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

[brownkitty.livejournal.com]

I talk with my hands. Colin flaps his arms, or swings them exaggeratedly when he walks. I want him to stop doing this when there are people around mostly because he seems to be completely unaware of how much space he takes up. He hits people and things because he just isn't aware of the spatial relationship if it involves him.

He rarely makes eye contact. I make eye contact, but can't hold it for more than a few seconds. I rarely insist on him looking at me, and when I do it's mostly so that I can be sure I've got his complete attention.

I could go on about what he as an Aspie does that I as an NT (I guess, I've never been evaluated) do to a lesser degree.

There are things I want him to stop because I don't want someone else thinking that Colin is trying to provoke a fight. Does anyone know if there's a way to change to a different kind of stimming?

[conuly]

I don't swing my arms when I walk unless I'm thinking about it. If they move at all, it's simply from gravity. How odd.