As someone who grew up before anyone knew what AS was I'd have to say that parental support (support for my parents, not support for me from my parents) would have been a 'game changer' for me. My parents had absolutely no idea what to do with me. They ended up going the tough love route because they thought my behavior was due to me just being a bad kid. They didn't understand that I did things out of frustration and I had no way of communicating my feelings even though I spoke reasonably well. The gave me rules without understanding that my brain just short circuited if I was told to follow rules without their purpose and benefit being defined. I'm all for more resources for parents, even if it's just information being more available. The problem with resources is that there seems to be some battle going on between LFA and HFA parents over them. It's sad to see parents of kids on the spectrum fighting for the scraps they're thrown instead of demanding everyone gets help. "My kid is more f****d up than your kid".
08 Jul 2012, 2:44 am
