How to Interact With Parents of Autistic Children

As parents, we are always concerned about the welfare of our children and when something bad happens to them such as getting ill or injured, we wish that we could change places with them. Having a child that is ill is one of a parent’s worst nightmares especially if it is a chronic disease that they are born with and will affect them the rest of their lives. One good example of this is autism. If you are friends with or know a family who has an autistic son or daughter, then it is very important for you to know how to conduct yourself when you are around them and to be understanding of the situation that they are in.

Autism is defined as a condition that affects a child’s ability to interact emotionally with others and to communicate with them. It does not mean that an autistic child cannot understand words that are being said or that they cannot experience different emotions. There are some autistic kids who are very affectionate and needy. On the other hand, they are likely to not be able to interact with others in a normal way, avoid eye contact with people, engage in loud behaviors that are repetitive, do things to injure themselves and throw uncontrollable tantrums.

The thing that we need to realize and understand is that the parents of an autistic child love them just the same and as much as they would love a normal healthy boy or girl and they do not think of them as being damaged or handicapped . They value them just as much as a normal child. This is why it is important for you to not dwell on giving them sympathy all of the time when you are around them because it will accomplish nothing other then making them feel worse about their child. You can tell them that you are sorry, but you should not say much after the baby is a month old or more.

You should also treat the child just like you would treat any other child when you are around them. Make a point to try to speak to them. Never talk negative about the child when you are around them as even though they may not react to what you say about them, they could very well hear your words and understand them and this can be very upsetting for the parents.

Always make sure that you do not complain about the child’s behavior and be understanding of the situation as there will be many times when it will be loud and disruptive. Make sure that you do not try to be a “ Know it All,” and tell the parents what they are doing wrong and how to do it right because they will be far more knowledgeable then you on the subject of autism as they have done far more reading and research then you.

Last of all, do not completely avoid the subject of autism. One of the best ways for people to come to grips with a problem and to get a load off their chest is to talk to someone about it and most of the time, it will make them feel better. Ask the parents questions like how their child is doing and give the child a compliment on how they look and talk about them just as you would talk about any other normal child.

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