Have I mentioned my daughter's autistic?

     I was called out recently, about how often I refer to my daughter's autism on Facebook. Because in case you didn't know, she is autistic. And I'm sure the same could be said for here on the blog as well. Now I'm not going to explain the irony of that particular person's comment, because it was totally ironic but I will say here and now for everyone to judge read that yes, I mention that my daughter has autism regularly, often even! And if you have a problem with that, well... I have several comments for you.


     First off, you should check out the thread that spurred this post.... Names and faces have been blacked out to protect... well, no one really. It just makes it look like I care about anyone's privacy. Which I don't because I think that if you were really concerned about your privacy you wouldn't be on Facebook to begin with.

Click the picture to make it larger, if you're blind like me and can't read the fine print..
The pictures that aren't blacked out are my comments.
The comment that is circled in red is the one that bothered me.

Now please note, that it got all kinds of ugly after that. I wonder what goes through people's heads, really?
  
So here's a list of...

Reasons Why I Can Refer To My Kid's Autism And It's OK

1. My kid's autistic. (My family lives it. Every. Single. Day.) 
2. Laughter is how my family deals with difficult situations and our daughter's autism is STILL a difficult situation. Ask any family dealing with this diagnosis and they will tell you they have daily struggles. And...
3. Sometimes autism is the punchline to my jokes! If I can't laugh about and share the funny things that my autistic child says or does because of or in spite of autism then no one should get to share the funny things their typical kids do.
4. I point out my daughter's autism to help bring awareness to the condition. For many people in my family, circle of friends and community, Myriam is the only face that autism has (besides Rain Man) and I want them to know that there are also wonderful parts to this condition. Humor being tops on my list. And I refuse to be locked into the negative side of the condition!
5. I am not ashamed that my daughter's autistic, so I don't feel the need to hide it. Autism's not a dirty word and I will continue to tell everyone about it until everyone understands.
6. Along with being a condition it's also a trait, like being tall or clumsy. It's a significant part of who she is--not the only part, but autism does color everything that she does or says. She will never outgrow it and it will never go away. 

     So if you don't understand any of the above, then the problem is yours. And until you walk a day in our shoes, please don't criticize how we choose to parent our children. Oh, and did I mention that my daughter's autistic?

Peace Out!
Pin It