Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I find the "overdiagnosed in droves" discussion to be mildly amusing at this point.
I did not mean to imply anything like droves.
Quote:
It's rather like the Welfare Queens Driving Cadillacs and Wearing Fur Coats folktale-- everyone has heard of one, maybe made an assumption or two based on something they saw in a grocery store or their sister-in-law's niece's neighbor-- but if legendary numbers are to be believed, we should all have six or eight of them in our own backyard.
Well that's patently absurd.
Aside from the fact that most autistic children do not have classroom aides, and aside from the fact that an untrained classroom aide generally requires MORE intervention/information from the parent than allowing the teacher to stumble through class without the assist, it's hardly like that aide comes home with Junior. And that's where the bulk of the parenting occurs. Were I to desire an aide, it certainly wouldn't be for the seven hours my autistic child were supervised by someone else entirely.
Maybe you are just a better teacher than she is? Or whomever she is opining about. I don't know. I am merely reporting what she said to me. I am actually kinda glad to hear your comment because it makes a good deal more sense.
This is a good conversation, but let's please try to keep it relevant to the topic: explaining things to a child. I agree that children with special needs must often be approached differently than neurotypical children do, but a general discussion about ADHD and autism will derail the thread.
Sorry, Julia. To tie things in, then, I will add that levels of neurotypical-ness has everything to do with how much explanation is required. My daughter, who is very much a "just the facts ma'am" concrete thinker, appreciates having explanations-- not just of "why"s or "why not"s, but of things that may look to outsiders like one or the other of us is daft. Because while some things (why you wash your hands after playing with the cat, why we don't throw stones in the direction of people or animals, but it's okay to throw them in the river, why the birds' chirping is lovely but her chirping is not) may seem intuitive, they are not, necessarily, intuitive to all.
Probably a lot of times when I explain things to Young Miss Aconite, passersby think I'm one of those Bad Catering Parents. I don't argue, and I don't waffle-- but I absolutely owe her the consideration I'd give anyone else who sometimes truly just. doesn't. get. it.
Maybe you are just a better teacher than she is? Or whomever she is opining about. I don't know. I am merely reporting what she said to me. I am actually kinda glad to hear your comment because it makes a good deal more sense.
I didn't mean to say you were absurd. Just that your friend's opinion seemed so. My apologies if it looked like the former instead of the latter.
Here are some thoughts.
a) Sometimes kids (esp boys) will question not because they want the answer but to trip you up. They will keep asking and asking.
b) Sometimes an answer is given but the child is not able or willing to accept it and you just have to resort to terminating the conversation.
c) Sometimes "Because I said so" is the reason.
d) Sometimes they need to learn that "Because I said so" is the way it is and that they need to simply accept parental authority.
Here are some thoughts.
a) Sometimes kids (esp boys) will question not because they want the answer but to trip you up. They will keep asking and asking.
b) Sometimes an answer is given but the child is not able or willing to accept it and you just have to resort to terminating the conversation.
c) Sometimes "Because I said so" is the reason.
d) Sometimes they need to learn that "Because I said so" is the way it is and that they need to simply accept parental authority.
Eh. I don't believe in authority. If because I said so is the reason, you should change your answer.
C and D are BS and you know it. If that's the best you can give to explain / defend something, you might want to rethink exactly what you are doing and the reasons behind it. Believe it or not, your kid just might be right, and you just might be wrong. You might want to be careful, or you will end up believing your own bull ****.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
