If you gotta go, ya gotta go: A parent of an autistic child has some strong advice for his fellow parents

Autism can be as challenging for parents as for the children who live with it.  Apart from ensuring that the child gets proper care, many families have to deal with the stigma and stereotypes that people associate with the condition. It is not uncommon for autistic children to be called words such as ‘retarded’ and ‘mental’, which adds to their difficulty of communicating with people. Therefore, many families are unwilling to take their autistic children to social gatherings. However, a Delhi-based journalist has some advice for parents worried about society’s remarks, “If you gotta go, ya gotta go!” [caption id=“attachment_2483108” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  A screengrab from trailer[/caption] Madhusudan Srinivas uploaded a video on his Facebook page on Sunday recounting his experience of taking son Abhi, who is autistic, to a wedding and how they handled the situation. “Most times we back off from crowds, but other times it is a juggle between sentimentality and our mental-emotional strength to see him through such events. So here’s Abhi at this (pardon me, hosts, for the expression) cacophonous Punju wedding reception,” he wrote. Srinivas went on to describe how his ‘brave warrior’ Abhi coped up with the noise and crowd, as both are factors that affect autistic children. “He’s (Abhi) finished eating with a lil (sic) bit of help from me, and is coping with the ’noise’ and the crowd by swaying as only our AUT (autistic) boys and gals can. All I can hear him say in the recording, is mirinda! Small price. He did get it,” continues Srinivas’s post. He also mentioned how the hosts loved being there. Srinivas ended the post with advice for all his fellow parents, “I’d just say, gotta get out there, sometimes at least, even though it’s tough warding off the feeling of getting somr ‘weirdo’?? Glances. Metro. Dussehra, family anything. If you gotta go ya gotta go!!” This post was well received on the social networking site with over a hundred likes as this was being written. Several people lauded Srinivas for writing about it. “You set very practical examples to follow,” wrote one user while another commented, “Absolulely. When you gotta go. You gotta go. And for those who don’t get it, they just have to deal with it, now. Don’t they?!” Read the full post and watch the video here

Sample Autism Challenge .. And our brave warrior Abhi. Most times we back off from crowds, but other times it is a… Posted by Madhusudan Srinivas on  Saturday, October 24, 2015