really hit home - the bits about running into traffic, especially - and that it was, for her, a moving video.
And after thinking about it a while, I think I have an answer to that.
It is a moving video. It was clearly designed to be. The question is - is it moving us anywhere helpful?
Because I watched it, and I got the idea that I was supposed to be drifted along to the idea that autistic kids need help, and the help they need is to be cured. That autistic kids are, untreated, a terrible burden on their loving families. That autism is bad in and of itself.
I don't believe any of that.
I understand that presumably-NT parents, confronted with autism for the first time, are going to go through a period of trouble. They're going to want their dream-child back instead of the real child they have. They're going to feel lost, and helpless, and they'll believe that the problem is as easy as a cure.
But how long can they keep feeling like this? Is it healthy to keep feeling like this? Is it healthy for the parents? I know it's not healthy for the kids, even the ones whose parents don't admit to their thoughts of murder/suicide in front of them.
Indeed, those thoughts of murder/suicide - and the fact that the woman felt no compunction or regret over the thoughts, nor any apprehension about admitting them to the world (and her daughter) - seem to indicate that these feelings are very unhealthy.
It's not the autism making you want to kill yourself, lady, nor is it autism which makes anybody want to kill their kids, despite the rationalizations they use.
As near as I can see, it's fine to have these feelings - for a time. To act on them? Well... certainly not to kill your kids, but even to make it clear that they're not acceptable the way they are - that's not healthy. It's not healthy for NTs, how can it be healthy for autistics?
And to go and promote the idea that wallowing in your feelings of loss, and hopelessness, and normal = good - that's beyond unhealthy. That's flat-out unconscionable. People ought to be trying to work into accepting their children, not encouraging others to think that autisic kids deserve to be treated as burdens, trials, trouble.
I can't say this right. I hope that my effort comes through clearly, instead, because if I knew how to say it right, it'd be a lot more persuasive.
