How To speak openly about your special child?

When you take your special children out to play, play on the ball, or in the air at all, do you tell other people why your child is behaving differently than others? Or do you try to put up with suspicious gazes sooner, or do you sneak away quickly? Multiplication usually produces the best result.

I've made all of them myself. At the time, most often I just tried to endure or avoid social situations with A. Yes, I was open-minded, but for the guests, the discussion, especially on such an issue, did not come naturally. It still won’t, but I’ve still learned to say it naturally: “By the way, A is an autism clerk and a touristic and is, therefore, a bit loud. He has a little bit of his own stuff, but he can take others into account… ”

Since, in time, I had to face and accept the specialness of my child, it has been easy for me to be open about it to everyone. I like to tell other people about my child and his or her different aspects. But sadly, there is also a stigma associated with the autism spectrum, Tourette, and many other neurodegenerative abnormalities that prevent many people from speaking openly about their own or their loved one’s abnormalities.

Stigma is best fought with knowledge. As people’s stereotypical perceptions are broadened and false prejudices are reduced, people in the neurosphere always have a little more room to be themselves, openly and without shame. That is why there are constantly various campaigns and information campaigns around the world. They don’t always succeed in reaching large masses, but people’s perceptions always change little by little. And that requires the input of us all.

Talking about things paves the way for an easier future

The child should be encouraged to be open and self with their own specialties. However, the child's own views on openness and the limits of privacy must be respected, because we are all different anyway in how openly we are able and willing to talk about our affairs. The purpose of transparency is to reduce, not increase, anxiety.

Our A usually hasn’t lasted to be there when he or she has been talked about outside of the home. However, he hopes people will be told about his anomalies. There is no contradiction here. Surely for many others, it may seem intolerable to be subject to observation and analysis, but each of us wants to be understood correctly.

Personally, I consider it my duty to help reduce the stigma associated with neurodegenerative abnormalities and other specificities through my own actions. Knowing what it is like can illuminate the thinking of others and thereby reduce fears and prejudices about anomalies. Besides, in my experience, people are usually quite understanding when they get to know what it’s all about.

Only knowledge helps to understand

In this way, as a judge for children and young people, I would like parents to come more openly about the special characteristics and diagnoses of their children. It greatly facilitates the planning of group divisions and exercises. I immediately got a better grip on one group when I found out that as many as three children had been diagnosed with ADHD. No bigger number was made of it, we just started doing things a little differently.

I often hear arguments that parents don’t want to tell about their child’s diagnosis when they don’t want the child to be stigmatized in their hobbies as well. However, I would argue that it is less bad to be known for your diagnosis than for being considered a nuisance, poorly educated, or stupid when no one knows the background. And if, for example, a sports club does not know how to deal with anomalies correctly and objectively, it is worth changing your club or hobby anyway.

Special children deserve to be catered for according to their needs. It will only work if teachers, coaches, instructors, guys, parents of friends, etc. know and understand what it is all about and what a child needs to get along with others. While openness can sometimes lead to annoying encounters, it is still the best anti-stigma work and creates more space for people in the neurosphere and others to be themselves.