excelent, myself a a grandmother of a autistic child. my primary concern is the wellbeing of this person and his growth ,psicological and physical. To me autism is an new ilness of our times. and maybe related to enviromental and some nutricional characteristic of our times. We most act as a whole society and help this persons to cope and survive in a complete strange and even hostil enviroment. ana
Ana Moran Jersey City New Jersey
Letters to the Magazine
Email To A Friend
Please fill in the following information and we'll email this link.
SPONSORED BY
It is true that autism covers a broad spectrum of challenges. Luckily for me, my 7-year-old son came with many more gifts than challenges. Yes, autism is a social disorder, but I find it frustrating that much of the advice I receive focuses on how to help my son not stand out. This is the reality of the world we live in, and I do my best. But I can't help wondering if a high-functioning autistic could find the cure for cancer or solve global warming. We'll never know if they are too busy calculating proper eye-contact ratios and handling the sensory torture of wearing the clothes to fit in instead of what's comfortable. When all is well, my son fixes our broken appliances, tells the electrician what he did wrong and takes good care of his younger sister. When he's stressed out, he washes his hands until they bleed. Instead of teaching our kids how to chit-chat, I'd love programs to teach neurotypicals that their quirky peers are worth knowing. My son can't always answer well-meaning strangers in the grocery store, but he's smarter than anyone I know.
Holly Castille
Pflugerville, Texas
The problems your cover story describes are only the tip of the iceberg. Even children like mine, who are mildly affected, experience profound rejection at school. Our 13-year-old son is very bright, but he was bullied so badly and so ignored by teachers that we were forced to home-school him. If public schools are any indication of society's treatment of people with autism, then the future is very bleak indeed. Many teachers have no clue how to help, so they blame the child for not being able to tolerate crowds and teasing. It is the child's fault that he cries easily and does not adjust well to change. The Individuals With DisabilitiesEducation Act, which is supposed to help children with special needs, is not enforced. Schools practically laugh at you when you request accommodation. I applaud the attention you've given to autism, but I'm doubtful of its making any difference in my lifetime. If our problems are so vast now with our son, I cannot bear to think about his adulthood.
Rebecca Smith
Baton Rouge, La.
Discuss