I was reading a very hurtful article about Autism in the denver post, while calling Autism a ‘maddening disorder’ and seeming blaming Autism for parents killing children there were some interesting facts including that 20 percent of Autistic Children are abused.
While I don’t like the perspective of The Denver Post article that seems to blame autism for parents killing children there are some very interesting facts in it. According to the article studies have shown that 20 percent of autistic children are abused – although Betty Lehman the director of the Autism Society of Colorado says the statistics are actually much higher.
While the article seems to point that better services are needed for Autism – and will result in less incidents I agree partially. But I also think that better acceptance of autism and more recognition of Autism will cause a much more significant impact in both the lives of people with Autism and their families.
The article states that people with Autism really don’t have much of a chance at a future – which at this point in time is quite correct. However after promoting acceptance, tolerance and actually helping autistic people with their needs I think a much better chance of succeeding is possible.
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Very sad indeed and supports would have a greater increase, with more acceptance.
However, it wouldn’t surprise me if the rate of abuse of typical kids was nearly as high, yet unreported. Kids in need of supports generally end up with regular exposure to social workers and other observers, while typical kids get ignored in that area, at least around where I live. I have a number of friends who grew up with a degree of unreported abuse. While I have to convince people that, no, the mark on my son’s hand is not a burn, he bites it… (thankfully the ppl in his school realize that)
(and if it were as high, it’d be worth noting it’s not the fault of the child, regardless of diagnosis, or lack thereof)