You must not have had any real experience with Autism. My nephew is Autistic and I can promise you “learning to adapt” is not even remotely an option.
Every time I read idiots claiming the only reason there are higher numbers now is because everyone is jumping on the spectrum disorder bandwagon I want to scream. Try living with a truly Autistic child for even one day, much less a lifetime. It is not faked, it is not lazy parenting. It is a lifetime sentence and it can destroy families. People who dismiss this really need to take one day out of their life and go volunteer to work with children with Autism. I guarantee they will be changed forever doing so.
I’m on the Autism Spectrum.
Standing ovation for your post.
It was my first, and I didn’t know what I was doing wrong. Nothing in any parenting books helped. It was a living hell.
At the risk of opening a can of worms, my personal experience lends some truth to both your statements.
I, also, am on the ‘spectrum,’ or whatever that means nowadays. Whatever the case, living in this world is a headache and a half. I have been tempted more than a few times to just get a government check for ‘disability’ like the people I know who have it a lot easier than I do.
(In the end, a combination of vanity and the simple fact that I couldn’t stand being a burden on people changed that. That and the autists on government checks that I knew were insufferable leftist narcissists. So... yay, I guess?)
There ARE resources available to learn to adapt. I went through quite a few of them, and they’ve helped me learn to manage the autism thing. Life certainly isn’t perfect, but damned if it isn’t a lot better than it was before I got diagnosed.
one doesn’t know what it feels like to have a disabled child, even if only mildly, unless they have one or know one closely...