PEOPLE NEED TO BE EDUCATED

People need to be educated about Autism! I'm able to ignore the people who express concern that their child will catch it from Callum. (Frankly you have more chance of catching
Ebola than you do Autism!)  I've often thought about purchasing the t-shirts I see advertised - "Keep staring you might cure my son's Autism, then we can work on your social skills." Or my personal favourite "My child doesn't look Autistic and you don't look ignorant, yet here we are." But that wouldn't be fair to Callum.

But I'm yet to be able to ignore people who think that they can make comments about my child, whom they have never met, other than their less than 1min observation of him. We were shopping in Target today. After many views on YouTube, we finally have Power Trains in the stores. To say Callum was pretty excited would be an understatement. He wasn't being naughty, he wasn't running around ripping things off the shelf or lying on the floor screaming (as some little shoppers were). What he was doing, was excitedly telling his dad what each packet contained - engine, caboose, hopper car, tanker car, tracks. Yes he was loud, and he was running back and forth from the display to his dad. 

One lady felt the need to make a comment. Isn't it funny how the comment isn't said directly to you, but really loud within your vicinity, then when you challenge them, oh no it wasn't about your child. Said to her own children, something along the lines of  "He is being naughty isn't he, yelling and not walking nicely like you." (I am getting better at forgetting exactly what they say, because I need my brain cells to remember so much more!) Hey, one child was strapped to your chest, another was in the trolley and one was actually walking. Callum wasn't hurting anyone, he wasn't damaging property. He was just loud and fast.

It's all relative. Some people might think the kids in the interactive display, throwing the stuff that's supposed to be snow and singing "Let It Go" at the top of their lungs are being naughty, some others might think they are just being kids. Mine was just being a kid, as he knows how.