YOUR TRUE STORIES

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“I am so tired of hearing my child doesn’t qualify for this, my child is not severe enough for that, or 4 months with a therapist then suddenly my child is passed off to a new one. Every time I ask why my son is not given the consistency that autistic children require I am told 'This therapist has more severe long-term kids so we passed your child off to so and so'. One of the therapists made him practice his handwriting for the entire session every week. That’s it. 'Your child is not severe enough' infuriates me, because does my child have to DO the horrible thing to be severe?? Is there no intervention to STOP, to help harness behaviors and impulses? 'Not severe enough' when I knew exactly what the toddler version of this was, the screaming the yelling the hitting the running from me in public, the combativeness that spilled over onto my mom and grandma. I neverrrr thought my sweet child would hit at, or be so angry toward anyone besides me let alone my mom and grandma. But yea, 'not severe enough.' Today.” - A Parent

“I took my daughter to lunch one day with my husband, father-in-law, and brother-in-law. She was around 4 or 5 years old and a tablet was the only thing to keep her calm in public. She was able to direct all attention and sensory information to that tablet. I noticed stares coming from a table of older women. I was very in tune with my surroundings by that time, ready to protect my daughter, and then I heard that terrible judgment, 'What happened to actually talking to your child?' The anger and hurt that came over me is something I have felt many times in my life. I still beat myself up for not confronting them and for not educating them, but I was young and unsure of how to approach it. I need people to know what pain comments like this can cause. Now, at 13, I am her voice. We can discuss autism all we want but living the autism journey is a completely different story." - A Parent