To be fair I don’t blame Priscilla for wanting a normal life, surely nobody would choose to go through all that on a daily basis and know that this is it until you die, how awful .
I think about this a lot. When she was young, they were able to hope/ tell themselves that things would improve. They just needed patience.
Both of my kids are autistic, one considered more asperger's and the younger one considered "moderate". He is into everything all the time. Putting everything in his mouth, jumping off high places, into diaper tearing and now some smearing. He constantly tries escaping the apartment.
We now have everything locked down. We tape his diaper shut and put overalls/ backwards onesies on him and try offering slime etc for the sensory input. It takes him much longer than most to learn certain concepts, despite social stories and natural consequences. We gotta keep the poor kid on a harness when we take him outside because he likes traffic and he is FAST.
However, he is three. We say it will be fine. We keep working at it and hoping with early intervention and consistency that he (and us!) will be all right.
Watching abbie tho (and I've mentioned this before, so sorry if I'm being repetitive) can reduce me to tears. My youngest has a lot in common with her (he also yells very loud and very consistently, rocks on the couch pretty hard). I find myself wondering when they gave up. I hope I won't, but understand getting discouraged.
I wonder about their denial. I think they truly believe what they tell us, but they must have moments. Moments when it is really clear that it isnt going to really improve. (P at the movie theater sounds like a perfect example)
Sorry for the long winded post. I dont particularly like them, but I do really feel for them sometimes.