would you feel ashamed if your child is autistic?

yes, these children should be loved and taken care of. they are special and blessings from the up above.

great then, keep it up!(",)

yeah, being ashamed wouldn't change anything. instead, ypu have to move on and accept everything and do the right thing.

Hi! I just wanted to say that what you wrote is very true and very moving. Thanks! :-)

that's a good idea. autistic children shouldn't feel that they are different from others. they only have a hard time to catch up everything so easily on what's going on around his/her environment. but still, they can have great contributions to our society. there are many autistic children who are really intelligent. parents must have been proud of them. (",)

Wow. You and your husband are the exact opposite of my husband and I. LOL I think both of us suspected Autism for some time, but the night we got the diagnosis, (because we'd previously discussed if he WAS to be diagnosed with Autism), I downplayed it FOR HIS SAKE. He was the one who'd be most eager for a second opinion, he'd be the one to say "not my son!", etc.. so of course he got upset and thought I didn't care. And actually accused me of being HAPPY that our son had Autism!! But he sat there that night and cried. He felt that somehow he was to blame. I think now, he's finally accepting the diagnosis- for the most part, anyway.

i agree with you, they should be treated equally like the normal children so that will develop as a person and be guided as well.

I suspected my son may have autism at a year old when he would often and repeatedly bang his head off of the floor. He was delayed at nine months when I still had to prop him up with pillows. He was standing at his first birthday but would hang onto something with one hand. He was not walking at this time however and we bought him one of those walkers for his birthday with all the knobs and lights on it. It was still a few months before he actually walked and I knew he was delayed but no doctor would listen to me! James had had feeding issues since day one but no one was connecting the dots... "He was just going to grow out of it" they told me and it was a long hard fight before I finally got refferred to a specialist who actually diagnosed him at two years and four months. Even after all this I cried when we were given the diagnosis and there was some denial for awhile because I wanted to be wrong. I walked around in a fog yet made all the phone calls to get him on every waitlist I could find. My husband was the strong one who told me everything would be alright and our son would be O.K. You do go through a time of mourning so to speak but you move on because they need you and you love them. They are still your children and they are worth fighting for and all the work you put in. Mine was said to be severe and now just over a year past diagnosis he is starting to use three word sentences and there are few tantrums. He listens and cleans up his toys when asked. He is very smart. At 3 1/2 he can count to twenty and sings the "clean-up song" and "Twinkle Twinkle little star". Not all his words are clear but we are working on it and there is an overall huge improvement! We have celebrated every little victory including drinking from a straw and saying "More cookie". Things other parents take for granted we celebrate because it is so huge and monumental. I feel blessed to have my son because he has taught me so much including to love life and be happy. He is happy ALL the time! He embraces life with passion and I love him for it because when he started life he tried to starve himself and I had to fight for his life then. Now he is my joy!:)

nice to hear that most of you guys are good parents and really know your responsibilities.