Comments on: How can I help?

By: Empower Autism

Empower Autism — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:20:07 +0000

I’ve been thinking a lot about your comment. I have certainly had furniture thrown at me, and been bitten, scratched, etc by children and adults with and without autism. I agree with you that my optimistic approach may not apply to a percentage of people with an autism label. Certainly, aggression-as-a-communication-method cannot be incorporated as simply a ‘diverse’ approach. However, I haven’t met anyone that hasn’t been able to improve their situation to some degree. Clearly, the autism label is too broad, and as we understand more about it, we will see more specific labels for the different forms it takes.

By: elleoop

elleoop — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:09:08 +0000

Idealism…Great when it makes sense; naive when it’s impossible. When was the last time you were in the company of a 230 lb 19 year old who hurled a coffee table at you, attacked a nurse and pulled out her hair, sent a sitter to the hospital with severe bite marks on her face and neck? Think twice before assuming that all people with autism can be incorporated into our society and accepted as “diverse”.

By: Empower Autism

Empower Autism — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 01:45:15 +0000

DrKaren,
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comments. Your reaction is exactly what I hoping to get out of these posts, and I really appreciate that you were willing to write down your reaction for me!

By: Dr Karen

Dr Karen — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 22:26:30 +0000

OMG – I love your thoughts! 8^)

Neurotypical: Great word — I talk about people “not yet disabled” in working with individuals, families, and service providers living with the effects of brain injury. And about the “brain injury continuum” – we’re all there.

But even more, I love that you are seeing autism as part of the diversity of the way people just are, rather than as a “disease” to automatically be “fixed”. I try to talk to people about the importance of the skills of people with “ADD”, recent research suggests some adaptive elements of depression, what else is out there?

How often do we create disability by insisting on restricting our diversity? By not seeing that we all have something to contribute in different ways to make a Whole — there is no one Right Way to be?

Thanks for this – good luck!