Wow, autism should not be considered a disability that is covered by ADA because you think it is over diagnosed?
My son was diagnosed at 2 and at that time had no behavior problems at all. He met the criteria for an autism diagnosis based on the DSM-5. He is now 4 and is a very sweet person who happens to have occasional severe behavior problems relating to his social and emotional delays and anxiety.
As a former therapist myself I know exactly how to deal with problem behavior in the "right way". Unfortunately when my son gets upset nothing works to calm him down other than time. The therapist is there to help prevent meltdowns to begin with and help me deal with behaviors when they occur. Without her there is a higher chance others could be hurt and/or that we would have to leave the pool much sooner.
The parking lot at the pool is a fair hike from the pool entrance and carrying a protesting 40 pound kid plus all the swim gear to my car is something that I have done before, but something I never want to do again. The stares from people like you who think I'm just a crappy parent aren't much fun either.
My son also has significant sensory processing differences and mixed receptive expressive language disorder (where he is able to communicate at a much higher level than he can understand). He receives OT, speech, special instruction, PT, and 20 hours of behavioral support a week, in addition to state insurance paying for his allergies and GI issues as well as potential arthritis we are still investigating. He's started developing tics and he has strong OCD tendencies. I'm pretty sure I didn't convince the IU, local children's hospital who diagnosed him (CHOP), Early Intervention, staff at Theraplay and everyone else that he has autism just because I want an excuse for him pushing anyone who comes into his personal space. And I'm pretty sure the state would not pay for all of that if there wasn't pretty convincing evidence that he has an actual disability.
My son has 2 high functioning friends on the spectrum who also clearly require the help that they receive. I don't know anyone who would want their kid to be labeled autistic just for accommodations. We all just want our kids to be happy and healthy, just like any other parent. We also want to be able to go out and do normal things with them without the burden of extra expenses that families without disabled children do not need to worry about.
