grannyhubbard
Kathy, I just love this book. It moved me to tears. That terribly bureaucracy! I don't know anyone close to me who suffers from autism but I feel more informed now about it. What concerns me is that horrible 'what do I say/do that is appropriate rather than offensive?' for example I struggled with the sentence above (is it wrong to say 'suffers' from autism?'
Presumably you want to interact with a child with autism as normally as possible, but still bearing in mind that they may react differently than what you are used to. What's the best thing to do?
What a lovely message! I now think that there is no such thing as "normal" and "abnormal", but "ordinary" and "extraordinary" - and people with aspergers have a literal, lateral,tangential logic which can be disarmingly charming. While experts were telling me my child was 'retarded' , he was asking me the most interesting questions. At four he said "mum, if onions make you cry, are there vegetables which make you happy?" And "what is the speed of dark?" But they also do suffer from chronic anxiety and OCD. So yes, it is hard, but often hilarious.
Best thing to do, talk to them normally, but we aware that they'll take what you say quite literally. When I asked jules to get me the "good scissors" , he presumed there were evil , bad ones out to get him! x