tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post7413895483299061848..comments2024-02-13T21:31:57.980-04:00Comments on Facing Autism in New Brunswick: Autism's OutcastsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838571980003579163noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-63568308783661461652008-11-27T12:35:00.000-04:002008-11-27T12:35:00.000-04:00Anonymous Thank you for sharing your story. Harol...Anonymous <BR/><BR/>Thank you for sharing your story. <BR/><BR/>Harold DohertyAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05838571980003579163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-7010684186349115552008-11-27T11:09:00.000-04:002008-11-27T11:09:00.000-04:00My son is also low functioning. I found this websi...My son is also low functioning. I found this website while looking desperately for advice on how to get him to stop attacking me (pinching, hitting). It took me two hours this morning to get him to take his medication. He's not yet bathed or shaved and I almost don't dare try. This will be some Thanksgiving! I, too, am beyond sick of the public's misperception of autism. When a high functioning person with autism is interviewed I can't watch/read. Those people may be on the spectrum, but the media is doing us all a huge disservice by continuing to profile ONLY the verbal, cooperative, fully toilet trained non-droolers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-78536552728501495012008-11-04T10:32:00.000-04:002008-11-04T10:32:00.000-04:00Based on your comments in this blog and those of T...Based on your comments in this blog and those of Tony Tamer on the FEAT of BC Discussion Board, I have not bothered to actually read "Positively Autistic" of CBC by Peter Mansbridge, but I accept the concerns expressed by you and Tony Tamer. I think it is worth adding from the comments of Tom Tamer his quote from Temple Grandin (whom Tom states is "a real autistic who is NOT against ABA"):<BR/><BR/>"The problem is, you talk to parents with a low-functioning kid, who've got a teenager who still goes to the bathroom in his pants and who's biting himself all the time. This guy destroys the house, and he's not typing, no matter what keyboards you make available. His life is miserable."<BR/><BR/>As the father of a 36 year-old son Ben, who is completely nonverbal with low-functioning autism, I think I can make some further comments. <BR/><BR/>My son received ABA-type services for 5 years from ages 8-1/2 to 13-1/2, with the first 1-1/2 years at the May Institute for Autistic Children in Chatham, Massachusetts. But at age 13-1/2, I would have still stated that "His life is miserable."<BR/> <BR/>So I am not so sure that ABA is a solution for all persons with low functioning autism - and I know other parents with similar experiences.<BR/><BR/>On the other hand, I do share your concerns that "...low functioning autistic persons who have difficulty understanding the world are at risk for their lives, and will end up living in the care of others long after parents are deceased..." It does appear that the Princeton Child Development Center in New Jersey USA has used lifetime ABA-type services which has been a solution for some and may be a model for you to consider. But, there are other models, which I have obtained for my own son for the past 23 years, which have given him a happy life that I pray will continue.<BR/><BR/>The ideal world of Temple Grandin would somehow get rid of low functioning autistic persons (per an interview she gave 3 years ago), but my ideal world would assist low functioning autistic persons to have a happy life, using whatever approaches have been shown to actually work.<BR/><BR/>Arthur GoldenArthur Goldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03177577505916908123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-20653364204388958342008-11-04T00:32:00.000-04:002008-11-04T00:32:00.000-04:00one of the reasons that higher functioning autisti...one of the reasons that higher functioning autistic persons are more commonly used as research subjects are issues of compliance. It is much harder to get a more severely intellectually impaired autistic person to cooperate with the researcher. You may have a valid point that this sort of distorts the view of autism but when looking at the studies you have to look at the sample that was studied and not generalize that sample to other types of persons. <BR/><BR/>Just as you can look at the neurodiversity movement who in some instances claims to speak for all autistic persons but has as many or more females than males in their ranks in spite of the well documented 4 to 1 ratio of males to females in the general population of autistics.jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14972394536850151087noreply@blogger.com