We Must Face Reality: Autism Disorders Can Be Harmful, Even Deadly

After discovering an arm, torso and legs Thursday, police continue the search for human remains along a rocky shoreline in Queens, Friday, Jan. 17, 2014. The remains belong to 14-year-old Avonte Oquendo, officials confirmed Tuesday. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow) 

Neurodiversity cult members, including some autism professionals, academics and neuroscience students like to scream at parents and other family members who speak honestly about the dangers and deficits endured by children and adults who actually suffer from autism disorders.  Television, movies, and the mass media generally, love to provide a Big Bang picture of autism as persons with unique personalities and special gifts and extraordinary intelligence.  There is little appetite for, and as a result, less public awareness of,  honest, reality based discussions of the harm and dangers posed by severe autism disorders.   Lack of public understanding of the dangers posed by autism disorders may or may not have been a factor contributing to the departure, and now confirmed death of New York autistic youth Avonte but it certainly didn't help.  The Neurodiversity cult members who constantly fight to hide the dangerous realities posed by autism disorders may not be responsible in this specific case for what has occurred but they have not helped with their constant misinformation campaign, their constant suppression of the truth about autism disorders, the harm they can cause and the dangers they can pose to many with autism disorders.

As a father I was at fault several years ago, when my severely autistic son was younger, of not keeping a close enough watch on him when I took a business call on a Saturday afternoon.  For my son, and for me, it ended well when a good Fredericton man stopped his vehicle to remove my son from the busy traffic that he was facing crossing a local street, unaware of his danger, and took him to a convenience store where he called the police at 911.  I was able on the conclusion of my business call to find and recover him quickly once I too called 911.  Sadly, Avonte the autistic New York youth has now been confirmed to be dead 3 months after he simply left his school after walking past security. 

I am NOT suggesting that greater awareness of the very real dangers posed by autism would, or would not, have helped in Avonte's case.  In my son's case our school has been made clear, and the school has agreed, that our son requires, for his own safety,  24 hour  adult supervision which he also receives at home. Greater public awareness of the very real dangers posed by autism disorders must be undertaken now in order to reduce the likelihood of future deaths of autistic persons who wander from homes and schools. It is long past time to be honest about the harm and dangers posed by autism disorders.  My son and others with severe autism disorders depend on all of us being honest about the realities and dangers they face.

Totally Unnecessary Danger? Another Autistic Child Left Alone on School Bus

Surely, of all the dangers that confront many autistic children the simplest danger to eradicate, the one that doesn't have to exist,  is the danger of an autistic child being left alone on a school bus, van or other vehicle while parked in scorching heat or while it departs for other destinations.  Yesterday though, as reported on Newsday,  a 6 year old autistic boy in Nassau, Long Island, was left on a school bus unattended that left before school personnel became aware he was missing.

There are many problems involving autistic children including self injurious behavior, serious food aversions, wandering and lack of understanding of every day risks such as automobile traffic that can pose serious risks to the well being of autistic children.  One that does not have to happen though is the risk that an autistic child will be left unattended on a bus or other vehicle. 

A simple but mandatory  check list and  reporting system with confirmation from the persons receiving the child into their care that the child had been received being required before the vehicle is permitted to depart should be all it takes.  Care and attentiveness should eliminate all such situations from occurring. 

How autistic children end up being placed in this unnecessary danger is a mystery to me.

Autism Dangers Result in Lives Lost to Autism

In Jabberwocky of the Day : Don't Speak Ill of Autism  MJ  has provided a clear and concise picture of the dangers that often accompany autism disorders.  He did so in response to a comment by Kevin Leitch, aka Kev,  at LBRB who has criticized Ginger Taylor for launching a new site called Lives Lost to Autism.  Mr. Leitch has a long history of romanticizing "autism" and criticizing anyone who views autism disorders as   ...  disorders.  I agree with MJ's critique of Kev's views as "just plain silly" in so far as they complain of unfairness to "autism" a mental disorder, not an entity or person. In describing the dangers that accompany autism disorders MJ states:

"Autism is not a good thing and has in fact directly caused many deaths.


Let me put it this way, if someone dies as a direct result of being shot would you try to claim that it was the bullet and not the person pulling the trigger that is to blame? In a similar fashion, autism robs people of abilities or facilities that they would normally be expected to have and it is this lack that can directly lead to death.


Autism can prevent children from understanding their environment and that lack of understanding can very easily be fatal. Autism can easily prevent people from being able to understand what effect their actions have on others and thus lead to their deaths. This likely happened in the case of Sky Walker - do you think he killed his mother or was it his autism that lead to her death?


I have seen many attempts to whitewash the spectrum but this one takes the cake".

I have added the bold emphasis in the above quote.  I have commented several times on this site of the time when my son Conor  left our home without me realizing he had gone. I had received a business call and was on the phone when he left. I thought I would hear him if he went out but I was wrong. When the call ended and I looked for Conor he was nowhere to be found.  I ran around our house and yard before calling 911 and being directed to a nearby convenience store. He had crossed a busy parking lot and street oblivious to the dangers of automobile traffic before a good citizen stopped and took him to the convenience store and safety.  As the adult responsible for him that day I felt intense fear and guilt that I will never, ever forget. Conor, because of his autistic disorder, does not understand and appreciate the many dangers of our everyday environment.  Autism is very, very dangerous for many autistic children.

In starting the Lives Lost to Autism site Ginger Taylor is performing a valuable service to autistic children and their families reminding us of the very dangerous realities that often accompany autism disorders.Thank you Ms Taylor. And thank you MJ for your clear statement about the realities of autism dangers. Kev, well, you have a good day Kev, And may you someday wake up and quit romanticizing autism disorders.

NOTE: Since publishing this comment I have also read, and recommend, Wade Rankin's discussion of this matter at LOST LIVES, CRIMINAL INDIFFERENCE, AND HYPOCRISY.  

Chicago Tribune Says Autism Treatment Uneccessary, Just Let It Be

Apparently the Chicago Tribune is of the view that the only real concern facing autistic children and their families is the risks faced by treatments, and DAN doctors in particular. In two very superficial articles, yesterday's Autism treatments: Risky alternative therapies have little basis in science and an article today titled Autism treatment: Success stories more persuasive to some than hard data the Tribune continues its war against Defeat Autism Now and DAN doctors by ridiculing anecdotal evidence of successful autism treatment.

Although the Tribune has now published articles on two consecutive days on the subject of autism treatments it makes no mention of the most evidence based autism intervention ... ABA. While the Tribune is concerned about telling parents of autistic children what it feels is wrong in the world of autism treatments it doesn't consider it important enough to mention the widespread public health support for the evidence based effectiveness of ABA as an autism intervention.

And once again the Tribune makes no mention of the failure by public health authorities and researchers to seek all causes of autism or to attempt to find actual cures. Instead the Tribune simply ignores the real issues presented by autism disorders and sings "let them be, Lord them be" providing anecdotal evidence from Doctors that autistic children as they age will progress without intervention:

"But in evaluating a therapy, the challenge is determining how much, if any, of the progress can be credited to the treatment.

That is because, over time, children with autism do develop, said Dr. Max Wiznitzer, a pediatric neurologist and an autism expert at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland. They make leaps; some may plateau or regress, but they show improvement.

"Kids are at their worst in the second and third year of life," Wiznitzer said. "That is when they are not talking. That is when they are most into themselves."

But around age 3 the children often begin to talk, he said. "Over 3 to 5 years, you see an improvement in communication skills. ... By school age, they have language to get needs and requests met," Wiznitzer said.

Between 10 percent and 20 percent of children with autism who were diagnosed early may make so much progress that they are indistinguishable from their peers and may "lose" the diagnosis.

This happens regardless of whether the child is undergoing alternative therapies, said Dr. Susan Levy, director of the Regional Autism Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. But parents may credit treatments for the gains."

And there we have it. In Chicago Tribune Autism World autism disorders do not require treatment. The solution to the challenges facing autistic children and their families can be found in the lyrics of John Lennon and Paul McCartney:

And when the broken hearted people
Living in the world agree,
There will be an answer, let it be.
For though they may be parted there is
Still a chance that they will see
There will be an answer, let it be.
Let it be, let it be. Yeah

There will be an answer, let it be.

No autism treatment, no ABA, no "alternative" treatment, no autism research into environmental causes or possible cures. the Chicago Tribune has "an answer" for parents concerned about their autistic children .... let it be.

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ABC News On The Dangers of Autism

ABC News Medical Unit, to its credit, reports on the Dangers of Autism in Autism in America: A Perilous Diagnosis. With so many major news organizations presenting dangerously misleading glorifications of Autistic Disorder and other Pervasive Developmental Disorders, and fresh on the CBC's irresponsible presentation of the "Positively Autistic" ideology, it is helpful to have ABC present some of the harsher realities of autism.

The feature addresses several dangers to which autistic persons may be at substantial risk, including drowning, wandering, self injury, seizures and sexual predators. These are some of the concerns that parents fear await their autistic children. amongst those interviewed for the feature is Dennis Debbaudt who has done so much work raising public awareness and promoting good safety practices related to autism.

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