The Puzzle of Hidden Ability

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The challenge is to coax that spark into the kind of intelligence that manifests itself in practice. That is something autism researchers are far from doing. Worse, much of the expert advice might be counterproductive. Many experts dismiss autistics' exceptional reading, artistic or other abilities as side effects of abnormal brain function, "not a reflection of genuine human intelligence, which it is likely to be," says Mottron. They advise parents to steer their child away from what he excels at and obsesses over, such as letters and words and details, and toward what he struggles with, such as faces and the big picture. Dawson, who is autistic, thinks that's a prescription for intellectual failure; autistics should be encouraged to build on their strengths, as everyone else is. The problem of a lurking intelligence that won't be coaxed out by the usual education and parenting methods is not necessarily unique to autistics. It makes you wonder how many other children, whose intellectual potential we're too blind to see, we've also given up on.

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Posted By: cmthgrimes @ 07/03/2008 11:38:43 PM

I am a School Psychologist in Ohio and I work very closely with children with autism from preschool to grade 4. I believe this article is not only offensive to parents but it also gives very inaccurate information about intelligence tests. I am sure if you were to poll 100 School Psychologists and asked them what test they would use for a nonverbal child they would not give the WISC -IV! That makes no sense. It also makes no sense to given a Raven's, which may take about 15 minutes to administer and draw a conclusive IQ from that test. If anything it may be a screener before giving a more reliable and accurate test.
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Posted By: Ettina @ 01/26/2008 6:30:03 PM

I do not want to be called a 'person with autism'. Autism is not something I have, it's a name for fundamental differences in how my brain works compared to the majority. Michelle Dawson is autistic herself, and regularly refers to 'autistics'.
I do find comparing a child's intelligence to a carrot offensive.
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Posted By: cjack05 @ 10/23/2007 5:54:51 PM

First, to refer to children with autism as "autistics" is simply disrespectful. When talking about people with disabilities, it's best to use people first language. We shouldn't define children by their disability. For example you wouldn't say autistic child, you should say child with autism. He/she is a person first. Autism does not define him/her. Second, to compare the cognitive ability of a child to that of a carrot is the most outrageous, disrespectful sentence I have ever read in Newsweek. I am a graduate student in a school psychology program and have worked with children with autism for the last 3 years and must express my extreme disappointment with this article. I hope that your writers and editors are more sensitive to others in the future.