via Kaelan Rhywiol-Feral Autistic Idiot
Let’s do this. If this is too much for you, you can mute the hashtags
#KaeEditsAUWE and#ElmoMum Pinning the tweet and I’ll do this one the same way as the other. Chapter by chapter breakdown w/commentary and quoted words.
“Before I start reading AUTISM UNCENSORED: PULLING BACK THE CURTAIN by Whitney Ellenby I need to say a few things. I became aware of the book last night when I the washington post article crossed my twitter feed.” – Kaelan Rhywiol
(Random most likely non-autistic photo of “sad boy” used from Pexels. WA Post Story Used an iStock photo to represent Autistic boy, wearing red, facing a wall.)
Bystanders were horrified. But my son has autism, and I was desperate.
“What I did to help my 5-year-old autistic son overcome his intense fear of indoor spaces might not have been right or even safe. Doctors didn’t recommend it. The people who witnessed it were appalled, understandably. I don’t suggest this for others.
I could have been more patient with conventional methods, but I wasn’t. I am not certified in restraining children, though doctors say anyone attempting what I did should be. They would also recommend a much slower approach.
I am writing this because I hope to educate people about the burden families face when their autistic children have tantrums in public spaces, so next time you witness such a struggle you don’t immediately resort to blaming the parents. I’m also reaching out to fellow parents in pain to remind them to cast off shame, because I believe nothing is more important than getting your autistic children out into the world.” –
Whitney Ellenby
Before I start reading AUTISM UNCENSORED: PULLING BACK THE CURTAIN by Whitney Ellenby I need to say a few things. I became aware of the book last night when I the washington post article crossed my twitter feed.
About Book on Amazon:
“And when in the grips of a public tantrum, amidst the horror and humiliation of him shrieking and splayed out on the floor while strangers recoiled in shock, my mind lurched towards an inescapable truth–that I want out from this nightmare. I want out from this child.”
So begins the turbulent ride of one parent’s decision, crafted in despair and desperation, to abandon traditional interventions for her autistic son in favor of a “hands on” approach of repeatedly exposing her son to real-world settings. Autism Uncensored is an unrestricted portal into the mind of someone who had no intention of sacrificing her career or life for Autism, unaware of the many ways it would irreversibly redefine both. As she clarifies at the outset, “this is not the story of a miraculous breakthrough or recovery,” Zack is still very much autistic and always will be. It is instead the true, real-time account of her decision to allow Zack to indulge in the very behaviors that formal therapies sought to extinguish, to disclose Zack’s diagnosis in public settings, and to repeatedly expose him to real-world situations and override his tantrums regardless of public ridicule or scorn.
Autism Uncensored goes where no other book dares–revealing the private disgrace and self-blame about having a “defective” child; the near disintegration of marriage; the failure of the traditional behavioral interventions; and the mercenary way in which service providers prey on parents’ desperation for a cure. It is a personal manifesto about how a socially integrated life is attainable regardless of whether a child overcomes the major limitations of Autism, sparking a new conversation which goes beyond simply accepting persons with Autism for who they are, but considers pushing them beyond their comfort zones to learn who they are capable of becoming. An unstoppable ride with jolting twists and turns, Autism Uncensored will leave you exhilarated, informed and still gasping for air.
Editorial Reviews
Review
About the Author
Reblogged this on QuirkyBirdWords.
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