Aunt refuses to give autistic niece the only juice she had. Family says 'have a heart.'
When this aunt feels like she may have been mean to her autistic niece, she asks Reddit:
'AITA for not giving my autistic niece the only juice I had?'
I (18f) am diabetic and I have an autistic niece (7f),yesterday my family went hiking and my brothers family came along, We were walking along the mountains and my niece suddenly wanted juice and my SIL gave her sugar free orange juice, my niece refused it and said she wanted apple juice and guess who had packed apple juice with them? me.
I like having something sugary on me incase something happens because yk I am diabetic, my brother then asked me if we could switch the juices since I didn't even need it at the moment,i refused and said that their juice had no sugar and what if my sugar rate suddenly went low? Because mine suddenly goes down so I like to be prepared.
My SIL said we were close to reaching the house and she was sure nothing will happen to me in the 10 minute walk left to reach house and that my niece was crying because her sensory issues couldn't handle the orange juice little chunks rn and that i should have a heart so she won't melt down.
I refused again and we went home with my niece screaming her lungs out that she wanted my juice and it ruined the whole mood and made everyone annoyed.
My brother and SIL are a little mad at me for not understanding my niece's sensory issues but shouldn't they have prepared a backup juice incase this happened to my niece?, nothing happened to my sugar rate on our way down like my SIL said she was sure of but I still wasn't comfortable but Idk how I feel rn.
AITA for not giving her the drink?
Let's see what readers had to say.
doriangrayeyes writes:
So, their daughter has sensory issues and they pack a sugar free orange juice with chunks in it and they're giving YOU the hard time? These fools need to be mad at themselves. You have a medical condition that you were prepared for. NTA.
lauseanna writes:
Honestly, YTA. As an autistic person, the world needs to accommodate us more than it does right now. It goes both ways, and I super dislike what you wrote here because people constantly tell me to suck it up and deal with it as if my struggles are because I'm not trying hard enough to function.
What you wrote leads to autistic people burning out hard and fast and then stop functioning entirely. Sensory overload issues aren't 'being mad you have to wait'. They're 'my brain is so overloaded with sensory input it physically hurts and there's nowhere for this overwhelm to go'.
This is what causes meltdowns. On bad days I can't even stand the way my own skin feels when there's a small breeze, it's like my brain being jolted with electricity and there's no way to make it stop.
It's eating a food and hitting a texture that my brain rejects so violently I almost immediately throw up because the sensory input is so intense it short circuits my brain.
I apply techniques every day to manage my sensory input and direct my overload into healthier coping mechanisms, because it means I get to be more comfortable and preserve my energy for other things. But there are still moments when I have meltdowns because I missed my cue to self soothe before the overload sets in.
sleepingthroughinfo writes:
ESH - Why did you not even check the nutritional info? It was “No sugar added” and not “Sugar Free”. Had you checked the label, you’d see it has as much sugar as your apple juice. Still, they should have accepted your “no” as they’re not entitled to your stuff.
I googled the OJ you referenced and it does appear to have sugar, just all from fruit and none added. In fact, it had 9.3g sugars per 100 ml compared to 10 g per 100 ml of Apple & Eve or 9.3g per 100 ml of Mott’s Apple Juice.
flytony2022 writes:
NTA - They say you don't understand your nieces sensory issues, well they clearly don't understand your diabetes. If your blood sugar was to drop, that could turn into a major medical issue. If your niece doesn't get the kind of juice she wants (autistic or not), there's a very slim chance she'd end up hospitalized.
I'm not sure if your SIL is in the medical field, but even if she was, she's not your provider, who knows your specific thresholds, so she has no place to say nothing will happen to you because she doesn't know that for sure & likely wouldn't know what to do if something were to happen.
Sounds like they were ill prepared & wanted to take it out on you when your niece threw a fit. Not your problem.