Autism support has come a long way in 30 years : But there is still a lot to be done
Written on 19th Dec 2013 by Sylvia Lowery
When I was 17 I trained as a Nursery Nurse. I had to work in a special school for one of my work experience placements. One moment that is etched upon my mind is meeting a child who had autism. I remember seeing him just walking back and forwards completely in his own world and when he had a meltdown the staff sat on him. I asked them why they did this and they said, ” we have to it’s the only way to stop him.” I was very distressed by this because it seemed so cruel to me.
At 17 Sylvia was traumatised by the way children with autism were treated in 1984.
The prevailing view of autism in 1984 was that individuals with autism wanted to be left alone. I remember one of my tutors saying that children with autism were happy in their own world and didn’t want to communicate or interact. These early experiences of autism had a terrible impact upon me. I had always wanted to work with children who had special needs but I was afraid of autism. I remember telling my husband that I didn’t mind if our children had any disability so long as it wasn’t autism.
Yet our third child Alex had autism and I soon came to realise all those early views of autism were so wrong and must have had a devastating impact upon the outcomes of the individuals who had autism at that time.
See here for my article on my experience of coming to terms with having a child with autism.
The lives of children with autism have improved a great deal. It is now recognized that children with autism can make big improvements with therapy and the right support. It would be seen as abuse to sit on a child who was having a meltdown. Adults who have autism are speaking out and raising awareness which is helping to improve lives for those who have autism. This is encouraging but there is still a lot to be done and improvements that can be made. Here is a link to 7 things to be done to improve the lives of those who have autism.
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the first time I heard about autism was similar to yours. I read a book when a friends younger brother was diagnosed with autism. this was about 17 years ago and was shocked to read that one of the course was due to cold mums, this was so not true about the mum. So I did not read any more book for many years. so Alex putting this web page and talking about himself is great for everyone that is touched by autism. All the parents and children that I have had the pleasure of working with are far from cold. all wanting the best from their child.