Remember that post where I talked about the T-shirt? The one about autistic kids rock?

[conuly]

Yeah. I've just now realized the *other* reason the complaints against it irritated me.

"Oh, my autistic kid doesn't rock, nor spin, it's such a stereotype, etc, etc, etc"

*taps foot*

Here's the thing. Many autistic people do rock. And guess what? SO DO NTS. Cradles? Rocking chairs? Swings, rocking horses, see-saws, rock-a-bye expletive baby? Rocking is something NTs do all the time.

And they spin, too! They pick their kids up and twirl all around, holding them by the waist or the hands or a hand and a foot. And then kids and adults clamber to go on carosels, and merry-go-rounds. Sit-n-spins weren't invented just to cater to autistic kids, after all.

And yes, non-autistics spin objects, too - spinning tops and dreidel-dreidel-dreidel-I-made-you-out-of-clay and pinwheels and spirographs....

So this is a bad thing why exactly?

Autistic kids rock. So do all kids. It's what they do.

(And before you tell me that the difference is in degree, I *know*. That's not the point.)

I have another rant on playing coming right up.

Comments

[conuly]

I was in speech classes (which really sucked, and were badly run after my first teacher went away), and also the gifted program. That's what IEPs are for.

I'm not going to lie and say that getting a diagnosis can't cause its own problems, but it's not a definite problem in and of itself.

[kibbles.livejournal.com]

Well I'm not going to ignore getting a diagnosis, of course, I just have seen where kids were given things just to keep programs (like Early Intervention) going and know some parents who really try to get their kids in it, mostly for the break/free daycare it gets. I've had parents ADMIT that! "Oh I dont think there is that much wrong with my kid but it's fantastic, they pick her up, take her for a few hours and send her back and its FREE."

I was just looking into a recommended place, Thursday's Child, but it appears that it is early intervention only. My MIL may have info on where to get him evaluated, too, because it's part of her job, finding services for children. (Step MIL, the sane one, not the nuts one in Iowa.)