An Adult with Autism Makes a Case for Moderation in the Autism Wars

Comments

November 22, 2008 at 10:13 am

(1) Nicole Caldwell, M.Ed. says:

Yes, thanks Donald! I think that you make some great points. I’m very supportive of the “Neurodiversity” advocates in that I support interventions that are respectful of the individuals with Autism that they are intended to serve. As you pointed out, this does not mean that you just leave the child alone, but focus on teaching them in a way that respects who they are. I also encourage and value the gifts and talents of my students with Autism, while teaching them the skills that they need to know.

You said…
“That means guidance, yes, but it also means having the simple good manners and common decency to listen to us, instead of just talking at us.

This is so important! I think that many of us (including myself at times) forget that children with Autism who are non-verbal or considered “low-functioning” don’t understand what we are saying. I have seen time and time again that this is often not true when a child does show understanding. I then think about all of the things that teachers and service providers have said about the child, right in front of him, that were very negative. This is something we really need to watch out for.

Thanks for posting this Lisa! I hope it can help us unify as an Autism community.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Nicole Caldwell, M.Ed.
Editor, http://www.PositivelyAutism.com/
Autism Newsletter and Resources from the Sunny Side!

November 22, 2008 at 10:29 am

(2) mamacate says:

This is brilliant–a manifesto for the community. Thank you, Donald, for taking the time to share this balanced, sensible, smart, and reasoned perspective. I only hope that the Obama administration has a similarly thoughtful and practical approach that focuses on what is really needed–by families on both sides of the debate. Thank you.

November 22, 2008 at 11:06 am

(3) ANB says:

It’s good to see that Donald isn’t calling for compromise with anti-vaccine activists who promote unproven and potentially dangerous “cures” for children.

November 22, 2008 at 3:29 pm

(4) Adonya Wong says:

Lisa,

Thank you so much for giving Mr. Rilea the spotlight.

“It also needs to be understood that, while we are, like neuro-typicals or other disabled people, human beings, we are not entirely the same as you are, and, even with a cure or cures, will never see the world in the same way as others do.”

I don’t think I could have said better myself.

Society needs to understand that we all,/b> have voices, and we all want to be heard.

Thank you again for this post. It was both informative and enlightening.

Adonya Wong
Author | Autism Advocate | Blogger

November 22, 2008 at 8:50 pm

(5) Navi says:

for someone not well versed in the neurodiversity movement, he gets it spot on.

Though the neurodiversity movement does also include parents, siblings and caregivers of those with autism.

Some of the anti-NT speech from the neurodiversity movement is actually intended to be humorous, but people take it seriously (I recently misunderstood an Autism_Hub post until I noticed it was tagged Humor, for example). It’s kind of like ’see how ridiculous this sounds? this is how you’re pigeonholing us.’

November 23, 2008 at 10:09 pm

(6) mom4truth says:

This post from a member of the ND community is refreshingly free of personal attacks against those who disagree with the ND point of view. Although I don’t even come close to agreeing with Donald’s opinion that “any talk of a cure or cures for autism is mainly guesswork at best and quackery at worst,” I’m all in favor of respect and courtesy among the factions who disagree within the autism community.

I hope his politeness is contagious.

November 24, 2008 at 2:50 am

(7) Maddy says:

Yeah Donald! I strongly suspect that you have British ancestry [the old gene pool you know] but there again, I am a little biased.
Best wishes as always

November 24, 2008 at 7:24 pm

(8) lorelei says:

I’m just curious is Donald is PDD-NOS or what his diagnosis is on the spectrum?

November 25, 2008 at 12:14 am

(9) Peggy says:

Donald – Well, well done. Beautifully expressed and presented. You’ve come a long way – keep going. I’m proud to know you.

November 27, 2008 at 1:42 pm

(10) Denise says:

Hi Donald,

I APPRECIATE your comments and thoughts. I have a son with autism and I truly believe that we (as a society in general) do not give enough credit where credit is due. I am an artist and I’ve been told that I use the right side of my brain for the creative in my art. As my non-verbal son has shown me, so does he. He sees and processes things in the world differently than most but I do understand and I believe it’s all about attitude. I find it so incredibly fanascating to watch my son unfold in the way he understands. Instead of trying to teach children with autism to fit into “this society”, who’s to say it’s so great. Why not look at it like from an autistic way? Yes, it’s different, but it’s not about who’s right or wrong, like you said. It’s alot of wasted energy that can be put to good use. Acceptance and understanding is not a whole lot to ask of people. Maybe it would open “their right-side” abit and really appreciate every human being for who they are, not what they should be! It bothers me too when I hear people spending valuable time and effort going around saying, “I’ve cured my child from autism”. Give me a break! That attitude should be more like, “I understand my kid better now than ever and I am managing my child so he/she can have every opportunity in life that he/she deserves. If I had the power to take all the wasted energy of old attitudes and change them, I would and our world would be that much more peaceful.

Your story gives people like myself, hope for our child. Keep talking, keep speaking, because you ARE being listened to. I hear and feel every word.

I wish there were more people like you in the world!

November 28, 2008 at 2:32 pm

(11) aravir says:

Donald, thank you for expressing some of the frustrations I have felt as a parent of a child who is an autistic.
I watched as some of the leading advocacy movements for a “cure” trot out the whole martyr line of patter to raise money. I am not saying that it is unimportant to understand how autism arises, what is happening in the brain, and so forth. Scientific knowledge is always useful.

But my son, who would be classified as “low-functioning”, is not sick. He does not need to be cured. This is not to say that he does not need support, in order to maximize his ability to function as independently as possible in a NT world. And I am not saying that it wouldn’t be easier, for me and for him, if he were NT. But autism is not an illness, in my opinion.

I am no more a scientist than you are. But it seems to me that much that is labelled autism represents some sort of vestigial sensory condition which is no longer generally useful in the world as it is now structured. When we were on the savahnah, it made sense to have a maximum amount of sensory information. What better way to discern the smallest clues that could lead you to food or water, not to mention keep you from becoming lunch. It would not be enough to know that there was water available in a hollow depression. I need to be able to pick out the particular hollow depression from among many hollow depressions (for example).

As we settled and domesticated animals, we were able to delegate certain tasks to the community or to other animals.

And the ability to focus singlehandedly on the details of a particular interest can still come in handy in many areas, like computer science, higher mathematics, astrophysics, and quality control.

I try to always assume that my son understands what I am saying, and act accordingly. He needs to show me that he doesn’t understand, in order for me to modify how I communicate a particular thing with him. He deserves that respect, as an intelligent boy whose way of receiving and giving data differs from mine. I am the one who needs to work harder.

July 4, 2009 at 9:15 pm

(12) Buy Avandia frx says:

online buy Avandia sale