Autism Spectrum???

Are there any families out there that have more than one autistic child? Both of my sons have been diagnosed with Autism, one is mild and the other is moderate. My children look normal, but they behave poorly and people misjudge this all the time for poor parenting, etc. How do I get them to realize the social interaction for autistic children is severly degraded and open their eyes to the epidemic of Autism?

my 3 year old sister was recently diagnosed with autism, and up to now, ppl would just stare when we would take her out, because she would not look anyone in the eyes when they talked to her and she would throw tantrams when she wouldnt get her way. ppl would just stare and think that she was a spoiled brat. autism is not a result of poor parenting. some people are just too stupid to see that fact. autistic children are generally extremely intellegent, my sister could probably tell you entire scenes from "Go Diego Go", but she cant answer a simple question like "what is your name?". it is sad that some ppl are so ignorant that they look down upon you and your children, but as long as your children are happy and are receiving help, what does it matter what others think? some ppl will never understand even if you explain to them and will always look down on your sons. screw the ingorant ppl out there, my sister is extremely smart and happy and sweet, she just has a mental disorder.

My heart goes out to you. I am the grandmother of a precious boy who is 4 years old and severely autistic and he gets judged by people as well for his poor social behaviour when he is out too. Unfortunately people are judgemental especially as my grandson looks completely normal so what I do is just ignore them. So sweetheart screw the bastards I'm sure you are doing a great job and don't worry about what STRANGERS think, its not important. But I thought of this idea when my grandson was first diagnosed, get some business cards made up with this on them " Hi my name is --------- and I am severely autistic instead of judging me or my mummy I would like you to make a donation to the Autistic Association of NSW ( postal address and phone number) Thanks for your kindness." My daughter and I did not go ahead with the idea we both just developed very thick skins. Best of luck to you.

I have a son on the autistic spectrum.... I know parents who use business cards made up that they can hand out to others about autism and what to expect. You can personalize them too by saying Hi, my name is such and such I have a developmental disability that causes me to behave ...... Or whatever you want to help the public to understand your children better.
I too get tired of the "stares" . My son is High functioning and it still happens.

It is QUITE common for families to have more than one autistic child, actually. There is strong evidence that autism has at least a partial genetic component to it. BTW, it's also common for autistic/Aspie parents to have kids on the autistic spectrum.

There has been a LOT of press in the past few years about autism, so much so that just last year President Bush signed the Combating Autism Act after it passed the Senate and House. The mainstream media is doing their part to educate the general public about autism, but it's still up to people like you to educate others about autism as well.

Unfortunately, people will always be judgmental and base their initial opinions of your children on poor parenting. I have a child with mild autism, and right now he is developmentally at 2.5 years old (he's almost 4) and going through the terrible two's stage, so he has tantrums and meltdowns all over the place. When anybody looks at me funny, I tell them "HE HAS AUTISM" and they usually shut up, although because he looks normal many still think he's just not disciplined enough which is just so frustrating.
The only thing I can say is just tell people outright "he is autistic" and if they still don't comprehend why the child or children aren't behaving in a manner that is desirable, then be more firm in your voice and perhaps tell the people judging that if they do not know what autism is and how these children behave, then they need to educate themselves first before they make any judgments.
I also tell people to think carefully before they decide to judge others, with the epidemic so high (in Australia it is 1 in 100) it is very likely that they too will love someone with autism one day.

And ya had to go and ask a serious question huh:) I gave you two stars:)

Some time ago God decided to use amateur people as parents of humans. I guess He had a reason . I guess we all have a disadvantage in life called childhood. Oh dear me... Maybe there is hope for parents to be nice to their kids so they will be good parents too.