I think the hardest thing as a parent of a child with Aspergers is the "twice invisible" thing, that because your kid is "bright", that somehow they should be able to use that intellectualism to counteract neurological/sensory overwhem. I liken it to asking a really smart soldier to just use their smarts to counteract an attack of PTSD. "Why can't he just calm down when told to do so?" It mindboggles. The focus is on the resulting behavior as a character flaw, not communicating that capacity has exceeded capability. And this is from educators that say they understand autism. No one NT can really understand the experience of autism, just as no one who has not seen the horrors of war can understand PTSD. I guess it's just easier to judge harshly than to understand. Intellectual laziness and lack of empathy in people who impulsively judge a little kid for not using his intelligence to act less impulsively when in extreme distress...grrrr.

Posted by tbolduc73 at 2023-05-10 00:19:06 UTC