(I am a parent of a 9 year old daughter with autism.)
I am doing an informative speech on autism in two weeks. I am thinking of talking about parents of autistic children and people with autism themselves who was surprised that they are not anything like Sherlock Holmes or Sheldon from Big Bang or rain man.
Basically, I want to break down the stereotype and paint a more realistic picture.
To give you an example of what I'm after:
My daughter at the young age of two did line up her baby dolls in a row.
She also made a lot of eye contact and is very social.
So, when I tried to figure out why she is different, I dismissed autism because she made eye contact. I simply decided I was a bad parents and did not know how to parent.
So please share your experiences as a parent or a person identified on the spectrum that goes against the stereotypes will be appreciated. I might be quoting some of you directly if it fits in the structure of my presentation (unless you aske me not to) and I will use examples of how real people differ from the stereotyped characters.
Also, if there are any reading material you could direct me to on this particular aspect I would appreciate it greatly.
I am doing an informative speech on autism in two weeks. I am thinking of talking about parents of autistic children and people with autism themselves who was surprised that they are not anything like Sherlock Holmes or Sheldon from Big Bang or rain man.
Basically, I want to break down the stereotype and paint a more realistic picture.
To give you an example of what I'm after:
My daughter at the young age of two did line up her baby dolls in a row.
She also made a lot of eye contact and is very social.
So, when I tried to figure out why she is different, I dismissed autism because she made eye contact. I simply decided I was a bad parents and did not know how to parent.
So please share your experiences as a parent or a person identified on the spectrum that goes against the stereotypes will be appreciated. I might be quoting some of you directly if it fits in the structure of my presentation (unless you aske me not to) and I will use examples of how real people differ from the stereotyped characters.
Also, if there are any reading material you could direct me to on this particular aspect I would appreciate it greatly.