THINKING PERSON'S GUIDE TO AUTISM
Autism news and resources: from autistic people, professionals, and parents
Why does the media keep letting parents of autistic kids exploit those kids’ most vulnerable moments? Autistic writer Sarah Kurchak talks to her mom Jane about why such stories aren’t parents’ tales to tell, and why Jane will never write about raising Sarah.
We need more people to stand up and tell the world that exploiting your autistic child for “honesty” and profit is unacceptable, and that autistic people and their families deserve better than the constant barrage of misery and pain memoirs the publishing industry assumes to be our lot.
During my 15 of autism activism, I’ve seen tremendous positive change in what people—including parents—believe about autism, but this “grief” crap JUST WON’T DIE.
Food is an important part of life. Instead of using food as a “positive reinforcer,” or diets as part of a cure attempt, parents can use food and conversations about food to connect with their autistic children.
I am all about helping parents learn from my mistakes, so they don’t repeat my mistakes. Here are five bonks I made during the early years of parenting my autistic son, and how you can avoid repeating my fails.
This is a mini-guide for parents to think about autistic matters and perspectives they may not know about, and which may help them and their kids live the Best Lives Possible.
If your child has recently been diagnosed with autism, as my son was in 2003, here’s what I want you to know: Learn from me, don’t be me.
Since I didn’t know I was autistic, I just assumed there was something wrong with me and that I deserved what I got. I learned that intrinsically, I was less than a person, since I didn’t have a framework to tell me otherwise.
I regret that I didn’t give my non-speaking son the opportunities to display an interest in things that I assumed he wouldn’t understand. I regret that my assumptions limited him when they should have been expanding his world.
Autism acceptance, for the author, means recognizing that her autistic daughter “already is happy; she has a good life. So do a lot of people who go with their humanity unrecognized and unacknowledged.”