> It seems to me that with this list of demands you are asking to be isolated
I don't want us to be isolated, but safety is more important. Certain disabilities have little impact on casual contact, while others have A LOT, but it is important for people to understand that disabilities and the kind of problems associated with them may not be limited to what they see.
When my autistic son was going through his phase of "I just run off carelessly", I had to walk with him restrained. Sorry, random passerby, I am not being too strict with my son, I simply can't afford to let him go off my grasp for one second because he will run into traffic and die.
When you see my obviously weak other son smile at you, you may feel invited to touch his face. What you don't see is that his defenses are about as low as they can be, and your simple and loving touch may be enough to send him to the hospital. You don't mean it, but you may cause it.
Of course a list like this means you are more isolated than "normal". When you have stopped your son inches away from a car, or you have held your son with 41ºC fever and his heart beating at 240bpm five minutes away from death, whoever doesn't want to understand that your needs are not "normal" simply has no place in your life, because the price may be a dead son.
I don't want us to be isolated, but safety is more important. Certain disabilities have little impact on casual contact, while others have A LOT, but it is important for people to understand that disabilities and the kind of problems associated with them may not be limited to what they see.
When my autistic son was going through his phase of "I just run off carelessly", I had to walk with him restrained. Sorry, random passerby, I am not being too strict with my son, I simply can't afford to let him go off my grasp for one second because he will run into traffic and die.
When you see my obviously weak other son smile at you, you may feel invited to touch his face. What you don't see is that his defenses are about as low as they can be, and your simple and loving touch may be enough to send him to the hospital. You don't mean it, but you may cause it.
Of course a list like this means you are more isolated than "normal". When you have stopped your son inches away from a car, or you have held your son with 41ºC fever and his heart beating at 240bpm five minutes away from death, whoever doesn't want to understand that your needs are not "normal" simply has no place in your life, because the price may be a dead son.