Not Autism
Some bloggers have sitemeters. Some bloggers check their sitemeters to see who is searching what subject, if they are brave. Occasionally I am brave and check. What follows are three pieces upon subjects that three people researched via google.
This is the third topic:-
Not Autism
Apart from the people who search rude subjects and words, by far the most common searches that I see on my blog, are lists of what might be called ‘symptoms’ followed by the two words ‘not autism.’
When I see them, I get a lump in my throat, but it’s all foolish conjecture on my part. I feel sorry for the people who have unwittingly ended up on my site, as there are so "many sites" with accurate laundry lists of "what signs to watch for." Those poor benighted searchers, looking for answers, I feel such a cheat.
Sometimes I feel cross:- 'just because your child flaps his hands, does not mean that he is autistic, you nincompoop! Or, since when has an interest in etymology been indicative of autism, you great nelly? Sometimes it will be ‘don’t you know that bed wetting is only too common amongst children under the age of ten, you lemming!’
Then I feel mean.
It’s not as if there is any one thing that serves as a signpost set on concrete. More often than not, it is the collective not the tiny specifics. My own experience would match this, a general sense of unease.
My searches would have been every bit as bizarre back in those early days. Maybe it’s part of human nature to concentrate on their strengths and dismiss the deficits:- so what if he can’t talk, he can read! So what if he’s a little bit grubby, he’s already potty trained. So what if he’s not very demonstrative, see the care he devotes to those lizards. He may not have any friends but there is no-one more sociable or amiable than my child.
There are so many indicators but so many of them are offset by signs that point in the opposite direction.
I know that most of these searchers are loving parents who have done their homework. The pediatrician says he’s just fine. They had his hearing checked. He’s within the bell curve for most of the developmental milestones. They already know that hand flapping doesn’t always equate with autism as they pull up the same results tonight on-line that they found when they checked last year. Now he’s a year older, now they want reassurance that their anxieties are without foundation.
What would I say to those searchers if I had the chance?
I don’t know if your child is autistic or not, but I do know that their lives are grounded in solid foundations, your own. You are capable of far more than you ever imagined. I know he or she, is in safe hands.
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Comments (7)
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Its to stupid what some people have the nerve to ask you. I have twin 3 year olds with autism. I just love how some people in your own family no less have the tendency to say hu...
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I get odd phrases on my search as well. Face of autism, examples of autism victim, photo of autism victim, whats the behavior of autism and food for autistic children. I get h...
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The complexity never ceases to amaze me. Love Maddy
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It's hard. I get asked all the time if my son has autism and he does not have classical autism but Fetal Alcohol and Institutional Autism (which many don't even qualify as autis...
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I think even worse than googling and searching for symptoms is when people ask me directly! First off, despite having a child with Autism, I am no expert, nor try to be one. I...
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Yes you are correct that not all children will have the same signs. You are an inspiration to many others (me). I am still writing my story on paper. It can be so hard to get ...
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When my granddaughter was little she was a bit strange, very bright, and strange. When I first noticed her flapping something in my head said that is a sign of autism, oh no. ...
