While I can’t speak for all parents, please stop saying this to me...
“I don’t know how you do it.”
Simple answer: I don’t “know” any other way. It’s my child, has always been my child and always will be my child.
What am I supposed to do? Not care? Walk away? Trade in for a new one?
Would you with your child?
We face the exact same challenges as ALL parents. We also experience the exact same joy. Maybe we need more patience, maybe we need to take more time, maybe we need to look deeper than whats being said verbally and nonverbally - but how’s that a bad thing?
It has always been odd to me how often the buzzword “diversity” gets tossed around and how fast it gets “defined” into the box that best fits those doing the defining. It’s ok for all kids to be different - and a good thing - unless it’s my kid, and then it becomes about...
How do you do it?
I don’t know, maybe I do it by thinking people are all different from one another and embracing that for what it is.
How am I (or we) supposed to NOT do it?
So, if you’re speaking with a parent of a child with ASD, please ask all the questions you like as they will be more than willing to help build awareness but please don’t say “how do you do it”.
Thank You.
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