Autistics are Human!

I saw a program on discovery health the other day about a family with 6 autistic children. I've been turning it around in my head for a few days. They did a spot on each child and described their struggles. After processing it for a few days, I have to say that the show really was a step backwards for helping people understand autistics.

The opening scene was typical: A camera panning in on a child of about 4 laying on the child screaming, then cutting scene and switching to a child sitting on the couch rocking and flapping his hands... and the words of the narrator, "5 year old Mary lays on the floor screaming and crying while her younger brother Ammon sits on the coutch rocking, and flapping his hands. These are just typical scenes in Kirton household, where they have 6 autistic children...."

Nice. This is how they open up on autism. Now I'm not denying that autistic people have their odd behaviours and yes, temper tantrums, but it just really dissapoints me the way it's CONSTANTLY portrayed as ONLY this. And yes, this show, only showed the downside.

For an hour, they went on about each individual child's struggles. On NOT ONE of the 6 children did they cover any of there talents, strengths, or possible savants. Many autistic people have an amazing artistic, musical, memory, or mathmatical ability that defies explanation. Granted in a family of 6 children, this can be hard to focus on for the parents, but the newscasters do not have that excuse.

Autism is so much more than the screaming child on the floor, or the kid flapping his hands and rocking. For that matter, what is so wrong with that kid flapping his hands anyway? Who decided that flapping hands or rocking was an "innapropriate emotional display?" I think it's ludicrous to decide what is and isn't an innapropriate display of emotions, save actions that cause harm to self or anyone else. If an autistic is happy and wants to jump up and down or clap, if they are frustrated and want to flap their hands, I say let them. The world already restricts them enough, simply for their lack of ability to understand them.

Sometimes I think the worlds inability to understand the autistic is 75% just... they don't take the time. I think... if the world would slow down and listen they would find that most autistics do indeed have "language".

The other thing that bothered me ALOT about the program was a particular doctor that they interviewed. While they were profiling one of the little girls, who is autistic and non verbal, the doctor said repeatedly that the girl was not human!! He said she needs to learn certain language and social skills to become human. He kept repeating variations of this statement.... she needs to do this to obtain her humanity... that to be human. What???

Back to "that"? If I had a dollar for everytime a "normal" person called an autistic "not human."

I... don't have any words for that. I don't have a response. Surely readers can understand why that is SO wrong, on SO many levels. Of course the girl is human!

I guess that one hits closest because I have felt the same way as well, for many years. As an adult BLESSED with autism, I have struggled with feeling labeled not human. I have struggled to accept that I *am* human, I did not have to *earn* my humanity, I was *born* with it. It was the other people who did not get it.

I am out of time, so I will end this for now. Here's to progress for us autistics............