Something that strongly bothers me is how many parents of people on the spectrum (high and low end) baby their children to the point where their kids don't feel confident doing anything themselves. As a result, their children have much difficulty embedding themselves into society and are too inexperienced to do much of anything else for themselves. Then when they reach adulthood their parents wonder why they have so much trouble coping with life.
Isn't it obvious why?
I believe that while ASDs can't be cured, the social deficits that comes with them can be lessened to a degree.
Sadly, parents babying their children is a very common theme in the ASD community. Many people who I've spoken to have had, and still have their parents baby them; some are well into adulthood. This is a huge blow to their self-esteem and causes irreparable damage. The lack of confidence they feel is, in part, a result of being told not to do this and that and being yelled at when trying to do anything themselves. As a result, they're scared to do anything and the feelings persist throughout life. It's hard to gain confidence as an adult when you've always lacked it.
As much as I hate to admit it, lots of people with ASDs never make it in life (never gain full-time employment, never date, never marry, never acquire friends, are under-employed, etc.) and I believe that this is often a result of babying. There obviously are lots of ASD success stories, but hey - focusing on the negative can be beneficial. Acknowledging the negative can help us fix problems. If parents of people on the spectrum would learn that babying their children like this is wrong and would stop doing it, their kids would have a much higher probability of making it further in life; this I guarantee.
Whenever I see parents of children on the spectrum on autism forums, blogs and elsewhere speak about their kids I can often tell by the way they talk about their children that they do everything for them and don't let them do anything themselves. It's obvious that many parents assume their kids who're on the spectrum are incapable. When I think of the irreparable damage they're causing I cringe and feel a deep sense of despair.
ASDs don't make people incapable of doing anything for themselves. When will more parents of people on the spectrum realize this? It's almost like they don't realize that people with ASDs are sentient beings . . .
Anyway: How do you feel about this? Does it bother you how parents often treat their ASD kids like this?
Do you have first-hand experience with your parent(s) babying you? If so, do you think it's caused you harm?
Isn't it obvious why?
I believe that while ASDs can't be cured, the social deficits that comes with them can be lessened to a degree.
Sadly, parents babying their children is a very common theme in the ASD community. Many people who I've spoken to have had, and still have their parents baby them; some are well into adulthood. This is a huge blow to their self-esteem and causes irreparable damage. The lack of confidence they feel is, in part, a result of being told not to do this and that and being yelled at when trying to do anything themselves. As a result, they're scared to do anything and the feelings persist throughout life. It's hard to gain confidence as an adult when you've always lacked it.
As much as I hate to admit it, lots of people with ASDs never make it in life (never gain full-time employment, never date, never marry, never acquire friends, are under-employed, etc.) and I believe that this is often a result of babying. There obviously are lots of ASD success stories, but hey - focusing on the negative can be beneficial. Acknowledging the negative can help us fix problems. If parents of people on the spectrum would learn that babying their children like this is wrong and would stop doing it, their kids would have a much higher probability of making it further in life; this I guarantee.
Whenever I see parents of children on the spectrum on autism forums, blogs and elsewhere speak about their kids I can often tell by the way they talk about their children that they do everything for them and don't let them do anything themselves. It's obvious that many parents assume their kids who're on the spectrum are incapable. When I think of the irreparable damage they're causing I cringe and feel a deep sense of despair.
ASDs don't make people incapable of doing anything for themselves. When will more parents of people on the spectrum realize this? It's almost like they don't realize that people with ASDs are sentient beings . . .
Anyway: How do you feel about this? Does it bother you how parents often treat their ASD kids like this?
Do you have first-hand experience with your parent(s) babying you? If so, do you think it's caused you harm?
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