The Chase Is On...And So Are The Public Comments.

   Yesterday I went to our local grocery store, it's small and easy to chase the little man if that's the kind of day it is.  Took him with me so he could get out of the house. It's pretty rare we go out in public that we don't get some kind of comment about his behavior, even if it's a polite one.
I think every parent with an autistic child would agree, it's nearly unavoidable unless you keep your child home every single day.

   It was a runner day, the kind of day nothing was going to slow Phillip down. Once his shoes hit the ground he was like a wind up toy and off he went! It can be difficult to get him to hold my hand so I tend to at least put a hand on him so I can feel the take off before he gets away from me. That usually works until we get inside the store. He is way to big to put in a cart and the battle that comes with that is brutal so it's really just not an option anymore. On a day like this....the chase is on.
I didn't buy much and spent most of time redirecting him, at times leaving my cart to run after him and physically turn him around directing back to where I needed him to be.

   I have encountered comments and who hasn't as a parent with a child who operates differently. A few have upset me a little, but most of the time it's just a comment from someone who is totally unaware of his difference. I know at some point we will face someone who isn't just unaware but out to correct my bad parenting. It's coming and I know it. The question is how will I react? I know I won't say exactly what comes to mind, because my mother taught me better than that, but I do have the ability to use whit and sarcasm in a productive way. I have always told my older kids, when someone says something to you that hurts your dignity, you use whit to leave them silenced. Walking away is best, but sometimes that is not an option.

   I was once told I needed to be less sarcastic, that it comes off as hostile and I was using it as a self defense tool. I say...amen to that and thank God for the ability from time to time.
So, yesterday while my discovering, super speedy, sensory gifted little man was flying through the store like a bolt of lightening, a man said to me..."you need to put that boy in a cage!"
I really think he felt he was a very funny guy and didn't realize how bad it sounded when he said it. My response to that funny guy?..."yes! and I should probably beat him to."His face just went flat and he was silenced. I would NEVER beat my child, and I could never beat my child. Not that it hasn't been recommended to me by people on the outside looking in.

    I could have ignored him completely, but If we are going to face this kind of thing for years to come whit is going to have to come in to play. Call it hostile or a self defense tool....I call it a gift and I will have days I just don't feel like ignoring the comments, and that's okay. I am not going to announce he is autistic to every person who feels the need to say something, because first and foremost he is Phillip, he is our son, and he is amazing.