Parenting isn't easy for anyone, but for those with children on the spectrum, it often comes with extra challenges. Autism diagnoses in England have soared by 787 per cent in the past two decades, a recent study has shown. Researchers say the 'explosive' rise is likely due to increased awareness about the condition.
But as diagnoses continue to rise, there’s one issue some parents with autistic children are having to face – the condition being used as an excuse for criminality or bad behaviour.
That’s the case for Altrincham mum Renée White, who says she is sick of people using autism as a “get out of jail free card”. Renée, whose 23-year-old son Aidan has autism, thinks people using the condition as an 'excuse' reflects unfairly on the majority of people with an autistic spectrum disorder.
“Pretty much every week there is some story in the press or on a real-life drama with mention of someone being on the spectrum and using it as part of their defence,” the 45-year-old told the Manchester Evening News.
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“It’s just constant now; you can’t go a week without hearing it being used as a defence, that’s always a bother because in a typical person’s psyche, somewhere along the way, they’re going to link autism and criminal behaviour and people on the spectrum are generally not criminals.
“It’s an unfair representation of people in the community; it’s almost like, ‘I’ve done something really bad and I need a get out of jail free card, I’ll try to see if I have autism or if I’m on the spectrum and I’ll use that’,” Renée added.
Autism refers to a broad range of conditions identified by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviours, speech and nonverbal communication. Autistic people may act in a different way to other people, finding it hard to communicate and interact, have difficulty understanding feelings, finding bright lights or loud sounds overwhelming and getting anxious about unfamiliar situations.
Aidan was diagnosed with autism when he was two-years-old and has attended special needs schools throughout his life. Currently, he is studying at college.
Though Renée says he may look typical, Aidan has a language and social delay, meaning he speaks in broken sentences and is unable to fully communicate what he is thinking most of the time.
“People think people with autism can’t control themselves when they can and they do 99 per cent of the time,” Renée, who owns Altrincham cakemakers The Fab Patisserie, went on. “It’s just insulting and it’s just the most derogatory representation of a community that are generally law-abiding, kind people.
“It’s a two-pronged insult because of the way typical people, who don’t know someone with autism, might be influenced into thinking about it. It breaks my heart and angers me at the same time.”
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