Fathering Autism #2 Selling autism, gluttonous lifestyle, and pyramid schemes

[Stripe69]

Isaiah is a truly lovely young man and deserves to have the next few years free from babysitting and being responsible for his sister. He needs to have some fun away from the nightmare of Stims and pull-ups and all the rest of the crap he has to deal with.
Let him be young

 

[Hotographer512]

Yes exactly so I don’t know why they keep saying typical teenager. Just be honest. She can not play like the other kids with autism because she has no real understanding of what she’s supposed to do in the sensory room..

They do it, I believe, because the term "Autism" sadly is very popular and they are cashing in.
They exploit Abbie in every way possible, claim she's autistic rather than IDD and preying on people with a 1st diagnosis of ASD and/or their parents.
It's sick, misleading and wrong.
Garbage people.

 

[Stripe69]

this is exactly, exactly how I feel. 99% of the time I'm willing to give people a break - we are seeing such a condensed, brief glimpse into their lives, so there has be more going on that we don't see. but in this case, I can't believe that Asa wouldn't film Abbie playing with any sensory toys or other toys that engage her, or doing puzzles or sorting games, or any of the other skills she used to work on in the vlogs. all we see is them having paid respite while they do nothing but sit around on their couch. it just really breaks my heart for Abbie and what level of care she should be getting, considering all the opportunities and help available to them.

I followed them from the start and really liked them but as time has gone by I have started to see changes. Asa is so cavalier in his responses to any critcism. Priscilla is so full of herself with the weight loss and bounces about like a Teenager.
Sadly abi has been forgotten on this never ending quest for money

 

[zazaza]

I want them to address the third child lol

They let two non biological girls in their lives but not the love child, unless she doesn't care to be in their lives

I can only assume the other child not being in their lives is the child's decision. I wish them all the best. I don't want any info on them or their life. they are certainly entitled to their life and their absolute privacy. I don't want them dragged into this.

I just want Asa and them to be honest about the lives they are presenting. I was watching an old vlog and Abbie had had some accident during the night or something that necessitated deep cleaning of her room - and Asa made a dramatic speech to the camera about whether to talk about it and how they don't want to hide anything, they want to show the highs and the lows. of course, knowing this now - that's all complete bullshit. I'd have considerable more respect for someone who just admitted the truth instead of presenting as the ultimate great father.

I don't know how to say it other than this: I don't want this child exposed or named or doxxed or pulled into this at all. I just want them to be recognized, rather than swept under the rug for this perfect image. that's sickening to me and would have to be horribly sad for the child, who likely has access to these videos - whether they watch or not (and for their sake, I certainly hope they don't watch). but their existence has a place in this story Asa is telling, and erasing it is just so terribly sad to me. they deserve to be recognized, even if that recognition is nothing more than admitting they exist, that he's fulfilling his financial obligation, and that is all he is able to say. they deserve at least that.

 

[Baymaus]

P & A confuse acceptance with approval. I accept that they aren't able or won't work with Abbie so she can learn what is more acceptable in a public setting. I also accept that they believe that it is okay for her to go anywhere with them even if her behavior will be disruptive.
I don't approve of it. My brother has a hard time modulating his voice. So he doesn't ever go with us to quiet restaurants. People aren't unaware or unaccepting for wanting to go out and have a meal in peace. Most of the time I am in the same boat.

 

[applesandsteve]

I've reported the above posts for bullying farts and dinner plates.

 

[KateK]

Assa admitted they do not take Abbie's communication device out of her bookbag so she has zero way to communicate. Why don't they make sure she has it at all times like friggin normal people do??
'If shes sitting in the corner of the couch and she wants something, or wants to communicate with us, its a lot more EFFORT to go get her communication device.' Because the device is still in her bookbag she can't talk to them. Well no shit Sherlock. 'So that increases her level of frustration". Again...no shit Sherlock.
FFS are they really that oblivious??
Admitting his ignorance but his arrogance prevented him to even recognize this. Wow!!. IMO.

Probably because they know she can't actually communicate with it. They would be hearing pretzels, bathroom,lentils, nature valley granola.. all day long. It seems like she just presses buttons to see what she can get.

 

[Fabmh]

I created this account just to post this.

What was with the recent vlog and having Abby in the house as they were doing work? I literally skipped through the whole part where he was trying to talk to the people who are just trying to do their job after his tone came off as condescending and like the workers had done something wrong, he's like “do you know what autism is?” ???? Who cares? They are there to do their work and appeared to be well into it. I think assa realized he made too big a deal of it because at the end of it he had to quantify the whole or deal/exchange saying he didn't want them to feel like they had to ask to use the bathroom? Yes I'm sure that (asking to use the bathroom) would have made them feel soooo uncomfortable, far more uncomfortable than a surprise lesson in something you didn't ask for. And even if that was the real reason (instead of him just wanting more attention), he could have just said “we are going to close this door to keep the noise down but feel free to go through it to use the bathroom” as I'm sure they have been told in numerous houses, because surprise! even neurotypical people don't like the sound of air guns.

And I know this has been mentioned here before but why in the world did they keep her home at that point? It seemed like they were finishing up so why not just take her for a walk around the neighborhood or out to get dinner. And I'm not just saying that because she has special needs, I would keep any child with any type of needs out of the house when there's construction going on because there was no reason for them to be home. I'm literally just baffled.

 

[Apple In My Pie]

I read this thread but don’t contribute as I don’t watch the family religiously although I find what they’re doing abhorrent. As a person affected by disability and with family members who have disability and autism I understand the need for awareness and the desire to broadcast it - however based on what I’ve seen of Abby I don’t think she truly is the ‘face’ of autism and like PPs have said, she has more of an IDD. So they are broadcasting a false image to people and causing distress to their child in the process because they have that one track view of content and not their child’s needs/wants.

The reason I say this is because I found a post on LadBible of a father broadcasting his autistic son. There were lots of gushing comments and a small amount saying that he was wrong, and that as his child was having meltdowns he should have turned off the camera. Loads of other commenters were using Fathering Autism as an example of a positive experience of parenting a severely autistic child, in response to the negative comments. That’s paraphrased but you get the gist. I read it and I was just thinking, no! No it isn’t. It’s wrong. it’s not in the child’s best interests, surely?

 

[Hotographer512]

I was looking through the thumbnails and this one REALLY caught my attention.
Ironic, isn't it? Ha!

 

[webbygurl626]

I don't understand why they are so reluctant to up her meds. There may be a valid reason, but when I watched last, it sounded more like they had decided as "experts" to ignore her doctor's advice. Is it to have more sleepless nights as content? I just can't watch them botch her life either out of ignorance or deliberately right now.

His exact words were that Abbie had gotten older and bigger and they didn’t want to adjust her meds for that reason, like that isn’t the exact reason why dr adjust people’s meds I’m betting it’s a lie just like the aba therapy and how she was doing soo good she didn’t need it everyday uh huh, I bet the therapist was sick of going over their daily to basically help Abbie with household chores cause she wasn’t learning anything!

 

[MaxsMom]

Thank you, that makes a lot of sense. That would help her better understand choices.

There are quite a few EXTREMELY intelligent people in this group, with Sam-I-Am being one of them. I’m so thankful there is a place like this where I can come to read ideas and responses that make sense and are not just honey sweet adorations.

 

[uncannyvalley]

Eh, I actually think with Abbie's IDD she really doesn't understand THAT much. Maverick probably understands a few words and commands too. When she started crying in the latest vid, I think it was mainly because she wanted attention (or she had asked for music repeatedly and been ignored). That said, they're still not talking TO her enough. Her school even told them to talk to her more! I mean, even with small babies, you talk to them even if they don't answer you back and even if they don't really get what you're saying.

 

[Baymaus]

Yes! They want easy money for minimal effort. They call it working 80 hours a week.
Eighty hours a week means you don't have time for anything else but sleep.
If you have time to cook an awesome meal, go out to eat, get your nails and hair done, you are not working 80 hours a week. Not even if you film those events in your day for youtube.

 

[Sam-I-Am]

I took this from the other forum

“I have a verbal seven year old with an autism diagnosis. His therapist are looking in to ABA so I tried to look in to them for education on and I’ve never felt more confused in my life. They say their videos are to help and spread awareness but I’m just feeling more lost than before and I live with spectrum child every day”

The vlogs are moving more and more away from Autism.

Which is why someone in the field (truly in the field of Autism) needs to stand up against them and tell them that their daughter is not fully just on the Autism Spectrum.. A and P need to say completely that their daughter has IDD and has Autism characteristics or even a secondary diagnosis of Autism but that her primary diagnosis isn't Autism and that they are not the "be all, see all" for Autism. Their vlogs rarely benefit anyone with a child on the Autism Spectrum. They do the exact opposite that any therapist or doctor would tell them to do..

 

[zazaza]

Yes! They want easy money for minimal effort. They call it working 80 hours a week.
Eighty hours a week means you don't have time for anything else but sleep.
If you have time to cook an awesome meal, go out to eat, get your nails and hair done, you are not working 80 hours a week. Not even if you film those events in your day for youtube.

god yes. him talking up priscilla and how hard she worked when she went from, what, an hour of answering e-mails to putting on her make-up in front of the camera? that's not working 80 hours a week. it's insulting to people who do have to work crazy hours to keep food on the table - much less twice a day dunkin' and artisan cupcakes.

 

[applesandsteve]

I find Summer pretending to like Abbie really annoying.


She's a severely intellectually disabled girl who is extremely non-communicative. Her emotions are wildly labile and inappropriate. Her biggest interests are eating and ripping up diapers. Summer has taught her to beg for food like a dog when she was eating fries. Summer probably has some scheme in her head to become the first ABA therapist vlogger. Noooooooo thank you.

 

[LUZZb]

Just to reiterate, while it's obvious this was an affair baby (The dates on the paperwork specify conception and it lines up with when Isaiah was 18months old), nobody would really care that much nor judge if it had been owned up to or acknowledged in any way, as compared with the "I'm just a good man who did the right thing and married my baby mama", it's dishonest as a lying by omission is lying. A lot of things make a lot more sense in this context, it's just so sad and pathetic he/they have been doing these RolePlay's for so long.

 

[So so sad]

Keeping her feet covered in restaurants should be one task they prioritize and work on as it appears to be a constant issue.

 

[Hotographer512]

The red flag that finally woke me up was P's comment about her initial response to her son's anxiety. I don't have the exact quote, but she more or less told him to suck it up and pull up his socks. Kid is a caretaker, goes to an IB school, was applying to college and and and.... Asks for help and gets blown off?

She's such a self centered bitch.
Oh but they got him an app for that!
Probably hoping to be sponsored.
I would never trust typing out in a instant message to someone (probably in India), pretending to be a certified counselor, my personal problems.
But these 2 hambeasts who can clearly afford traditional in person counseling get Isaiah a friggin app!
#theysucksobad