The photo shows a shocked older woman.
I'm shocked. These days, it takes quite a lot to shock me, because I've seen and heard a lot in 20 years as an autism professional. But today, I read the 'inspirational pages' of a mother whose child is autistic. The mother in question has devoted a whole page to her Inspirational Achievements, helping parents whose children are autistic. She has set up a conference about autism, at which there is not one autistic professional. Not one. I repeat that because it's worth repeating.
But even that didn't really shock me. Apparently it's fine to run conferences where every bit of information from professionals is second-hand.
The thing that stopped me in my tracks was her claiming that having an autistic child may cause cancer. The stress of it all, you see, she says.
The thing that stopped me in my tracks was her claiming that having an autistic child may cause cancer. The stress of it all, you see, she says.
Hold it right there. There is no known direct link between stress and cancer. We have endless research into this. So we can safely establish that this is nonsense.
And, children, Mrs Inspirational Autism Mother, will grow up believing that they are responsible for the death of their carers from cancer.
Do not say things that will damage a child and cause them even more reason to display the 'distress behaviour' you claim to wish to stop. We have too many autistic young people trying to kill themselves. Too many parents truly believing that their child cannot hear, and cannot read. Shocked also that this individual is now a key speaker for the NHS.
Really, NHS?
