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I don't believe that Autism should be classified as a disorder, but rather a unique difference, in most cases anyway. Like with any child, problematic/dangerous issues should be addressed, but after that the child should be let be.
I started a thread on overdiagnosis of ADHD in the special needs section, but let me reword myself: overtreatment. These labels cause parents/teachers/doctors to turn everything into a problem. No, a kid with Autism won't be the same as his classmates. But why does that matter?
By nitpicking to try and "normalize" your child, you are holding him/her back. I imagine that if a non verbal person could speak, he would tell you to leave him the **** alone, he's not 3 years old.
As for services, all kids have different needs. So I don't see why everyone can't be accomodated, to the best of the school's budget.
And if people with Autism gravitate towards atheism, they must be more sane than most.
In theory, I agree with you. However, we're not there, especially in the school system. For children with autism to get the support they need in a school setting, an early diagnosis often makes a lot of difference. I'm a big believer of students with disabilities being included in the "regular" classroom, including students with autism. Hopefully the day will come when people embrace differences enough that we don't need to have legal protections in place to counteract discrimination.
This might be ideal since i am of the opinion that we are raising a society of little narcissists. Yes, EVERY kid is special. "You are special just like everyone else!"
Autism and Aspergers is often singled out as "special." But how rare or special is it if 1 in 70 are now dx w it (the latest stats from the NOVA special on vaccines i just watched)?
I cringe at what an entitled society we are turning into. Just ask any older teacher how things have changed.
An older teacher would probably have taught a fairly homogeneous class, those from similar backgrounds and a group without much religious diversity. They were probably used to having the "special" kids down the hall or at another site in a separate classroom. Yes, there are some types of "entitlements" not around before, but public schools also can no longer pick and choose whom they educate.
If you think about the kind of literal questions some students with autism might ask in a religious education class, think about the same students in public schools. With a 1 in 70 diagnosis rate, we need to look at them as part of the routine cognitive variation found in schools and all around us. There needs to be an appropriate amount of resources allocated to deal with the special needs of everyone. Every kid is special, but they don't all have the same needs. Being fair to children is giving them what they need, not treating them all the same.
I don't believe that Autism should be classified as a disorder, but rather a unique difference, in most cases anyway. Like with any child, problematic/dangerous issues should be addressed, but after that the child should be let be.
I started a thread on overdiagnosis of ADHD in the special needs section, but let me reword myself: overtreatment. These labels cause parents/teachers/doctors to turn everything into a problem. No, a kid with Autism won't be the same as his classmates. But why does that matter?
By nitpicking to try and "normalize" your child, you are holding him/her back. I imagine that if a non verbal person could speak, he would tell you to leave him the **** alone, he's not 3 years old.
As for services, all kids have different needs. So I don't see why everyone can't be accomodated, to the best of the school's budget.
And if people with Autism gravitate towards atheism, they must be more sane than most.
There is a very large spectrum in autism. You are speaking of those who are high functioning and who may be able to live independently as adults. This is not the case with all of our kids.
Many autistic children self-harm. How is trying to stop that holding them back? Many autistic children don't toilet train until they are adults if at all. How is trying to help them learn to go to the toilet appropriately holding them back? What do you expect parents to do when a child is banging his head or biting his fingers until they bleed?
How is attempting to teach a child to communicate, holding him back? It isn't just that the child is nonverbal, but that he often cannot communicate his needs at all which is why he needs therapy to help him. I am all for using any means at all to accomplish this - it does not have to be speech therapy.
How is it holding a child back to attempt to show him or her how to read social cues?
This boy is 6 years old and spends many days like this. How is it holding him back to attempt to get him to communicate? He looks very happy in this video, but the fact is that he is probably not able to cope with life outside his home.
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