Children who have autism already have a great deal of struggles that they have to learn to control. Autism is a mental condition, present from early childhood, characterized by communication deficits, social impairments, and repetitive behaviors/restricted interests. There are a number of characteristics attributed to autism that can be in any combination and varying degrees of severity.
While life for the one with autism is anything but easy, it is also particularly challenging for those in his or her life, such as the parents. Alice Montgomery, a writer from NPR, wrote an article about her fears regarding her son’s disorder. However, her fear is largely due to the fact that not only is her son autistic, he is black.
Her article is very personal, as if it has been taken out of a journal. Already parents of those who have autism are afraid that something bad will happen to their child, especially since one of the possible characteristics of autism is no real fear of danger (such as running in front of car or standing on the edge of a cliff). Alice Montgomery also fears that her son will be hurt or even worse, killed because of an uncontrollable action (caused by autism) that someone overreacts to due to the color of his skin. To help people visualize or understand this more clearly she compares her son to Trayvon Martin. Trayvon Martin was a 17-year-old African American who went to a convenience store for some candy and juice when George Zimmerman, a volunteer watchman, called the Sanford Police and said he looked suspicious. After an altercation, Martin was shot in the chest, ending his life on that fateful night.
A big difference between Martin and Montgomery’s son is that Martin did not have autism. Alice Montgomery explains how her son will have epic episodes: “toys hurled across a room, screaming fits that last hours, and flurries of hitting that get triggered by even a minor change in a routine.” Even Alice finds herself being tempted to scream and grab her son when he lashes out, but this would be the wrong thing to do in these situations. Fortunately, Alice’s son has a strong support group behind him. He is surrounded by people (therapists, doctors, teachers) who genuinely care about him and know how to handle his tantrums. However, Alice cannot help but wonder, what is going to happen when her son is in the real world? A stranger walking along the street might get physical, trying to control him. What makes her even more scared is the fact that her son is black, which means (in her opinion) he is automatically labeled with stereotypes.
In her article, Alice describes how generations of black parents have had to have “the talk.” They have to explain to their sons and daughters that even though they have the same rights as white kids do, “exercising those rights under the wrong circumstances could be fatal.” She also compares punishments when it comes to racial differences: a misbehavior committed by a white kid may lead to him/her being arrested while the same misbehavior committed by a black kid may lead to his/her death. This is definitely a generalization, but it is true that all parents-white, black, Latino, Asian-American, etc.-have to deal with “indifferent or hostile teachers” and worry about the police thinking their kids are strange or suspicious.
What do you think of Alice’s fears? Do you think she is being paranoid or just protective? No matter what, it is undeniable that there is still a lot of discrimination and obstacles to overcome in the United States. It is important to be aware of this fact and then proceed forward, trying to solve this issue.
Sources:
http://www.cbsnews.com/feature/george-zimmerman-trial-trayvon-martin-case/