OcalaMom.com

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26182016/

Thoughts?

I have 4 children the oldest is 10 and the yougest is 1. My second son who is 9 has PDD-NOS. I have gotten some of the ugliest looks when out at different places. The grocery store is one of the worst. People look at me like I am an idiot. What do I do when I hear rude comments about how my child is behaving? Usually it is just the usually loud talking and clumsy walking. I have a strong desire to tell them he has Autisim mind your own business. But I usually just try to hold his hand and get out as soon as possible. I am not an idiot. When possible I run errands when the oldest two are in school but there are times, especially in the summer, when I have to take all of them and I am only one person dealing with four children.

My 5 year old grandson has Autism and at times can have outbursts and even an occasional meltdown in public. - He likes to yell "HEY" to check out the echo in a large store.
My daughter and I always try to remember to wear our Autism awareness ribbons. Almost everyone knows what that means. Also I think people realize there is something different going on here other than a spoiled kid by the calming directive way we talk to him.
There have been times when we've gotten looks but usually people pick up on the fact that this is a child with certain issues.

My 5 year old daughter has autistic features, and I know how it is to take her out to Wal-mart for instance. She has no sense of danger or social awkwardness, so she will run up to strangers and hug them and start talking to them about school or whatever. Or else she'll stand in the middle of the aisle spinning with her arms outstretched or sometimes just sit on the floor. It's tough, and I admit I wait until my husband gets home from work on Saturday to go shopping so I can go alone, because it's stressful to try to get everything you need when you're just trying to get out of there. I apologize for her constantly, but since she's being so sweet to people they don't usually get annoyed. But I do because she needs to learn not to talk to strangers, much less touch them!!

Sorry I didn't really offer any advice, I can just lend support because I know how it feels.

TO MOMX4...YOU ARE A VERY STRONG WOMAN! I CANNOT STAND PEOPLE THAT STARE AT YOU LIKE IT IS YOUR FAULT OR YOU ARE DOING SOMETHING WRONG. AN AUTISTIC CHILD DOESN'T NEED TO BE KEPT FROM THE PUBLIC EITHER...SOME ARE VERY "TRAINABLE". IT'S THE PEOPLE THAT ARE IGNORANT OR INSENSITIVE TO THAT CONDITION THAT MAKE IT DIFFICULT. THEY NEED TO OPEN THEIR EYES AND SEE SOME ARE NOT AS "PERFECT" AS THEM!!!!