The Onion - Autistic Child Ruins Marriage He Was Born To Save
I usually love The Onion, but this article, Autistic Child Ruins Marriage He Was Born To Save, is a) just mean, b) full of sterotypes, and c) not funny. I’ve HAD BEEN a fan of The Onion for years and it’s sad to see that they are so mean-spirited and not funny.
HOUSTON—With the challenges accompanying his developmental disorder widening the already vast gulf between his parents, autistic child Evan Thomas, 3, continued this week to destroy the failing marriage he was brought into this world to save.
Evan, who through the very act of being born was entrusted with the task of resolving lingering conflicts, soothing deep-seated contempt, and restoring intimacy to Mark and Sharon Thomas’ long-strained relationship, has thus far utterly failed in his assigned duties, sources reported Monday.
“It’s so much work taking care of Evan, and Mark just refuses to help out as much as he should,” said Sharon Thomas, who endured a long, agonizing childbirth to put an end to the couple’s constant bitter arguments. “It’s so frustrating. I don’t get any time to myself because Evan needs attention like 24 hours a day.”
“I never asked for this,” Sharon added
According to sources, Mark Thomas, 32, had always wanted a healthy, happy, completely normal son to provide a quick and easy fix to all of his marital problems. However, rather than allaying their trust issues and instantly making everything all better, Evan has reportedly driven a deeper rift between his parents by prompting fights about who is to blame for his condition.
“The doctors are constantly telling us that it’s not anyone’s fault, but if you’d ever met Sharon’s brothers, you’d know that something’s not quite right on that side of the family,” Mark said. “We probably shouldn’t yell in front of him as much as we do, but he doesn’t really pay much attention and it honestly doesn’t seem to bother him.”
“In fact, nothing seems to bother him,” Mark continued.
Although Evan was only diagnosed with autism six months ago, Mark said it was clear right after bringing him home from the hospital that something was wrong with their son, since their lives did not take a dramatic 180-degree turn for the better, lingering disputes did not just melt away, and years of underlying tension were only brought into sharper focus.
The child, who according to his parents rarely smiles or acts cheerful, has left many in the household concerned that he’s not committed to mending the broken relationship. Moreover, during the past three years, Evan has reportedly done almost nothing to curb Mark’s controlling nature or Sharon’s cruel emotional abuse.
Evan has also failed to utter the words “mama” or “dada,” thereby ruining any chance his parents might have had at forging an instantaneous, all-healing bond.
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Filed under: Family, Ignorant About Autism
Dispicable. Disgusting.
When you look at the Onion’s stories, just about everyone of them is a) just mean, b) full of sterotypes, and c) not funny if you are in the group being targeted by the story. To everyone else, they are usually quite funny.
Because this is an autism blog, I’m assuming that you are upset about the portrayal of the autistic child. As the parent of an autistic son (teenager), I read this story to be not about the autistic child, but about the shallowness and cluelessness of the parents. (Unfortunately, I know people like that.)
If anyone should be upset about how they were characterized, it is clueless parents who think kids will solve everything just by existing. (Yes, they are out there.)
The autistic child in this story, like those in this situation in real life, are just innocent bystanders/victims in the whole thing.
Marriage is one of the most sacred ceremonies that we humans experience. Being married also gives us happines.:,-
Great advice your talking about it so the rest of us is able to know! Will use for sure. But, what I finally figured out is, you have to bring about the place that first attracted you both and also avoid a ton of mistakes we all naturally make if you want to save the marriage