Ok, so fair enough, if I am calling out other autistic moms, I should be able to provide an example of what it should be like, right? Wrong! I do not suppose to say that mine is the definitive way to do this, autism, in my opinion, the ultimate social construction, and no autistic parent should be feeling obligated to follow any of my leads. . .I do not consider them leads- they are paths I have taken. Nothing more, nothing less- the way I have led my son to his current state, may not, and perhaps should not be used as The Rosetta stone- Autism whisperer, puleeze!
My problem with the whole "spotlight on famous moms who have autistic kids" is such- in these articles, and the way they were written, it seems like autism is something that can be cured (not proven yet) can be caused by shots (disproved as recently as 2004) and that diet changes can eliminate the problem (again, not a cure some kids who showed improvement with the gluten/sugar free diet have regressed)
The diet thing drives me nuts because some kids have the over stimulation issue so intensely that they literally cannot eat food- there are 7 year olds like Precious who drink ensure/formula and some baby food because they cannot tolerate to swallow anything else. There are 7 year olds, 10 year olds, 3 year olds who are on tube feeding because they cannot swallow at all.
All that I know is that seeing Rainman and reading about these 2 specific kids will not ever fully lead to comprehensive understanding about autism, because these kids with this condition are still individuals, and what works for some will not work in others. . .at no time did I ever mean to say that I alone was the voice of the autistic mom- and I will not let celebrities do that either, simply because you have some sort of fame doesn't mean you are less mortal. . .right?
So, more to come, as I have more to say on the subject. . .for sure!
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