School Project

[SueM in MN]

I'm not going to get involved in the 'politically correct or not' discussion. I don't believe the OP meant to offend and there has been a lot of discussion of what would be more appropriate terms. Sometimes things come out without thought (I got some 'politically correct' corrections myself a few years ago when I posted that DD called herself and other females using wheelchairs "wheelchair girls". As it turns out, DD has a rather limited variety of signs to communicate with and doesn't use words like "with, using, etc." so "girls using wheelchairs" becomes "wheelchair girls". After seeing DD use it many, many times, it kind of becames part of my language (in the same way, in my house we talk about "bus girl" (any female bus driver) and "different girl" ("same girl" is sister, so "different girl" is a female who is not sister, mom or grandma).
At any rate, I've had "wheelchair girl" sneak out in my writing or language from time to time and meant no offense...it just came out.

One warning I would have for using the WDW with Your Special Needs book is that it does sort of foster the 'everyone with the same diagnosis has the same needs' idea in the way that things are listed for attractions and needs. So, I would take what is in it with a grain of salt. I am somewhat claustrophobic (how much something bothers me depends on the situation). Many of the things listed with a code for claustrophobia didn't bother me at all. IF I had read the book before going on them, I probably would not have gone on the attraction at all. There were other things that bothered me a lot that didn't make the list.
Another example, for each attraction, there is a rating - one might be listed as 'worst for autism' or 'worst for mobility disabilities'. How they came up with those was asked a bunch of people to indicate a disability and then rate each attraction as worst or best.
I know that some of the ones that came out as 'worst for autism' were actually favorites for some of the families who post here who have children with autism. A lot of the 'worst' or 'best' would depend on whether the child was a sensory seeker (person who likes stimulation) or a sensory avoider (someone who does not like stimulation).

You could find similar things for any disability because of the ranges in most. For example, my DD's primary disability is cerebral palsy. The effects of that can range from someone who has few visible signs, has maybe some minor 'clumsiness' and/or tires easily to someone who has very little control of any part of their body. Touring with someone at the milder range would be much different than touring with someone at the more involved range.

 

[bookwormde]

As with all things said and done it is all about intent. As a apsie with an Aspergers son (and extended family) I am sure we ask questions and say many things that are not socially or politically correct but it is from a desire for knowledge and when the impact is explained we “take it to heart so. This is why I took no offence to the Ops question since it was from an attempt to understand better.

The primary point that I always try to get across is that Autism, HFA, PDD-nos Aspergers or just having some spectrum characteristic is that it is something we are not something we “have”. Since we have such a broad set of differential genetic characteristic variation, the idea that we are in many ways a different sub species (bread) or even species is a true scientific consideration. It is only a negative connotation if people view the variation as on the whole as a negative.

As with all minorities being willing to publicly self-identity (“come out of the closet”) is always a major step to broader societal understanding acceptance and accurate understanding for the differences, for individuals on the Autism spectrum this has just started to become the standard, as is neurodiversity education in our schools and society at large. During this transitional time there is always a certain amount a discomfort as people become informed and loose the attachment to past negative connotations.

To the Op I hope you are still reading and learning, again do not get afraid to ask questions.

bookwormde

 

[mechurchlady]

You all know me and how I am. I hate offending people and hurting people. For me I say "autistic child" because I have a train of thought and see lots of places to go see. I am trying to remember how to properly post and clearly post so for me "autistic child" is something of a simple way of saying something. I have the information or the box of hugs and chocolates to give you but have to be so careful with putting things on pair so that they are clear and not stupid. That is why I asked. I have had two phychiatrict opinions in my life. As a kid I had poor socialization skills and getting my SSI was when they said broad catergory of paranoia, lol, I was sick as sick could be with the flu and my attorney kept telling me to hush, lol. I live in the city in a county that would make anyone paranoid. Thus I conclude with I am sorry to offend people but I have my own quirks and hope that my wording does not offend you. I have been flogged by the posting nazis who demand perfect spelling, grammar, ideology, punctuation, etc. so I am a bit posting worried that someone else will say I am not good.

Hugs and chocolates and a dole whip for Sue.
Laurie

 

[Damhsa04]

Thank you all for all your help. I've been doing a bit more research for my project and have taken all of your advice into account. Like some of you said it is a bit too hard for me to plan a hypothetical trip for a child with autism. So I've switched the special need to ADHD.