it's 'national autism week'...

Rick, your kid is very smart in certain ways. No kid is perfect. If you think every kid in the stands has a Heathcliff Hucktable life, you are wrong.

Focus on your kid's strengths. Look into online education. Don't give up.

 

Accepting the child's limitations is not giving up. There is NOTHING in Rick's statements that indicates he is giving up or failing to do everything he can to help his child live the best life possible. Refusing to accept reality will not help. Neither will the condescending bullshit you keep vomiting onto this thread. Thankfully, Rick seems to have far too much sense to listen.

 

Well, in his defense, I don't think there's any peer-reviewed studies debunking the effect of platitudes on neurobiological disorders, so it's possible that they do work.

I do everything I possibly can to encourage his personal growth and put him on the path to a meaningful, fulfilled life. But pretending he could follow a normal life path would be about as useful as pretending he may someday spontaneously develop the powers of unaided human flight.

 

So what goals do you have for him? You are not allowed to use the word "not."

From what I hear, having a job would be a good lifetime goal along with creating a friendship with a peer.

 

Nothing you bolded is inaccurate.

 

No, but the verbiage that you are using is very negative. Set small goals and build on them. You are probably right to think that your child will not have a family and a house in the suburbs, but there are many things he can do and achieve. You are in the first steps of all of this. Do not be surprised if your little guy is processing and understand every word he hears, possibly better than most people.

 

The verbiage was negative because the point I was making at that specific juncture was negative.

 

My goals are to train him to kick you in the nuts on sight.

 

That part is probably true. It's very hard to get a grip on what he does and doesn't understand, but there are infrequent signs that he understands a *ton* more than he says.

 

14 years in education
Master's Degree
Probably taught about 50+ autistic children over the years

Wife works for Children's Hospital and says "everyone can work." I believe her, as well.

 

How many of those 50 are now employed?

 

All of which makes your insensitive and ignorant remarks on this thread all the more inexcusable. Anybody who thinks that every person with autism is capable of functioning well enough to hold down a job is clueless.

I guarantee you that those autistic children you taught were relatively high functioning compared to some that I have met. You really need to find a more realistic view of this, or at least stop trying to tell somebody else how to parent a child you know nothing about.