How dare you be so biased?
Posted by Marijn Rongen on July 14, 2010 in Autism
I recently read this article by Harold L Doherty and I almost could not believe he has the arrogance to have such a biased view on autism.
In the article he is attacking people with HFA (High Functioning Autism*) and AS (Asperger's Syndrome), specifically Alex Plank. As you may or may not know, Alex is the creator of the Wrongplanet.net internet community for everyone with or affected by autism.
He insinuates that being successful in their lives contradicts the impairing nature of autism and therefore they cannot be autistic. What he conveniently forgets to take in account is the difficulties people with HFA and AS face everyday despite being able to function in our society. Being successful in any way does not take these daily struggles away.
Who speaks for whom?
What truly bothers me is that he holds this narrow view of autism while being a father to an autistic child. I agree that his sons abilities are much more restricted than is the case for most people with HFA and AS as his son has LFA (Low Functioning Autism*), but instead of venting his obvious disappointment with his sons unfortunate situation, he should educate himself to the full range of autism spectrum disorders and more specifically how to help his son to cope with life. Both he and his son will benefit.
He rants on about how autistic people with the ability to openly speak for themselves have no right to do so on behalf of all autistic individuals. They cannot possibly know how his son is feeling about something for example. He has a valid point, as no individual can voice his or her opinion and claim to speak for their peers, but isn't he according to his own logic even more disqualified to speak for his son because he, as a NT (neurotypical, ie. non-autistic), fundamentally thinks in a different way?
Read his blog for some more insight in Harold's point of view
What about a cure?
His whole animosity against outspoken and active autistic persons is based in the heated debate around a cure and treatments for autism. A lot of (high functioning) autistic people are against a cure for autism in their own case. This does not mean they do not agree with the possible benefits a (partial) cure or treatment may bring to the lives of low functioning autistic people.
It should be stated that the biggest fears in the autism community are not so much about a cure, but more about the effects prenatal tests for autism can have. Prenatal testing is more likely to be available in the future than a cure. The fear is that this testing could lead to abortions based on the presence of autism, which is a scary thought. It reeks of prenatal neurodiversity genocide.
At this time a lot of parents are trying every treatment that is said to "treat autism". This ranges from special diets to chelation. While some of these treatments are harmless, others are not so safe. The reality at this time is that a cure or effective treatment is a fairy tale. It will remain so while a cause for autism is still unknown.
What we can and should do is find coping strategies and through therapy help those that are having trouble functioning in our society. And if a cure becomes a reality, the choice to take this should ultimately be the choice of the autistic individual and not anyone else, family included.
*Note that I'm not fond of the labels describing an autistic individual as low or high functioning. I used the terms in this article as they comply to the current method of "grading" a persons abilities, this may change by 2013 with the publication of DSM-V
