Autism-World

Llama:I’m 13 years old. My older brother James is 16 and has autism. He’s not that high functioning and is relatively normal except a few slips. When people ask me what’s wrong with him I don’t know what to say. Any ideas? It’s getting pretty awkward For the longest time I’be just been pretending that I didn’t hear the person that asked the question.

Been:First, I’d like to say that I am very glad to hear you say that he has Autism and not that he is Autistic. It might seem small, but you aren’t allowing his autism to define him. It’s just something he has.

I don’t have any easy answer on what to say to people when they ask that question. My siblings obviously have Autism. I choose to tell people straight out and then answer any questions that they may have BUT I am also a lot older than you. When I was in high school, I had trouble even admitting to myself that there was a problem. Socially, i didn’t know how people would treat me knowing about the Autism (yes, I know, that was very self centred, but who isn’t in high school). I realized that being straight about it was best for me. Autism is more frequently diagnosed nowadays and you might be surprised to find out that people you know have siblings with Autism. It does make it easier when other friends are having similar experiences.

Remember that some people are asking because they truly care. Those are the people to answer. Good Luck.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 29th, 2007 at 8:41 pm and is filed under Autism Stories.