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Anyone who is raising teenagers or who has ever been one knows the journey from kid to grown-up is not always smooth sailing. Some of us drift off course now and then. Others face some turbulence. For parents of autistic children, the teen years are exponentially stormier. Read More
Grillo's claim re percentage of people with autism who cannot function
You quoted Grillo's claim as follows:
Most people on the spectrum of autism are NOT intellectually gifted Asperger-types. They will never function independently, requiring 24/7 care for the rest of their livers.
My question is, do you agree with that claim? If you do agree with that claim, would you please provide the sources for your agreement?
Thought about this review and the quotes in a lot
...and then wrote a blog post about it, as my comments/questions/observations are too long to include here. Beyond that post, I've explored the statement in Grillo's quote that most people with autism will require intense care as adults, and the data seem to indicate otherwise: that most children currently diagnosed with autism do not have what might be characterized as severe or intense autism and won't require residential facilities as adults. I'm curious about a reference or resource for the observation made in the quote.
Otherwise, I had questions about autism's being characterized as an "illness," which may be semantics for me, a parent of an Asperger's (soon to be "just autistic") child, while it may be a very real truth for another parent. Are Down Syndrome or Fragile X considered illnesses? Something about that term bothers me, but I'm curious about other people's take on it.
As for "gifted Asperger's types," I've discussed that and its implications (from my perspective and sensitivities) in the blog post. http://daisymayfattypants.blogspot.com/2011/06/words-words-words-which-o...
Thanks for bringing attention to this film. Grillo has written elsewhere that one of her primary motivations for the film is to let parents who are in these critical and difficult situations know that they are not alone and that sometimes, these decisions are absolutely the right ones to make. Based on what I know of other parents in that situation, it's a message that can only help.
semantics are important
Emily: Thank you for your comments. I've switched "illness" to "syndrome." By choosing illness, i had meant something is not completely right. But I think the word implies a sickness as in a germ-causing disease. We do not know what causes autism and I think you are right, it should not be considered a sickness but perhaps a syndrome. As for your remarks about Janet's quotes, I have forwarded them to her and hope that she will comment.
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