Why don’t they discipline that child?

© Noël Piper 

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There are more posts that Noel Piper has done with the main subject being on Autism. If you would like to comment on this specific post please go to her blog using this link http://noelpiper.com/2010/04/01/why-dont-they-discipline-that-child/ .

Thursday, April 1st, 2010

Why don’t they discipline that child?

I was a visitor in a circle of mothers who have children on the autism spectrum.”We’ve been kicked out of every place anyone takes their children. The public library banned us,”  one of them said. All the others nodded with full empathy because they’re living the same story.
I thought of the times there’s a child screaming in a store. The disapproving faces around them all wear an expression you could spell with the alphabet: “Why doesn’t she control her child?”
I wonder. Maybe it is an undisciplined child. Or maybe it’s a parent who’s ignored the child’s needs and has postponed lunch time or nap time way too long. Or maybe it’s a child with autism.
I expect that, unless autism touches our lives somehow, most of us don’t know much about what it is or how it affects a family. And yet we need to know more, or how can we be the body and hands of Christ to a family affected by autism?
I found this video from Joni and Friends very helpful.

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( Go to http://www.joniandfriendstv.org/ and click on the tab 'episodes and offers' if you want to buy the second episode of the video. )