Recent accusationsMore and more are becoming vocal, thanks to social media, about their lives with children under the spectrum. This very blog and Instagram blog were created to lift the veil of autism in real life to expose many truths that the public doesn't know about ASD. And with all that exposure and community, there are plenty to butt up against the recent acceptance and understanding spreading around. For whatever reason, parents are feeling that parents of ASD children are "glamorizing" the situation and the daily lives we lead. Their disgust typically centralizes on the idea that we are some how happy and blessed with our lives. That ASD is an end-of-the-world situation meant to be hidden away in institutions and children should be forced to hear horror stories about these mentally impaired strange ones. Like ASD is bad, and should be treated that way in the public eye so as to discourage (?) others from treading down that path. Believe me, I've tried to wrap my head around it too. It doesn't make sense but that's the only thing I can think of that would be the reasoning. It cannot be that people are suddenly uncomfortable with those who are different from them just for that reason alone. That would be absurd! But can it be truly glamorized?Now everyone in America has this obsession with glamorizing everything. Literally everything. We glamorize eating disorders, and violent behavior, and risk taking, and religion and bad role models. Mainly, I blame Hollywood. And possibly the media. But those seem to be our only main new sources that flood everywhere we look, and since it isn't too concerning for us to research ourselves, we just accept it as fact and move on. Because of the "rise in autism" (for my explanation on that, click here to read more.) many are becoming alarmed about the numbers. Big numbers, no doubt. Yet there is so little truthful exposure to autism itself, that it is being more demonized than glamorized in my eyes. In movies, and TV, and seemingly the news as well, autism stories are quite...ridiculous sometimes. Either they are overly positive like they are a person dying of cancer or people with autism are literal demons who cant sense emotion and hurt people and do these weird repetitive motions and can count cards really fast. They aren't see as people. As children. As members of society with intellectual thought. HOW IS THAT GLAMORIZING AUTISM? Why is a mom's smiling face about their child trying a new vegetable "glamorizing" autism? How come our cheery dispositions and love for our children is hindering our cause? Must we be bitter and drained people for anyone to truly see our children for what they are? People. What ASD is: good and bad
Autism is not a choice. It never has been. Just like any other disorder like depression, bipolar, Downs syndrome, PTSD, etc. All these happen without control. Sure, we can try to prevent them. Some opt out of vaccines (not me.)...Some refrain from having children after 35 or eating red meat. But nature finds a way to make what it wants, done. My happiness, and choice to give my son a childhood worth remembering isn't glamorizing anything. He struggles. As some children do. But we push through. We learn new things and try to stop bad behaviors, and just live for bedtime as most parents do day-to-day. Just because we have a smile on our face, and love our children for who they are, doesn't mean that autism is the new "cool". It is what it is. They're our kids, and they aren't going anywhere. Follow our instagram @onbothfronts
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1/25/2018 11:48:34 pm
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AuthorGabrielle Rae is a special needs, stay at home mommy of two boys. She enjoys reading and writing novels in her spare time. @onbothfrontsArchives
August 2018
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