autism activism

[Guest guest]

I have what might be a touchy question/ situation. My oldest son is

HFA. I do think the label fits and I am happy to have it for the

purpose of getting the OT services that he needs without question.

He does defiantely have sensory issues in addition to fine motor

difficulties. Anyways I have always been hesitant to share the label

with him. (He is 8 BTW and was dx's 2 years ago) I don't wish to

ever hear him say " I cannot do that because I am autistic " without

ever trying . I would rather see him try something and then say " I

really tried but I cannot do that " . I hope that makes sense. I just

don't want his disability to ever hold him back. After all, we have

already seen him come so far and do things that I had been told that

he should not be able to do. I need him to believe in himself.

Now saying all this, I know autism is real. I know how autism

effects a family. After all, not only is he autistic, but so are my

cousin's children, Alonzo's Godsister and so is a (quite possibly) a

child of one of my other dearest friends. And I have read on here

and on other sources the stories of many families.

I would love to be an activist for autism. It is autism awareness

month. I have a career where I regularly advertise in local

newspapers and would love to mention autism awareness or even just

put the ribbon symbol on my ads...not only to increase awareness but

also so that families effected by autism know they can turn to me

when they need the services I offer I will also be sensitive to

thier family's needs (I know there have been times when I wished

there were people I could work with who would understand my sons

quirks without explanation...take dentists and hair dressers for

example). But then I hesitate because I don't want to have that

conversation with my kids about autism and how it effects our

family. I don't even want to refer to my cousins kids or Zo's

godsister as autistic because it seems just as wrong to do so as it

would be to define a person by the color of thier skin. I would kill

me if I ever heard a teacher or classmate refer to my son as

the " autistic boy " instead of just calling Alonzo, classmate,

student, friend, etc.

At the same time I understand that by not talking about it, I am not

helping the problem. I am,in a way, supporting the ignorance that

plagues our society. Is there a happy medium?? Has anyone found it??

I really hope my rambling makes sense and that I have not offended

anyone. I welcome your thoughts...