As I  talk to more and more people the one thing they always say is  “It must be difficult having an autistic child “.

This has got me thinking: is it any more difficult to have an autistic child than a ‘normal’ child. Well I’m going to say NO there is no difference, do you know why? Let me explain, there is no difference because any child can be challenging at times. Having an autistic child changes the parents as they have to learn a new way of life. Like you can’t just go out for an impromptu day out, nope that’s got to be planned a few months in advance, so that the child has time to adapt to this change in their routine. You have to watch where you go as the child can’t deal with crowds so you just adapt and go to a quieter place or when it is less busy.

The biggest difference is people’s attitude towards an autistic child, what really gets me is when people stare at Perkie when he is screaming or flapping (jumping up and down flapping his arms). Don’t they realise that he is getting anxious and upset about something and their staring is just making matters worse? Or when he gets out of his buggy, you get  “Oh don’t you think he is a bit big for a buggy”. I try to explain politely (although not always wanting to be so polite) that he needs to be in there because he has limited mobility. Why should I have to explain? Why don’t people accept a person for who they are?  It’s time to see beyond condition.

Do you know what at the end of the day I have always said this: that if someone gave me a cure for autism would I take it? NO I wouldn’t! Do you know why? Because that is who Perkie is and without the autism and all its quirks he wouldn’t be Perkie.  This is what sums it up: