Here are questions I have, without many answers. Or, if I have the answers, I don’t feel ready to say them yet. When I was in grad school, I learned that just by asking a question, you reveal something about yourself. A question can be a statement.<\/p>\n
I do not mean these questions to be statements, or objective in any way. They are just things I wonder about and have come across in all the interviews I have just finished doing for my book.<\/p>\n
Do you think that the autism spectrum is too large? Do you feel that there are too many people being said to have autism? How do you feel about the terms “high functioning” and “low functioning?” If we hate the terms, do we also secretly hope that our kids are “HF?” Do many people refer to their kids as “LF?” Why would they?<\/p>\n
Answers: Autism Spectrum: Some feel the spectrum is too large. Some people do not understand the many manifestations of autism. Some people would like to see different names, like maybe there is a gut disorder that has some autistic-like symptoms but when certain dietary changes are made, the gut issues go away along with the symptoms, but then these folks feel their child was “cured.”<\/p>\n
Using LF: They would not rather use it. But if a parent is told their kid is “high functioning,” most likely they’ll use that designation, because there is a positive connotation. So if your child is LF, you are forced to come up with a different way of viewing him. That is a good thing, because LF is neurelitist. If you don’t know what these terms are, see me after class.<\/p>\n
Have you ever thought about how all the terms used to describe autism spectrum set up a caste system ranging from lowest-functioning, “in their own world,” “severe,” to “high functioning,” “practically normal,” and stuff like that? How can a parent or a kid possibly feel good knowing that they are at the “bottom?” [not rhetorically asked]<\/p>\n
Answer: They must come up with a new paradigm that describes themselves, and not listen to the pejorative labels.<\/p>\n
How do you feel about the many people who are newly pregnant, who say to you: “I hope there is nothing wrong with my baby?” or “I hope he doesn’t have Down Syndrome.” I said it myself. But what that does is to set us up for an agonizing sense of failure and misery if we do get a child like that.<\/p>\n
Answer: I felt shitty when people said to me that they essentially hoped their child was not like mine. Like I was supposed to understand and remain somewhere down here, alone with my misery. But we’re talking about my darling Nat, who has brought so much to this world. Nat Nat Nat!!!<\/p>\n