Raising an Autistic Child

My son, Christian, who is 8-years-old, is high-functioning autistic, which means he can communicate, has eye contact and is affectionate, however he is socially behind for his age and has behavioral issues.  Christian's speaks on the level of a 3 year old and cannot control his temper when he does not get his way.  I have went into great detail of the experience of raising Christian in one of the chapters of my book, "Female Empowerment A Personal Journey".  Raising Christian has not been easy and has been a emotional and stressful journey for both myself and my husband.  Christian never slept as a baby, which was stressful enough, and then never talked when he was supposed to, so we never knew if he was hungry, sick, tired, etc.  My son is 8 and still is not fully potty trained.  Many people do not understand what it is like or how stressful it is to raise an autistic child, so I detailed an honest account of our experiences in my book; some people appreciate the honesty and some people don't.  Recently, Christian's temper tantrums have gotten worse, and if he does not get what he wants or his routine is changed, he will bang on everthing in the entire house!  He will destroy toys or anything he can gets his hands on to show he is angry.  This is also done while I am driving him in the car; he will bang on the door, kick the back seat, etc.  We cannot take him to the beach or to other kids birthday parties in case he has a "melt-down".  Dealing with the constant screaming and banging at home and in pubic is very, very depressing.  I had one critic who read my book, get so offended by the honesty of my chapter, she returned my book the day she bought, because in her words, autism is a "gift from god".  I do not think any disability is a "gift' from god that impairs a child.  Living and being the parent of someone who has a disability is very challenging.  Just because I do NOT think that autism is a gift from god, does not mean that I do not love my child. Everyone has the right to their opinion and has the right to express it.  When reading parents' views on dealing with their child's disabilty no view is wrong, all parents have different and varying experiences.