Not Stupid by Anna Kennedy Read Free Book Online

very literal. If you tried to hurry him along by telling him to pull his socks up, that, quite literally, is what he would do. I’d always told Patrick he should be careful of cars when crossing the road. One day, when he was standing on the side of the road with me, he looked right,then left, then just ran out into the middle of the road, causing a motorcyclist to take evasive action as he screeched to a halt before calling me a stupid *@!*!!
    I grabbed hold of Patrick and shouted at him, ‘What did Mummy say to you? I told you. I said you mustn’t cross the road when cars are coming!’
    ‘But, Mummy, you didn’t say anything about motorbikes,’ he replied.
     
    Although they are both on the autistic spectrum, Patrick and Angelo are so different. I had one child who had limited speech and didn’t want to be touched, while I had another who wanted to be touched and kissed, and didn’t have such limited speech.
    I discovered that some children with severe autism have no speech whatsoever, no eye contact; they may head-bang, maybe they never even say ‘Mum’ or ‘Dad’, and I can’t think of anything more hurtful to a parent than never to hear those words. At the other end of the spectrum, sufferers may be boffins, really clever people who look down on people they consider not to be as clever as they are.
    Although autism is four times more common than cerebral palsy, it remains a relatively unknown disability. It was first diagnosed in 1943 and is now known to affect more than half a million people in the United Kingdom.
    It’s a developmental condition that affects the way the sufferer’s brain processes information. Sadly, there is no cure, although much can be done to ensure the person affected can be helped to develop the more basic skills they will require in everyday life, not least being able to communicate more appropriately with other people.
    Because a child with autism usually appears like anyone else without a disability, it is often assumed by strangers that a related tantrum is either down to naughtiness or poor parental control when, in fact, it is neither. This was something I had almost become used to whenever I was shopping with Patrick or Angelo, particularly when they had been refused something they wanted. If only people really knew the true reasons why they sometimes behaved in such a fashion, then, perhaps, they would be more sympathetic.
    People with autism often have many difficulties in life. Research at the time claimed autism was displayed by one in every 250 people to some degree. More recently, however, figures have suggested the ratio was one in a hundred until a report released by Cambridge Research Centre in 2008 revealed that one person in every 59 in the United Kingdom has some form of autism. It is more common amongst boys than girls and has now been recognised as the fastest growing serious development in the world.
    More children were diagnosed with autism in 2008 than with diabetes, cancer and AIDS combined. Despite this, in the same year, the National Autistic Society released results of a survey that suggests that the majority of local authorities in England are still failing adults with autism, and criticised the ‘astounding postcode lottery’ in provision. Amazingly, it was found that just one local authority in England had undertaken a head count of the number of adults with autism in their area. In addition, 64 per cent of councils said they did not have a named team or individual responsible for autism, in contravention of Department of Health guidelines.
    Difficulties with social interactions, social communication and imagination are apparent in people with autism. These three characteristics are collectively referred to as the triad of impairments. For a child to be diagnosed with autism, they have to present a certain number of difficulties in these three areas.
    Broken down, social interaction refers to difficulties experienced with social relationships, maybe