Summary:
Sinclair begins by addressing the way Autism is typically viewed, as a tragedy. This is how Sinclair sets up the scene for the rest of xyr message. Sinclair focuses upon the fact that many parents view and treat autism as an illness that is hindering their child from being ‘normal’. This is not the case. Autism is part of their child and by mourning the child’s condition, the parents are alienating their child. Sinclair argues that it is the parents’ treatment of the child that prevents them from connecting and bonding with them. It is the parents inhibiting the relationship. Having a child is not something parents typically expect but it is something they need to be willing to work with. This is their child, still. Sinclair closes xyr letter by inviting the reader, parents of autistic children, to accept, support and join in their children’s life,
“I wish the autistic child I have did not exist, and I had a different (non-autistic) child instead.” Pp.1
“You didn’t lose a child to autism. You lost a child because the child you waited for never came into existence.” Pp.3
“But I know it’s a child, stranded in an alien world, without parents of its own kind to care for it. It needs someone to care for it, to teach it, to interpret and to advocate for it.” Pp.4
Reflection:
This will be fairly short. I do not much to say about Sinclair’s writings, except xe is right. I think what was said in Don’t Mourn for Us goes for all parents. You should never enter parenthood expecting your child to be just like you. They are a person. They will have different opinions, likes, dislikes, and way of thinking, their own personality. They are all ‘alien’. Autistic children are not that different from non-autistic children, they all need to be supported and guided by parents who accept them for who they are. I think I would personally change the audience of this letter to include the autistic child’s peers, because at the end of the day we are not just raised by our parents.
Adults ruin a lot of things…this is one of them.