Highlights
- Melburnian Peter Jasonides speaks out on the discriminatory treatment, children with disabilities often face
- Fathering a son with autism, he says he’s often witnessed people being judgemental based on their assumptions
- He says his son exhibits exceptional intuitive skills
The same message was shared by others too on social media.
But community response to the post in his case led to the decision to speak publicly about his experience as a father of a 27-year-old on the autism spectrum.
The beginning of his Facebook post reads as follows:
“When you have a ′′ normal ′′ child who gets good grades, you are happy. When he or she does what they are told, you are happy. But it's a ′′ normal ′′ joy, because, of course, it's their duty. But when you have a child with certain limitations, every learning every bit of success, makes you feel elated as if you won a championship.”
Mr Jasonides goes on saying that children with disabilities should not be seen as “strangers”.
“Nothing more than less than equal treatment, that’s what they deserve,” he tells SBS Greek.
Referring to his own family he describes their daily reality as “quite different than that of a ‘normal’ – as one would use the term – family.”
His son, George, has suffered rejection or ridiculing by people “who are judgmental based on their assumptions”.
Mr Jasonides juxtaposes these experiences to the ones he had in Greece, claiming Greek people can be understanding and respectful on that aspect.
He concludes by sharing a recollection from a trip there that reminded him of his son’s unique intelligence.
“While farewelling my parents, he started crying saying ‘I told pappou goodbye’. He only said this to his grandpa, not his grandmother whom he also cherished.
“Four days later, my father passed,” Mr Jasonides says attributing his son’s words to an instinctive feeling of what was to follow.
“I feel less than my son when it comes to intuition, intelligence and mind abilities.”
