Teaching children with Autism right from wrong

Children with Autism have many behaviors that are a direct result of the Autism. However, that being said, they need to be taught right from wrong. Autism is not an excuse for every bad behavior they exhibit. I hate hearing Oh, he does that because he's Autistic. No, I am sorry, he does that because he has been given a free pass his whole life. He has learned that he can use Autism as an excuse. He can do or act however he chooses and nothing will be done.

Now don't get me wrong, I know exactly how challenging the behaviors can be with a child that has Autism. You have to keep working with them and teach them right from wrong. They have to learn there are consequences when they make a bad choice. If you do not, you are setting them up for future failure.

This past week I watched ABC's What Would You Do. I was very pleased to see the diners standing up for the child with Autism. They were not quick to judge the child's behaviors. They had compassion for the parents and the child. I was not happy with the way the diners thought it was alright for the child to steal food from another customers plate. They said he has something wrong with him and that was why he took the food. It is never okay for a child to steal food from another person's plate. Let alone a stranger's plate. He needed to be taught right from wrong and not that it was alright because he has Autism. What if he was in a store and stole an item? Would it still be alright?

Autism is not an excuse for bad behaviors. I know this is not the case for every parent with a child that has Autism. The parents that choose to use Autism as an excuse are what makes the rest of us who try doing the right thing look bad.