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The Autism Thread
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https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifting-gears/79303-autism-thread-11.html)
Dr. Jeff Bradstreet, an avid autism researcher and strong opponent of vaccines, was found dead. His body was floating in a North Carolina river.
" .... Although people who knew him had a different opinion, police investigators still claimed that the doctor killed himself. "
http://www.healthyfoodhouse.com/body...loating-river/
Recently this video is going around FB.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx4iYgRyH5M
There are two separate issues here.
1) A 10 year old is getting arrested for assaulting a teacher.
2) He is being called an autistic kid.
The first issue is very valid. Arresting a 10 year old for assault is ridiculous. It should have been handled at school level, may be by giving him detention or other punishment. But these days US schools call the cops for any disciplinary issue. A sad situation indeed.
But it is the second issue I want to talk about. Often people forward me articles or videos where an supposedly autistic person doing interesting things, including TED speech (good grief). Usually, such cases are from USA, where they label a person autistic at the drop of a hat. I have a 10 year old autistic son and I watch his therapy mates everyday (since 8 years) while visiting his therapy center twice a day when I am in Bangalore.
Trust me, I have clear idea how autistic kids behave. The autistic spectrum is wide, strictly speaking many people whom we consider "not bright" can be categorized as autistic. That would put at least 10% of the people we know under the spectrum. These people go to regular school, perform average in academics and even get a job doing mundane activity. But we don't go around labeling them as autistic.
But USA has a labeling syndrome. They labeled my elder son as ADHD at 2 years because he was bit slow in talking. We moved back to India, and he was suddenly normal. He just wrote his CBSE 10th board exam. Now they label such kids as autistic, an upgrade from ADHD.
Autism is an communication disorder. An autistic person has difficulty understanding you, and also expressing their thoughts and feelings. The 10 year old in the video, let alone the TED speaker, had no such difficulty in expressing their feelings.
Why does this perspective matter? It matters because it
entirely trivializes what real autistic kids and their parents undergo. Regular people will look at these videos and think autistic kids are almost normal. The reality is very different.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Samurai
(Post 4184395)
2) He is being called an autistic kid.
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The kid is probably called autistic because to save him from verdict in court. That's the easiest way to save the kid from going to prison. He's NO WAY near A of autism!!
Read the novel "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon.
From
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cu...the_Night-Time Quote:
Dr. Alex McClimens, whom Muller quoted above, also wrote, "This magnificent essay in communication is compulsory reading for anyone with the slightest interest in autistic spectrum disorders. This book is also required reading for those who simply enjoy a fascinating story... we are offered a first person narrative to match anything by contemporary writers. Mark Haddon has created a true literary character and his handling of the teenage Asperger's heroic adventure is brilliantly crafted. He uses the literal mind-set of his hero to mask the true direction of the plot."
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Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has a 21 year old special child.
http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life...nadella-essay/
The above article says something that is very true. Parents with special needs children are forced to become lot more empathetic than before. Somehow money feels less useful, considering how it doesn't help your child that much, compared to the kindness of therapists, family members and friends. And you start returning that to the world around you.
I am not sure whether this is the right thread to ask for an info. Can anyone please share contact of an experienced child development and behavioral consultant in Bangalore.
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