April is National Autism Awareness Month. Although I don’t have close personal experience with autism, I know several families with autistic children. I have great admiration for those who care for a child who, as one father I know describes, “God wired differently.”
Parents and children may be subjected to rude treatment by people who don’t understand and think the child is just undisciplined. As I’ve written in earlier posts, some of the behavioral challenges children with autism experience remind me of those of individuals with Alzheimer’s. Having cared for my husband with Alzheimer’s, I sympathize with those facing the challenges of autism.
The next time you see a frazzled parent and a child having a meltdown in public, give them the benefit of the doubt. If you don’t know about autism, April is a good time to learn more.
This video about one family is a good place to start.