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Journey into the autistic world.

Monday, October 05, 2015

My article on our holiday to France and its treatment of my autistic son

Dear everyone,

Here are the excerpts of my article, entitled "Snapshots of an Enlightened Society" , on our holiday to France with Sebastien, my autistic teenage son, back in August 2013. It seeks to offer insights on how an enlightened society would treat individuals with autism and other intellectual handicaps. 

Snapshots of an Enlightened Society
By Choo Kah Ying
Travelling with Sebastien, my autistic son, has always felt like an adventure, a foray into the unknown, despite the fact that he has become an avid traveller over the past seven years. This is especially the case since his entry into puberty and his transformation from a relatively compliant child to an assertive young man with a mind of his own. For us, venturing overseas, particularly to a completely new location, where we are unable to anticipate Sebastien’s interactions with others and his surroundings, is an endeavour that is fraught with tremendous risk...

Well, none of my fears about Sebastien’s encounter with the French public came to pass. And throughout our three-week journey to Paris and the Southeastern parts of the country, we encountered many locals, from complete strangers to Jerome’s friends and family members. Their attitudes ranged consistently from discreet and considerate acknowledgement of Sebastien’s handicap to warm concern for his well-being. Our three-week journey abounded with examples of the civility and enlightened attitudes of the French people from different walks of life…
What had left an indelible impression on my psyche as a parent of an autistic child was the casualness and the ‘matter-of-fact’ way in which the French people treated Sebastien with decency; doing so did not turn them into saints. Not once did they make us feel as though they were making special accommodations for him. Moreover, this attitude was not just manifested in the action of any one individual, but in the composite of the discrete gestures of multiple individuals in diverse contexts and locations. The cumulative effect of their actions illuminated their acknowledgement of Sebastien’s right and entitlement to a place in society. He is, first and foremost, a human being, who deserves to be treated with decency like his neurotypical counterparts. And if anything, he deserves a little more, for his life has been made harder by the unfairness of circumstances beyond his or my control. When I marveled at their attitude to Jerome’s teenage nephew, he had looked at me with incredulity: “How else would one behave towards Sebastien?” And that was when I got it: as far as they were concerned, acknowledging Sebastien’s right to be treated like any human being was the least that they could do; doing anything else would make them feel like lesser human beings...

Please do read the entire article and share this email with others to promote greater public awareness about autism. Let's move towards this vision of an enlightened society and support individuals with autism and other intellectual handicaps.

Much thanks,

Kah Ying

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