6. The “if only he could speak” myth - My son has major speech challenges and is practically non-verbal. Speech issues are not uncommon among people with autism. However, speech is just one of the many challenges that they have. It’s not the only challenge. So please stop saying that if only he could talk, it would make everything alright. Autism is very different from speech impairment. There are many autistic people who can talk well. That does not make them any less autistic. Autism is characterized by several issues that may or may not include speech delays and merely being able to speak is not the panacea for autism.
7. The special diet myth - I was recently booking a hotel room for our upcoming vacation and during my discussion with the owner I informed her that my son has autism. The lady immediately said they offer gluten free breakfast. It was really thoughtful of her, but it made me wonder what people think about people on the spectrum. Every person on the autism spectrum is not on a special diet. In fact, if you look around you might find tons of non-autistic people following a special diet - dairy free, gluten free, vegan, GMO free, organic and several others. Special diet is not limited to autism and you will find many autistic people who eat almost everything like you and me.
Read more: http://www.autismsupportnetwork.com/news/8-autism-myths-i-wish-i-could-dispel-467322#ixzz5MH3peGIE
