Who is the expert of your child?

I’ve read a lot of posts on social media from parents and carers that say things like….

“I don’t believe ‘autism experts’ anymore, I am the only expert of my child.”

These type of posts have always been shared multiple times by fierce parents in agreement with the statement, sparking up quite a strong reaction about the whole thing.

Whenever I see these posts I look at the amount of ‘shares’, skim through a few of the comments and then usually roll my eyes….

Because while I agree that you will find people who call themselves “experts” in autism who…

– Don’t know what they’re talking about

– Are just trying to make money

– Don’t have much experience

– Aren’t passionate about helping your child

– Give rubbish advice

There are also experts (like me) who…

– Really want the best for your child

– Have years of experience

– Put their techniques into practice

– Study autism

– Are up front and honest in helping you

Because of this…

A lot of these parents and carers who are quick to criticise the expert might want to look at it from another point of view…

Someone who calls themselves an autism expert is simply stating their specialism and their experience working in this area…

That’s all!

Take me for example. I’ve worked with autistic children for over 6 years now. I call myself an autism expert because of the amount of children I’ve helped and the amount of time I’ve been doing it.

But…

I would never say I’m the expert of one particular child…. Because that would be a ridiculous statement!

I’m not the expert of William, Daniel, Charlie or Maisie. Their primary carers are of course.

But all those parents and carers who shared or replied to those type of posts hear is…

“Hi, I’m …………. and I’m the expert of your son Daniel.”

But think of it like this…

You’re driving down the road and all of a sudden your car breaks down. You need to get it fixed as soon as possible. Would you…

a) Go across the road to the guy whose car broke down last week?

Or would you b) Go to a mechanic?

B) of course!

But you see, so many of the replies I read on the “anti-expert posts” say things like “You can’t really know about autism until you’ve lived it.”

But when these parents and carers want help with their child’s speech or behaviour do they go to another parent for therapy?

No, they go to an expert!

Us experts aren’t trying to take anything away from what you do as parents and carers…

We are simply here to help your child reach their full potential, as I’m sure you are!

All I’m saying is… we are on the same team here!

Have a great day.

Speak with you soon until then,

Live every moment, Love beyond words and make a difference today

Emma Ottaway

The Ambitious Autism Ambassador