Severe Autism Videos from CDFoakley: Do Not Watch If You Can't Handle Reality

The following videos show some of the hard realities, some of the challenges facing those who are most severely affected by autism and the family members who love and care for them.

The autism reality of the young man in the first video is not the autism reality of someone who will excel in a difficult and complex post office work environment or go on to work as a researcher alongside a team of high functioning autism experts. This young man is unlikely to appear before a high appellate court, august political committees, or on national and international television as a self appointed spokesman for all "autistics". and opposing evidence based interventions for other people's autistic children.

This young man's voice will not be heard by public decision makers deciding whether research, therapies and treatments should be funded to help address the autism realities shown in this video. This young man is unlikely to attend at any college, let alone an esteemed college for gifted youths or appear in scripted, orchestrated videos promoting a nonsensical theory of stimming as language. This young man's autism realities are unlikely to be gushed over enthusiastically by bloggers celebrating the joy of autism or promoting autism as anything except what it is ... a neurological disorder with profound negative consequences for so many affected by its reach.

This first video, cal fire family and less glamorous side of autism, is posted on YouTube by CDFoakley with the following comment:

Rare educational footage of autistic person with a complex mix of seizure disorder and self injurious behaviors. Point: to show how to help children suffering from such a brutal and complex behavioral disorder. Not for people who can't handle REALITY. Or who don't understand this situation.

The second video Brother and sister help protect autistic brother from head punches shows the realities of self injurious behavior and some of the impact on families trying to help their autistic family members. The video is also posted on YouTube by CDFoakely; this time with the following comment:

Siblings helping protect autistic brother during self injurious meltdown. Disturbing side of autism you won't see in public broadcasts or charity events about autism. Nor will you hear people who think autism is "wonderful" or a "gift" talk about this level of autism....

autism

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon World Autism Awareness Day Comments

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon praised the courage of children with autism and their families on the historic first World Autism Awareness Day as reported on AP:

"Let us pay tribute to the courage of children with autism and their families, as they strive every day to confront the disability with a powerful combination of determination, creativity and hope. Let us empower them and respond to their needs today, so as to make our societies more accessible, enabling and empowering for all our children tomorrow."

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Autistic Man Found Safe in California - A Real Autism Feel Good Story

While much of the autism news this week has revolved around the hysterical reaction in some quarters to the 'Ransom Notes' campaign a real autism story also took place in Ukiah California where Ted Daly, a 20 year old autistic man, unable to speak, capable only of communicating by hand gestures, ran away from school and was missing for 14 hours in below freezing temperatures. The Press-Democrat reports that "hundreds of people were looking for 20-year-old Ted Daly when he was finally found walking on Low Gap Road early Thursday morning

Fortunately Mr. Daley turned up safe. Other news stories of autistic persons leaving their homes and running in traffic or getting lost have not always turned out so well. The hard realities of persons with Autism Disorder are not helpful in telling the "autism is beautiful" story that the harsh critics of the 'Ransom Notes' campaign insists on selling to the world. Arguing about what metaphors are appropriate for use in describing autism did not result in Ted Daly's safe return. It was hundreds of people sacrificing their time and effort to help a neighbor and maybe some good luck.

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No One Is Trying To Cure Them

The Globe and Mail published an article today, ‘Autistics': We don't want a cure , for which I was interviewed as a voice speaking out against the Neurodiversity movement; a movement which opposes efforts to treat or cure autistic children. Unfortunately, although the article is balanced the title implies that people are trying to force high functioning autistic persons to be cured of their autism, a false implication. Parents seek to educate, treat, and cure their own autistic children, particularly low functioning autistic persons, whose very existence is glossed over and ignored by the Neurodiversity movement.

Ms Estee Klar-Wolfond is a frequent spokesperson on behalf of the ND movement and offered her on line comment in response to the perspective I offered as a balance to the ND perspective:


I would disagree that the "neurodiversity movement are "ashamed of" low-functioning autistics. It's quite the contrary. This is an issue that effects the entire disability communities -- the right to be heard regarding their perspectives, as well as to increase choice and services that assist all autistic individuals in Canadian society to reach their fullest potential. Estee Klar-Wolfond Founder/Executive Director The Autism Acceptance Project

As the father of an 11 1/2 year old boy with Autism Disorder who has advocated for services for autistic children, youths and adults I find Ms. Klar-Wolfond's comments incredulous. Anyone with a Google blog search bar can simply insert the words 'Autism Every Day' to see the hateful comments made by ND advocates about parents who described some of the harsh realities faced by low functioning autistic children. Even the expression 'low functioning' is objected to by the ND crowd.

The realities of low functioning, intellectually challenged autistic persons are not featured in the rhetoric of the ND movement. Indeed Amanda Baggs, who actually attended high school and college, discussed her various education and medical issues with various education and medical professionals, and writes sophisticated complex blog commentaries is portrayed by the ND movement as your typical low functioning autistic person. Ms. Klar-Wolfond has herself made reference to Ms. Baggs in her commentary. The emphasis is always the same - portray autism as a different, even superior, form of intelligence. There is no place for truly low functioning autistic persons with limited communication ability or understanding of the world in the ND rhetoric. There is no place in Neurodiversity's false autism reality for discussion of such ugly facts as head banging caused brain injury, self inflicted bite wounds or aggression against family members and professional attendants.

Although Ms. Klar-Wolfond claims that autistic persons should have the right to be heard she rejects, with disdain, the voices of those parents who speak for their autistic children, children who can not speak for themselves. Ms. Klar-Wolfond opposes the efforts of those parents who seek to obtain ABA services for their children. She is not alone in the Neurodiversity movement in opposing services sought by parents for their autistic children.

Dr. Laurent Mottron was also interviewed for the Globe and Mail article. Dr. Mottron is a Montreal area "autism expert" who has studied high functioning autistic persons for decades and has conducted a study purporting to show the innate intelligence of all autistic persons. The good Dr. Mottron has appeared before the Canadian Senate in an effort to persuade the Canadian government NOT to fund ABA services for autistic children. He also provided an affidavit in support of Michelle Dawson's intervention before the Supreme Court of Canada as part of her ongoing crusade in opposition to ABA services for autistic children.

Neurodiversity advocates have every right in the world to oppose any form of treatment for themselves if they are themselves autistic. But they have no right to claim they are speaking for other peoples' autistic children, particularly low functioning autistic children who can not speak for themselves. That is their parents' right and duty, or that of other persons who actually care for and raise these children. These are the very voices that Ms. Estee-Klar Wolfond and the Neurodiversity movement do not want to hear.

Autism Is A Global Health Crisis - Suzanne Wright

Founder of Autism Speaks, Suzanne Wright, along with Priscilla Natkins and Andy Shih
Gulf Times Newspaper

Suzanne Wright and Autism Speaks are raising autism awareness around the globe. The information presented in the following article is basic and to the point. Autism is not a literary metaphor or a different cultural viewpoint, it is a neurological disorder characterized by a range of very serious deficits. Children with autism can be aided immensely by behavioral interventions. But parents and professionals have to understand this point and act promptly and decisively. Autism awareness, not misleading rhetoric, is critical to helping autistic children whatever their country of residence.


Autism is a global health crisis: expert
Published: Wednesday, 25 April, 2007, 08:43 AM Doha Time

Staff Reporter
AUTISM strikes without any discrimination of ethnicity, class, geography, gender or race, said Autism Speaks’ founder, Suzanne Wright, yesterday during the Second Annual International Forum on Children with Special Needs in the Shafallah Center.
Also speaking on the occasion were Ad Council’s executive vice president and director of client services, Priscilla Natkins and Autism Speaks’s chief science officer, Andy Shih.
Referring to autism as ‘an urgent global health crisis,’ Wright said that this fast growing, serious developmental disorder, has become an epidemic which is found in one of every 166 children in the United States.
“Though the causes are unknown, it can spread worldwide without any discrimination,” she explained.
The session, on the urgency of bringing Autism epidemic awareness through public service advertising, began by screening a documentary entitiled, ‘Autism everyday’.
The daily lives of eight autistic children were screened, along with their parents’ apprehensions. The children, all above three to four years, required constant attention and were seen restless.
The main symptom was ‘stimming’, a repetitive body movement that self-stimulates one or more senses in a regulated manner, some of them, being grinding teeth, jumping on toes, head banging and scratching. The child makes absolutely no eye contact and many of them stopped speaking after a particular age. Simple tasks like dressing, brushing and eating by themselves took hours and a mother agreed to this, saying, “it took me two years to teach my son to put his shirt on”.
There have been instances when a child affected by autism had not slept for two to three weeks.
Researches say that 80% of the time, parents with an autistic child end in a divorce, as they are equally helpless and cannot cope with the emotional, and financial issues.
Some of the measures taken for the care of children diagnosed with autism, are behaviour therapy, music therapy, physiotherapy and speech therapy, most of which are done at home.
The parents were apprehensive, as these treatments were expensive - as high as $100 per hour.
Suzanne Wright, who herself has an autistic grandson, Criston, said that grandparents also play an extraordinary role in the care of autistic children. She exhorted that they should provide support to their children to raise the diagnosed child.
Wright said that autism can be diagnosed when children do not exactly meet their milestones, or meet them at an unusually early time, such as sitting up before six months and walking before 10 months.
Wright said that raising awareness was the corner stone of her mission.
Priscilla Natkins spoke about the role of media and and the effective public service campaigns that were raised. Some of the advertisements screened urged the audience to know more about autism, through their website.
The campaigns launched have successfully increased parental knowledge. It was said that the earlier the awareness, the earlier intervention will help. The advertisement council relied on pro bono services from advertising agencies and the media.
The target audience was parents of newborn, and the secondary target being doctors and health care professionals.
Andy Shih, spoke about the research they in this field. He also talked about the importance of scientists all over the world linking and working together to find a cure for this neurological disorder.

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