In the recent Treyvon-Zimmerman and Casey Anthony's case, court cases have surfaced. Some of which have come to light again are news stories about parents murdering their children with autism.
...Why is this happening?
It has been speculated that the recent spate of parents who have murdered their children with autism (and in a couple of instances, taken their own lives as well) have succumbed to the pressures of an unyielding society that values perfection and normalcy. It is a powerful and seductive lure when parents of children with autism are promised "recovery" for their children; but examples of kids with autism completely fading their so-called autistic traits are rare. Can you imagine the tremendous guilt imposed on the parent whose child with autism is not making significant advances while enrolled in programming that proffers a "cure"? Many parents belabor what they could or should be doing differently to support their child.
Know the child best, trust your parental intuitions, rely on your gut feelings, and follow your heart in discerning what is right and true and good and kind. Murder and suicide are not options; the world needs people like your child in it -- magnificent gorgeous human beings who can teech us tolerance, patience, compassion, and acceptance of diversity. (William Stillman.)
A concerning question to parents of autistic children is whether or not their child will be able to develop romantic relationships one day, especially if they have an intense passion for a particular subject.
A child's passion may actually be the catalyst that develops a relationship into romance. Remember the importance of trying to connect a child with someone who shares his passion? Well, romance requires just one other person; and one person is all it takes to found a loving, pleasing, mutually satisfying relationship that may progress into longetivity.
You may have heard people's strong areas of special interest referred to as a "labor of love." Love is the tie that binsd, and a mutual love can conjoin two people in the context of a shared passion. THis makes sense when we consider the ways in which anyone typicall develops a romance; it's usually through vocational, avocational, educational, or relationship contacts. There's no reason why the same couldn't hold true for a child with autism, and his passion makes a logical starting point.
Although it seems like an obvious question, it's still pondered: can someone be autistic and gay?
The answer to theis question is the same as asking if someone who is born blind can also be gay. Or born with cebral palsy. Or with green eyes and albino skin.
Yes.
Human sexuality is a grayscale as broad and diverse as that of the autism spectrum, and virtually anybody can be gay. A child's budding homosexuality requires compassionate sensitivity to support him to tame and and educate him on personal disclosure in the same ways you did about disclosing his autism diagnosis -- both are natural human experiences.
This is a CNN video in honor of Autism Awareness Month. It is a series of clips of children, teenagers, and adults with autism and what they have to say about their experience with autism.
It is truly inspiring--
One of the good things about it... that like you think differently than other people. And being different is okay.
It gets in the way of my thoughts. It gets in the way of learning. It gets in the way of having friends. And it gets in the way of having fun. Autism cannot and will not stop me.
