Point 6 from Sometimes my Heart Hurts for your Child
Over on Speaking of Autism… Quincy has written a heartfelt piece aimed primarily at the autism community, but it is also relevant to the wider neurotypical (non-autistic) community.
The article is quite long (approximately 9 minutes reading time), and each of the points Quincy makes shows how much the autism community fails to understand the autistic community. For this reason, I’m re-posting each point as a separate article here, because each point is important.
Before I start, I feel I need to explain the difference between the “autism community” and the “autistic community” The autistic community consists of people who are autistic, whereas the autism community consists mainly people who are directly or indirectly involved with autistic people (typically family members and those involved in the “treatment” of autism), but are not typically autistic themselves.
Each of Quincy’s points illustrates just how far the autism community and the wider community has to go to meet the autistic community even part way.
I see your child working so desperately against their uncontrollable body to communicate with you but you don’t know how to listen.
This goes back to taking the autistic perspective. Not all communication comes in neurotypical form. Behavior is communication. Listen to what your child is saying beyond just words. Consult autistic adults and bloggers if you need help understanding your child. Because the chances are we can help you speak autistic.
Another Spectrum 