The other day something happened that I haven't been able to let go of. I don't know why it's burned into my brain but it is. Anyway here's the story.
My mother-in-law & I took Alden to swim class last week. There was a woman sitting at the table and she commented about how "little" Alden was. At first I thought she meant that he was short (he's not, he's 4 feet tall!) and I just kind of nodded and smiled to be polite. Then she pointed out her grandson who was...well, to be blunt he was fat. I then realized that she likely meant that Alden was thin. He is, he weighs 45 lbs. He is still at a "healthy" height & weight though.
Later on she commented that "at least he has 2 swim coaches". My mother-in-law replied politely with "he has autism and learns by watching" then the woman replied "Oh! Well that's why he's so thin, it's his medication!" I was absolutely stunned, and mortified at the same time. Number one, as I said he's not underweight, he doesn't look malnourished at all, he's just tall & thin. Number two the fact that she just assumed he was on medication. Has it really come to that? Everyone assuming all children with problems are on medication? I was disgusted and I'm pretty sure I actually snarled a bit after she said that. Then I interjected with "Oh, no, no, no, he doesn't take any medication." As if I was having to defend him.
The fact that she was so concerned about his weight while her own grandson was literally twice his size was kind of startling to me.
I am not saying there is anything wrong with children who need medication being on it. I am glad they have success with certain drugs. We just haven't had that kind of experience yet and I hope we never have to. If we do that's fine but I found the fact that a stranger would assume as much really annoying.
