Diagnosis or no Diagnosis?

FROM BECKY: Here at the Intensive Program at The Autism Treatment Center of America this week, we have been working with a lovely family! Their amazing son with Autism is 12 and very high functioning and interactive.

In helping this family this week, the following question has come up several times. "How much of his behavior is to do with his Autism and how much is not?" The answer we keep coming back to is "What does it matter?" Regardless of whether our child is showing certain behaviors because he is still having a challenge connecting and coping with the world around him or whether he is being a typical 12 year old, testing his boundaries in life. The real question is "How do we want to show up as a parent/caregiver?"

We are role models for our children, they learn how to be in this world and what matters by what we teach them. Just by being the sort of parent, friend or teacher we want to be will help and support them diagnosis or no diagnosis. And it certainly feels better to do it in a non-judgmental, loving and accepting way.