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Editor:
As the father of two high-functioning autistic children, I was appalled by the recent attack on an autistic boy at Lee Middle School. His peers assaulted him while more than a dozen watched and took no action.
Harry Truman, Winston Churchill and Mahatma Gandhi all said that a society will be judged by how it treats its weakest members. Middle school is rarely a pleasant experience for the most well-adapted.
But for those who do not know how to fit in or are disabled, it can be a living hell.
Autism is an increasingly important issue. Today, approximately 1 in 150 children will be diagnosed with some form of autism spectrum disorder. More than 1 in 100 boys will be diagnosed as autistic. Most of these children will continue to be taught in mainstream classes. When they act differently or violate social norms, their peers need to be taught tolerance and understanding.
Most parents and teachers of autistic students work hard to help them fit in and adjust to their surroundings. And autism varies widely in its appearance.
Some autistic individuals just have difficulty fitting in but have average or above-average intelligence. Some react with pain and distress to certain colors or noise levels. Some have large vocabularies and others barely speak.
But no matter the differences, these are all children of God and deserve the same respect anyone made in the Image of God deserves. I ask parents and teachers to re-double their efforts to teach their children compassion and understanding for those who are different.
If you have an autistic person in your family or are an autistic person, I invite you to e-mail me at drtimdh@gmail.com to join an online support group or to attend the monthly autism support meetings the third Thursday of each month at West Texas Rehab, 3001 S. Jackson at 6:30 p.m. Enter at the back and the meeting room is the first door to the right. Child care is now provided. For more information, call Billie at (325) 949-4090 or Pam at (325) 651-1066.
The Reverend Tim
Davenport-Herbst
St. Paul Presbyterian Church
Support available locally for autism
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Posted by agavegrove on November 21, 2008 at 10:03 a.m.
My son, who is now 4, was thought to have autism. He did not start talking conversationally until he was almost 3 years old. He has also been extremely gifted in technical and musical capabilities. At the urging of our pediatrician we had him assessed by Early Childhood Intervention. While being interviewed by an OT, it was obvious she was twisting everything we told her about him into a symptom of autism. Even my mom and aunt, who work with special education students in public schools thought he may have had Asperger's Syndrome. Everyone suggested we get him screened so he could get "help."
We did more research and sought second opinions. Public schools want to identify potentially autistic children (or label children who aren't) so they can receive more state funding. In China - where so many children are intellectually advanced in math and engineering - A child isn't considered a late talker until after 3 years old.
Our experience is there is a tremendous push to identify anybody who's a genius, prodigy, or not a social butterfly into the "autistic" category. Other people have steady employment from those who are "special needs." My son is now a normal, sociable, boy. I am glad we didn't follow the advise of "experts" and listen to the fads of research. Our child would've been labeled for life.
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