This is Part 1 of a two-part interview with Ettina Kitten. Ettina Kitten is a legal assistant, blogger, and mother-to-be from Canada. Ettina blogs at Abnormaldiversity on a variety of topics related to autism. This week she shared her unique perspective as both a receiver and provider of autism therapy.
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A friend of mine recently took her autistic 7th grader to a doctor appointment. During the appointment, the developmental pediatrician told her that after observing the behavior of her other 15-month-old son whom she had also brought along, this child was also on the spectrum. The doctor went on to recommend enrollment in a full-time ABA therapy program now if she didn’t want her baby to “end up like” her older son. My friend was shocked by this news and left wondering how best to proceed. The doctor’s aggressive unofficial diagnosis and recommendations left her worried that if she didn’t follow the orders, she would be failing as a parent.
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