The following video from CDFoakley is not easy to watch. The severely autistic youth featured is engaged in serious self injurious behavior. Those who love and care for him pay a huge price. The video talks of families struggling alone and government agencies that just don't help.
Maybe if the media would stop promoting the self indulgent agendas of the barely autistic and started focusing on the harsh realities of the severely autistic governments would get the message.Maybe they would understand the truth about severe autism realities and stop focusing on real autism issues.
Maybe media and government should watch this and other videos by CDFoakley and learn the truth about severe autism disorders.
autism
Thank you for this important post. In Finland we have, fortunately, the situation a little bit better, at least in my city of Espoo. Families have the opportunity to receive a monthly temporary care and so little "vacation". The task of the society should be to help the weakest and most needy members of common resources.
ReplyDeleteThat is why we are called human beings.
How the hell anyone can see that and say there should be no cure - just insane. He certainly does not look like he is having fun being autistic to me; he looks frightened and sad.
ReplyDeleteIt's heartbreaking to see this poor person's life wasting away. I mean the young man. If you were living in a diaper, wearing a helmet, being restrained and talked about like you weren't even there, I bet you'd try to vent your frustrations out in any way you could as well. It doesn't look like that young man gets any physical exercise or any life experiences. It seems like that family is just feeding him to keep him alive because it would look bad if they let him starve to death, but what kind of existance is he having?? I really hate it when people act like what they are going through is so bad when it would have just taken some extra time and love to help their child actually have a life, but poor them for having to deal with what they have done to this poor young man. What's really sad is that he is probably so damaged that he will be stuck in that situation or worse for the rest of his life. This video is proof that lack of understanding of the autistic mind causes horrible damage and destroys lives. That young man is the victim here.
ReplyDeleteI think if someone saw a video of one of my daughter's "shaky days", they might think that we never take her outside, or give her more than food through her tube, or take her out of her bed or "love her" enough...and they wouldn't understand that we had likely been up all night with her, keeping her from choking and seizing and that it was all we could do on that particular day. Thank you for posting that video, Harold, and I hope those people who "aren't loving their son enough" find some help. They are strong people who deserve support.
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ReplyDeleteYou are superimposing your ideology on the scene in the video. And you are showing a complete lack of respect for a family that clearly cares greatly for the very severely youth.
You are welcome Claire.
ReplyDeleteI believe it is more important than ever to tell the world about the realities of severe autism. The barely autistic media regulars are painting a picture of autism which the mainstream media eats up.
Thank you for that link, Roger. I never comment over at LBRB; I've been lurking off and on for several years but some of their comments about Temple make no sense. She doesn't understand the political side of autism? I think she's probably one of the best people to go to on something like that; she's an older adult and has had a bona fide autism diagnosis since early childhood and has much more life experience than these young "Internet Aspies" who are barely out of high school. I guess they don't like her because she won't say what they want to hear? I don't get it.
ReplyDeleteI'm speechless, it must be very hard for families to deal with autistic children. What a great video though really showing how things can be.
ReplyDeleteWhat the government doesn't help families with severe cases of autism? I think that should change if so!
You have a great blog! I don't say that very often but you have a strong message behind it and I do hope your voice and others are heard. Keep going forward no matter how hard it is and changes will happen!
Please feel free to write a blog post about autism and send it to me I'll place it on my blog written by you. I've had RCMP and Goverment employees on my blog about a past event that happened in downtown Moncton. Now changes are being done with security training and so on that the Government is now looking into. If these people are on it maybe I can help spread your message.
Let me know if I can be of any help.
Sincerely,
Moncton Blogger
So much more about autism needs to be learned and the government definitely needs to step in to help these families. My nephew is 15 and just like the boy in the video. The doctors are clueless, they just keep applying new labels and terms such as and intermittent explosive disorder along with autism. okay, we have a new name, but not any new help. I see my sister get beat up every day because she's trying so hard to protect her child from himself. Group homes are the last option. These places do not practice the love, care and patience that comes only from a parent to a child in situations such as these. My prayers go out to these parents who struggle everyday to hang on to faith and reality. Dealing with autism on a minute by minute basis is both physically and mentally exhausting and more should be done for those families who make the choice to take it on head on in their homes.
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