How to talk about autism respectfully
For some context: there is an unfortunate phenomenon where discussions between parents of autistic children and adult autistics tend to turn very acrimonious. I am a parent of a child with, for lack of a better term, &quot;severe&quot; autism, but I hope I can provide a respectful viewpoint.<p>One of the thoughts that gives me the most anxiety is who will take care of my son when I&#x27;m gone. Who will make sure his needs are being met and that he&#x27;s not being abused, or hurting himself. The unfortunate reality is that services for people like my son are desperately missing. It&#x27;s very easy for politicians to cut funding for services even as the need for them quickly grows. It&#x27;s discriminatory.<p>As a parent, I feel a deep responsibility to advocate for increasing these services, for doing everything I can to hold the decision makers to account. And so I will unapologetically fight for my son until my last breath. And I also understand and care about the need to be respectful. But the reality is that, the careful language advocated for here is at odds with trying to clearly convey how dire the situation is for people like my son to people who don&#x27;t have experience in this area. Also, these public forums often devolve into infighting, muddying the message even more.