Labels and autism
Do you know this is the one part of autism that I really wish would change for parents? Because, you see, traditional methods of punishment don’t often work with neurodivergent children. Their brains are wired differently to ours. These children DO have meltdowns just as much as they get angry for other reasons.
This can then cause difficulties for the parents. I have spoken to quite a number of parents who have neurodivergent children. They KNOW their child is different. They know the child doesn’t respond to “normal” measures of dealing with children, but because of the differences, the child/ren can act up in public. Now I will admit that I was quite privileged that Johnathan’s way of being different was selective mutism in nursery until the last year where he read books to groups of children.
Sometimes the pathway to get your child assessed can be a very long and complicated process. And while you are waiting for the appointment, your child is being labelled. And if they are acting up in nursery and school, often the parents are blamed for how the child behaves and responds to normal practices. The ability to parent correctly is questioned and the parents are left confused and anxious and wondering what to do.
What I hate about the experiences of these children is the fact that they get labelled as being bad/difficult/tricky or whatever the word used is and they then have that reputation going from class to class and it’s really not fair to them. In a sense they don’t choose to be the way they are but if they are not diagnosed, the parents generally cannot get the help and support they need to look after the child.
In an ideal world, when the parent is starting to be blamed, before the child gets diagnosed, it would be wonderful if the child could be assessed there and then. I don’t really understand why it takes so long to get a child diagnosed. Well, ok, Covid put things back a bit….But even before then, they weren’t exactly rushing to have children assessed.
I would love for things to change for parents with an autistic child and for them to be able to attend courses and groups and things for them. It would not only prevent labels being stuck on their kids, but they would have ideas as to how to help their child. Parents want to help their children, not hurt them.