Subtype: The Emotion Boy

Today hubby and I (what I mean by "hubby and I" is that I found it and read it out loud while he pretended that he was not falling asleep) came across an article that perfectly describes Troy. I am certain that Troy is the type of child to whom Michael Savage must have been referring in his recent rant (not that I am fond of giving him any more press than he has already had). Ignorance.

Here is the description of my child; the one people see in the store throwing a fit in the dairy section because it's too cold. This is the child that an associate in the garden department of a certain supercenter suspected I was abusing because I made him hold my hand (nevermind the fact that he had been climbing on store shelving, oh, or did he not see that part?) and the child who was forced on a regular basis to stand on a square and watch other children on the playground because he was not "on task" in the classroom - even though he had an IEP in place...

Angry/Resistant Boy
This child or teen may look similar to the paranoid type, but he is less adversarial and less intense. He is also easier to deal with if and when he feels safer. He argues about everything, and almost anything can lead to a tantrum of some size. At times, he can be violent and physical or will destroy property. He wants things to go his way. He wants to control situations and has his own rules about the world and how things are supposed to be. He is often diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). This is another child who doesn't understand the way the world works and becomes anxious as a result. He feels threatened by others and thinks they are trying to control him or are being unfair and arbitrary. He needs to fight with them to gain control and get things straightened out to his way of thinking. However, his arguing does nothing but further aggravate the situation. His rigidity, lack of understanding, and disuse of logic prevent him from seeing this clearly. His emotions determine his actions.

Yes, this is the child who has been repeatedly failed by the medical "system" that may get him an appointment within 6-9 months with a neurologist. This is why the ignorance of those who have no business judging my child (or any other child for that matter) is more than a minor annoyance; it undermines the authority of those of us who try every day to feel like we have done SOMETHING right for the puzzling child in our life, and cheapens the efforts of those who truly understand the struggles faced by those with Autism.

Yeah. That was what I have been trying to put into words.