Stop speculating on Barron Trump
"This child scares me."
"Is he paying attention?"
"I've heard rumors that he is autistic ... may be."
"I don't usually say anything bad about children ... but he gives me a bad feeling."
"Of course he is autistic."
Like any day of the week, on the Internet, the game of "speculating like crazy about things that we really have no idea about" has won. This time, the game is to find out if Barron Trump has autism or not.
What are these speculations based on? Well, it's weird, right? Is different. If we are based on our perception of what is normal, it is not. And this is where the internet comes in because who needs a professional diagnosis or in-depth knowledge of the neurological condition when we can see with our own eyes that this child is clearly autistic?
The first four sentences in this article are from a Facebook comment thread, and right now, they are most likely posting a thousand more similar comments. A quick glance is enough to discover that people who speculate about Barron's supposed autism liken the disease to "giving bad vibes." Other descriptions I've read include the words "blank stare" and "serial killer look".
Let's start by saying that, in an ideal world, we should leave Barron Trump alone because he is a boy. A 10-year-old boy who did not ask to be the son of Donald Trump or to appear on televisions around the world. There are people who say that "if people were racist with Sasha and Malia, why should we leave Barron alone?" In fact, Sasha and Malia's mother was the one who said "When they lower themselves, we will not catch up with them, we will be above them." If you follow the strategy of paying racists in the same coin, then you should rethink your life and your decision-making abilities.
How many of you who have quickly diagnosed Barron know anything about the autism spectrum? How many of you really know what Asperger's syndrome or autism is?
But it is just as troubling that people believe they have the right to speculate on whether or not someone has a disability. Speculation and discriminatory behavior not only hurt Barron Trump, but also hurt all people with autism. By speculating, the desire that society has to label everything that does not strictly correspond to normal is fulfilled. This is how everyone with the disease is identified. By joining the speculation, you are making it clear that you believe that people with autism can be mocked and attacked.
All the words used to diagnose Barron Trump also apply to people with autism. All those words help perpetuate the wrong stereotypes.
Imagine that you continue with this practice in real life. Imagine that you open the Facebook photos of your friends and comment "Your son gives me a bad feeling, does he still have autism?" If you wouldn't do it to someone you know (I really hope you don't), why do you think you have the right to do it to Barron Trump?
Let's face it: how many of you who have quickly diagnosed Barron know anything about the autism spectrum? How many of you really know what Asperger's syndrome or autism is? In case you have realized that you do not know what it is, this can help you. A professional diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder can only be made by qualified professionals - psychologists who have spent enough time with the patient before making a diagnosis.
Furthermore, any human being - yes, even Donald Trump's son - has the right to privacy. Barron has the right to keep it private if he is autistic or if he is not. Attempting to obtain a confession from the Trump family does not benefit anyone and is a violation of that right. Whether Barron Trump has autism is up to you and his family. If he does not suffer from it, it is still a matter for him and his family.
In closing, I would like to say that Donald Trump poses a threat to people with disabilities. He has acknowledged that the lie that vaccines cause autism is believed. Betsy DeVos - Trump's new elected Secretary of Education - does not believe that children with special needs have the right to an equal education. Melania Trump has already threatened to sue those who spread rumors about her child, so doing so can be damaging. If Trump decides to deny the rumors, namely the lies and insults that he would say about autism ...
If you are tempted to speculate that Barron Trump has autism, ask yourself why you do it. Why do you care? I assure you that these speculations will not help anyone. In fact, they most likely hurt someone.
