What It's Like To Have A Child With Autism
The truth is, it depends on the child.
An autistic child may be talkative or nonverbal. He may love sports or music or dance. Or not. He may crave big, strong hugs, or he might find them overwhelming. He may eat everything you put in front of him, or he may seem to like almost nothing.
For a parent, having a child with autism means that expectations change. From the moment new parents learn that they are expecting, they imagine what their child might be. A doctor? An astronaut? A football player? The parents of typically-developing children learn that their kids will grow and evolve in some way that is different from their earliest imaginings. It will happen over time, and they will adjust as their child develops into the person he will become.
When those same parents learn of their child’s autism diagnosis, they know right then and there that the outcome will be different than their initial expectations. It’s jarring. Even devastating. Families grieve, or they can’t tolerate the grief and they dissolve.
But once parents learn that their child is different than they planned, what do they (and what should they) do? They’ll encourage his strengths, coach his weaknesses, and try to help their child be the most fulfilled, most independent, most fully human person that he can be.
Is this really any different than what any other parent does? Outwardly, things may look quite different. Tactics may vary. The victories that parents celebrate may seem trivial to others. But the goals are fundamentally the same.
So what’s it like to have a child with autism?
You might as well ask what it’s like to have a child.
