Reader comments
Is autism more common now, or does it just seem so?

Well doctor, you may consider autism to be a "soul piercing" diagnosis that is on the rise, but that is not my experience. My son is an exceptionally gifted graduate student with an Asperger's diagnosis. In the past he would have been labeled as the absent minded professor- eccentric and socailly inept, but not disabled. On the other hand, my 15 year old daughter is retarded with severe communication and behavioral issues. Her label is autism and MR, but she is quite social and affectionate with her family. I'm sure that in the past her diagnosis would have been just MR. My family represents the extreme expression of our genetics. In the past our children would have been labeled as eccentric; gifted and retarded, but not autistic. The souls of our whole family are intact, thank you very much! Life has been very hard for my children, in part because of their diagnosis, and in part because of people's misconceptions. We need educational and behavioral supports, not doom and gloom language.

Well Julie, you may not consider autism to be a "soul piercing" diagnosis, but I'd wager that the doctor's experience supports his choice of words. Many parents do struggle with this diagnosis & many have children whose issues are a major, overwhelming challenge to cope with. A disturbingly large percentage of families are irreparably fractured by this diagnosis. This article was apparently not addressed to people like you or in your situation, judging from your words, so why make it all about you & yours? If we can't even agree on the urgency of this situation, how can we get support out to the families who need it? We shouldn't be working to undermine people who are fighting on our side - we should be going after the ignorant & indifferent, particularly those who are in a position to help but won't.

Julie,
While I commend you on your successes through the troubles that you have, I have to agree with Grace. I come from a family that has 3 generations of problems and concerns with various spectrums of Autism. I am an Asperger myself, my father as well. My brother is extremely MR'ed, and I have a son that is also PDD Asperger with a Schizo effective disorder. It has been a struggle for my family for many years as we have had to deal with this. I have been extremely challenged with the needs of my son, in a society and school system that minimizes and disregards his needs. We need all the support we can get in order to get acceptence, and equal access to opportunities, resources and rewards. There needs to be systems in place for accomodations, and it is your responsibility too advocate too. It really makes no difference if the illness is recently identified or modified from a previous diagnosis, it is real regardless and needs to be addressed.

I'm autistic. I hear the word "autism" all the time. I've apparently missed out on my promised heart attacks and soul-piercings over a thousand times!

But, if you're going into words that I don't like seeing in the autism lexicon, this article is a great start! I've mentioned "heart-stopping" and "soul-piercing" above. Then there's "broken" and "attacks" and "not quite right," and just the general tone of the article.

I'm not a broken neurotypical, I'm a healthy autistic (well, except for cystic fibrosis). Haven't been attacked either. And being non-standard doesn't mean that one's way of being is *wrong.*

With regards to Grace's comment, I'm confused about what "our side" is and who gets to define these "sides" and why dissent is so awful. I agree with Lynn that we need acceptance and equal opportunities, but the notion that we're broken and that our way of being is "soul-piercing" certainly isn't necessary (is in fact counterproductive) for attaining that!