Maybe I just think differently but there is no way on God’s green earth I would have taken any of these kids to Disney. Poor Ella looked so miserable. Abby is just so delayed she doesn’t know whats going on around her and the other little girl seemed so out of it. Just seems that this would not be enjoyable for them but maybe I just don’t understand their degrees of autism. It’s hard enough taking young kids to Disney who have no disabilities. I live about 30 min from Disneyland and always took my kids when they were younger but was sometimes challenging and they had no disabilities. Priscilla just needs to suck it up and stop complaining about the DAS there. Obviously you bring 18 people with all kids involved having disabilities and its not going to be a picnic. Like I said maybe It’s just me but this was a dumb idea. Hope I didn’t offend anyone but I just don’t understand the need to take these kids places that stress them out more.
I’m on the fence about it. Exposure therapy is important but so is knowing your child’s limits. I don’t think Abbie should be limited in anything she does, but also if she has sensory issues and doesn't like wearing headphones or doesn’t understand her surroundings, wouldn’t it be best to avoid those situations?
I think the person has a point. Abbie is more than her diagnosis. Autism is a plug for them, most of the videos aren’t even educational. Focusing only on her Autism has become circus like for them. They could name the video “A family trip to Disney” but instead they say “Autism at Disney” yet they never even talk about Autism at Disney. He says he does it so ppl can find their videos. Well, if the name being Fathering Autism isn't a clue, I don’t know what is. But that’s YouTube for you, it’s all clickbait.I agree, I think kids and adults like Abbie are often underestimated in their ability to understand things. She does appear to understand basic instructions, she can misinterpret certain things as most autistics do, but on the whole, she's a good listener. I definitely think she's not being given the correct help to fulfill her potential. I think she needs encouraged with the abilities that she has, that way she will either maintain or increase her abilities. Abbie does have a voice, just not a verbal one and often when she's' trying to communicate she's being ignored and misinterpreted. A&P need to do a lot of work to understand nuances involved and look at everything to do with autism outside of the basic things; sensory etc.
That person commenting has no idea about the autistic community. Most of us have no problem with people knowing we are autistic. Generally speaking, the autistic community (at least online) embrace our identities. It's not a disease, but it is intrinsically a part of who we are whilst acknowledging the difficulties we can encounter.
EDIT: Just noticed that person that commented is same age as Abbie (14) so I can forgive them for their comment.
EDIT2: Though that person is right! They do exploit her. I just disagree with the first part of their comment slightly just for the autistic community as a whole, but most of us aren't exploited online by our parents. It's funny they've been told they are disgusting by a kid.