tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post6250123136140287836..comments2024-02-13T21:31:57.980-04:00Comments on Facing Autism in New Brunswick: No One Is Trying To Cure ThemAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838571980003579163noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-33366150261051884622007-11-06T02:32:00.000-04:002007-11-06T02:32:00.000-04:00maya mI checked the link you provided although I d...maya m<BR/><BR/>I checked the link you provided although I did not go further than that first link. I saw nothing that addressed my point.<BR/><BR/>Your comments are always rational and civil. But what I find offensive are the persistent efforts by some in the "neurodiversity movement" to obscure the fact that some autistic persons are intellectually challenged and lack the abilities to function in the real world without the help of others.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05838571980003579163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-34934820625792368072007-11-06T02:21:00.000-04:002007-11-06T02:21:00.000-04:00I feel I cannot explain well my point to you, so I...I feel I cannot explain well my point to you, so I'll give you a link where it is explained better:<BR/>http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/~anne.mcdonald/Anne_files/AnneHome.html<BR/>For other pages by the same author, google "Anne McDonald".<BR/>Because she is not autistic and doesn't write specifically about autism, I hope you won't find her writings offensive.Maya Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10877457709995369246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-68656411046569193722007-11-05T05:01:00.000-04:002007-11-05T05:01:00.000-04:00maya mOne of the most frustrating aspects of Neuro...maya m<BR/><BR/>One of the most frustrating aspects of Neurodiversity ideology for me as a parent of a low functioning autistic boy with limited communication skills is the attempt to obscure the very real differences between low and high functioning persons. In complete candor I find it offensive when people with the gift of language and comprehension try to deny the realities of those, like my son, who are much less fortunate.<BR/><BR/>You accept Ms. Baggs as an example of a person with low functioning autism. A physician somewhere may well have classified her as such but she is certainly not representative of low functioning autism. <BR/><BR/>(1) Verbal abilities, as in ability to speak - In her own writings she has commented about having discussed her condition, then diagnosed as schizophrenia, with medical professionals. She has also published anecdotes about discussions she had with educators at college to which she was admitted. Further she describes incidents with friends from her youth in which she used verbal, as in oral or spoken, communication.<BR/><BR/>(2) Understanding - Ms. Baggs' current writings demonstrate a great deal of intellectual ability and understanding of sophisticated, abstract concepts. As pointed out she also attended school and started college.<BR/><BR/>It is not open to me to dispute Ms. Baggs' autism diagnosis as some have done on the internet. But I do NOT accept that she is in any way representative of low functioning autistic persons or their experiences. I have a low functioning son, whom I love dearly, and I know the difference.<BR/><BR/>Tiffany Pinckney who was starved to death in Toronto was low functioning. The middle aged autistic lady who was physically assaulted repeatedly in a Long Island residential care until the assaults were caught on video tape, but who could not communicate the assaults to others or even describe her pain, she was low functioning.<BR/><BR/>The many children, including my son , who lack sophisticated speech and understanding of the world, who do not understand the dangers of daily life, they are low functioning.<BR/><BR/>Ms. Baggs, as taken from her own writings, does not share the realities of these low functioning persons and has nothing to add in describing their lives and their realities.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05838571980003579163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-44429593488869230512007-11-05T02:53:00.000-04:002007-11-05T02:53:00.000-04:00Many supporters of Neurodiversity dislike the high...Many supporters of Neurodiversity dislike the high- vs. low-functioning distinction because they see how some people and institutions use this distinction in order to deny rights to low-functioning autistics and services to high-functioning ones.<BR/>Ms. Baggs is a good example that these ND supporters have some right. She is very intelligent, but her external appearance doesn't contradict what is most people's idea of a low-functioning person. She is an excellent writer, but cannot communicate effectively by speech (at least not so effectively to show clearly that she is high-functioning). So she was institutionalized and they DID try to cure her. Indeed, she was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia, which can excuse doctors for forcing her to take medications that didn't and couldn't help her and for misleading her parents that the treatment would help her (schizophrenia, unlike autism, usually responds to treatment). However, no misdiagnosis can excuse professionals for abusing her the way she claims they did. They told her parents she was violent, but "forgot" to mention that this was a reaction to systemic physical abuse. Ms. Baggs says that without support from her family, she would still be in an institution labeled as unable to take responsibility of herself.<BR/>I do not agree with Amanda Baggs in everything (in fact, I have with her disagreements more serious than the ones I have with you), but I think here she knows what she is talking about.<BR/>After a BBC documentary showed institutionalized Bulgarian children neglected and starving (you can see it at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9176914173325307126), the institution employees and the social minister blamed the children's outrageous condition on their "diseases". In other words, after you keep a child so neglected that he inevitably becomes low-functioning, you use his low level of functioning to justify further neglect and abuse.Maya Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10877457709995369246noreply@blogger.com