Hi there, I am very sorry to hear about your terrible outing. I am familiar with the situation and know how terrible it feels to watch your child be marginalised (or even prodded to react so they can then be blamed!) during times when the family is supposed to be 'relaxing'. I am concerned for you because I feel you take it to heart a great deal, so much so that it affects your own behaviour. It is really important as a parent/carer in these situations to remember that you too also need time out to gather your thoughts and 'put yourself back together'. Approaching someone who is ignorant to autism can be frustrating however it can also be a really valuable time to educate others. You would be surprised to know that most mothers actually know their children are not angels and if you approach them in a non-confrontational manner they will often react very apologetically. I am sorry that you hit someone, I do not agree this was appropriate and feel it actually sets quite a bad example for your autistic child who is already struggling with learning what is 'socially acceptable' behaviour. In saying that, I absolutely know how bad you must have felt at that time. I really suggest to you that talking to other parents who have autistic kids would be really useful because you are openly accepted and not made to feel your child is a freak. In fact, most parents of autistic kids probably have a million stories about the most wonderful, beautiful things their kids have done and you will see the beauty of your own child in those stories. I absolutely adore my son and I have also home-schooled him for the last two years, he is currently in grade 2 and is 8 years old. He has a very positive view about autism. We sometimes have another autistic boy (9yo) stay over for play-dates. On one occasion the other child was being your typical rat bag so my son turned to him and said "You don't have autism, your not nice at all!!!!". Priceless
