Explaining Autism

I was watching "The Biggest Loser" last night and they kept having commericals for the TV show "Parenthood" that would be on right after "The Biggest Loser". I was bothered by the commercials because it showed some parents letting it slip to their son that he has Asperger's Syndrome, which is a form of Autism. The kid on the show appeared to be about eight years old, and Scott and I both thought it would be weird that the parents couldn't talk to their son about Asperger's because be both know we won't have a hard time talking to Darin about Autism.

I was even more irriated with the show when the first few minutes started and it was the parents trying to explain to their child about Asperger's. You would have thought they were tell their son he had cancer and was about to die. The mom was bawling, the dad was stumbling over his words and getting choked up. Really? Is having Asperger's like the end of his life? I couldn't keep watching the show, so I hope they cleared it up for the poor kid, but I think it was some horrible television.

Darin having Austism is not a travesty. I don't think Darin is going to have a horrible existence on this earth because he has Austism. Yes, he's going to have to work harder on some things, but other things will come easier to him. We all have things we have to struggle with and overcome, but having Autism is not like having cancer.

I believe Darin won't struggle with understanding his Autism when he can finally understand he does have Autism. Sure, there will be times when he won't really recognize how his Autism is making him behave, but he'll see it in retrospect. And he's inquisitive, so I'll always be open to his questions and helping him any way I can. And I won't be sobbing hysterically when I talk to him about it.