I wasn't sure whether to address this at all, not sure if I should waste precious time, frankly. Many of you may have heard of a certain media personality's recent comments regarding autistic children. There are many reactions one could have to such an ignorant tirade, & I decided to share some thoughts.

Outrage is understandable. Our children (& the parents) suffer enough just living in the state they are, then to have abusive language heaped on them on top of that seems inexcusable. Yes, it can hurt to have someone judge our children, & us as parents, based on no reason or fact at all, so harshly. The comments were almost so cruel it feels like a physical assault of sorts.

Another reaction would be sadness, hurt, & deep concern. The callousness of such comments could cause so many who don't know any better, & won't take a moment to find out the truth, to judge us & our children the same way. What kind of treatment does this set up our families for out in society?  There are so many people who choose to listen to & believe such negative comments, so words such as these can have far reaching consequences for many of us.

Unbelievably, I actually found myself chuckling a bit over this at times. It's so incredibly off the mark that when not taking anything else into account, it's almost laughable how a person can speak as such an arrogant authority on something he obviously knows nothing about.

Let's take this apart a bit, from my own point of view...

My own observations of certain comments (that I will not repost here; see link for ugly details):

Now, number one, I never would have asked his opinion on this, but he felt some inclination to give it, despite not having any apparent knowledge on the subject, & obviously not having any personal experience at all.

As a side note on the asthma comments, asthma is also a growing condition that is a by product of vaccinations, & can be most often alleviated by giving up dairy products (our practitioners agree Little Guy would probably be asthmatic if I hadn't cut out offending foods from his diet), but I digress...

Now, most families with autistic children that I know of, are not benefiting from it in any way, in particularly, not financially. Many have given up or lost almost everything in an effort to finance their children's recovery. DAN! doctors cost thousands of dollars, & many of them are not covered by insurance. Our homeopaths also cost thousands, & are not covered by insurance. Guess what? No one is paying for our children's needs except us, as best we can.

I also don't see autistic kiddos benefiting off the educational system, as most schools cannot provide the individual attention each child with autism needs. Many of the kids are just falling through the cracks. Unless he considers "extra help" being confined in a restraint for hours a day, then we might be talking here.

Regarding autistic children really just being "brats" (again see link for ugly details):

Whew, what a relief. I thought maybe Big Guy was still soiling his diaper, at almost 14yrs old, because he had sensory issues & auditory processing disorders, as well as leaky gut, parasites, candida, & the titers that tell us he has very high viral activity in his body. I thought he pounded his head on the wall because he was having pain & frustration over that pain & the fact he couldn't share that information with us so we could effectively help him, since he is non verbal. 

But maybe he's really not non verbal after all! Maybe he's just a "brat" refusing to talk! That must be why he makes all those odd noises all day long. Wouldn't anyone much rather live like that then carry on a conversation with another human being? I bet the commentor would too! (I bet he'd even still have an active audience).

Hmmmm... I just told Big Guy to "cut the act out". It didn't work. He's still busy waving that toy around in front of his face, which of course is much more fun than reading a book or playing a game.

My children do have a father around by the way, as so many autistic children still do, & I bet if he was to say that to our autistic children, they would probably still give him a smile & hug, even if they can't say "Okay dad." (Or, again, maybe they're only pretending to be non verbal).

On the screaming comment... maybe if the hum of a light sounded like an airplane going through your head you'd scream too...

And, just a thought... since when is it okay to call a child who can't speak for himself, even though the words might be there in their head, but the connection can't be made between the brain & the mouth because of neurological damage, a "moron"?

By the way, how do all those comments about "being a man" apply when the autistic child is a girl?

Oh, right, he believes autism doesn't exist. So how about the girls that act like my Big Guy, & worse? I guess they're just pretending too, because it's much more fun for a school age girl to sit in a dirty diaper, wave a toy in front of her face, slam her head into a wall, or glass window or door, & babble or make loud odd noises than play with other kids, right?

"Don't act like a girl." Is what my Big Guy does what girls do normally? Not from my rather limited experience in seeing other girls, or having been one myself at one time.

I can say that my children's father does not encourage his boys to act like girls, but again neither one of us realized that's the way girls act. Hmmmmm... maybe he's not just insulting autistic children, but girls as well.

I need to consider what the Bible says about folks like this:

A man who lacks judgment derides his neighbor, but a man of understanding holds his tongue.
(Proverbs 11:12)

He who guards his lips guards his soul, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.
Proverbs 13:3

But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.
Matthew 12:36

 A kind man benefits himself, but a cruel man brings himself harm.
Proverbs 11:17

Another reaction could be pity. Pity for someone with such anger that he can so easily lash out at those helpless & unable to retaliate. As a follower of Jesus I'm commanded to forgive & pray...
 
But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
Matthew 5:44

In the end, it will all be sorted out in front of the Lord. 

This person needs prayers, because right now I can at least say that I know my kiddos will be seated around our Lord someday, where nothing more can hurt them.

For another commentary from another autism mom, please visit my dear friend, Karla's blog.