We are like your child: do you believe in your children?, by Sparrow Rose Jones. Great rebuttal to parents who see a “high-functioning” autistic adult, and disregard their advice as irrelevant to their “low functioning” child. Adults have decades more life experience than children, and Sparrow notes that her own path wasn’t straightforward, nor her milestones achieved at the expected times. Her challenge: do you believe in your child, that they have potential to grow and achieve?
Better because of autism
Why his autism has made me a better person, and why I should never say that it has, by Autism and Oughtisms. While many parents of autistic children could agree with the statements in this article about how their children’s autism has made them a stronger/more compassionate/etc person – actually saying so can objectify their child. Some thoughtful perspectives.
Types of Intelligence
This infographic shows eight different types of intelligence – I found it very interesting!
I’m not a mind-reader
I am not a mind reader (and neither are you), by Dana Nieder. “If we assume that in a particular situation, a certain sound/word/sign/gesture always means more or less the same thing, then we begin to pigeonhole our child’s communication, and to (inadvertently, unintentionally) sell them short.” Dana advocates the use of AAC for communication-challenged children, and this is one of the best explanations I have read for doing so.
A different kind of mother’s love
A different kind of mother’s love, by Aprille (BeautifulInHisTime). Aprille writes about her desire to be an intentional mother/purposeful parent – but her child’s needs made her mothering look less like stock photography and more like a complex machine (I know the feeling!!). She has learned that the way she expresses her love for her child is different than what she expected it to be, but it’s still a mother’s love, and it’s okay.
Acceptance or “otherness”?
Open letter from Beth Hersom about the message parents are giving their children when they stifle their children’s curiosity about a different child. Children usually aren’t being rude, they want to figure out categories – will this different child be a potential friend, or will their parents’ discomfort teach them about “otherness”?
Accept or attack?
Our life with autism: accept or attack?, by Jerry (Bacon and Juice Boxes blog). Sums up the options very neatly! (I’m in the middle too 🙂 ).
Autism and AAC
Autism and AAC: Five things I wish I had known, by Deanne Shoyer (Small But Kinda Mighty blog). Deanne advocates for ALL autistic people to have access to AAC, even if they are verbal, as the ability to use verbal speech can sometimes be inconsistent. She believes that communication strategies should be at the heart of everything therapists/teachers/etc do to provide autistic people with support. “How can an autistic child socialize with his peers if he can’t communicate with them? Why are we spending so much time suppressing behaviours instead of giving a child the means to tell us how she feels?”
Not telling strangers
Why I’ve stopped using autism as an apology or explanation to strangers, by Autism and Oughtisms. Some well-thought-out reasons why NOT to tell strangers about our children’s diagnosis – I hadn’t thought of all these before, but there are some interesting perspectives to ponder here.
I know what causes autism
I know what causes autism, by Carrie Cariello. Looks at some of the explanations for autism that have been broadcast around the internet in the last few years – many laughable, some that may be possibilities. She also writes about some of the controversies within the autism community (eg epidemic needing a cure vs acceptance). Her thoughts and feelings on many of these subjects are complicated (I can relate to that!), and I like the way she outlined them.
lovenlearning 