What's Autism have to do with it?

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Ditto, and what makes it worse is that eventually everyone turns their backs on you. I hit on all time low when my brother called me to uninvite us to Christmas dinner because of Neil's behaviors. It was to the point that he was jumping over the seat in the car and knocking the car out of gear and jumping out of the car. When I bathed him, he grabbed me by the head of the hair and tried to push my head under water. Basically when school was out for the day, that meant an entire night of guarding the door, watching him every moment and protecting myself. All the police could do was to babysit him until his father got there. It is interesting that the people that point their

fingers are the same ones that refuse to help when you call. Marilyn Pyles Lilburn, GAmacdebr <macdebr > wrote: I agree that the abuse, neglect or mistreatment of a person with a disability is heinous and is not acceptable no matter the severity of the disability.But, as far as your message, I believe we should use caution in the old, "I did it, you can do it approach". Sometimes there are no other workable alternative solutions to residential care and it does not mean the parent(s) family or caregiver are any less loving, conscientious or suffering from the decision. I don't know any of the details of the cases mentioned, nor did I walk in their shoes; therefore, I cannot comment. But we struggle enough in this community, we do

not need to be judging each other, as well.>> What's Autism Got to Do With It? Sunday, July 30, 2006; Page B08 How do we make sense of the murder of Lash IV, an autistic 12-year-old from McLean, killed by his supposedly loving, well-respected father? After living with my son Nat's severe autism for 16 years, I am no stranger to hardship and struggle.> The lowest point in my life was when Nat attacked me at the subway station. Though 11, he was almost as big as me, and I had my infant son in my arms, with the stroller hanging heavily from my wrist. None of my parent training would have prepared me for that moment of sweaty panic as I struggled to slip the stroller

off my arm, hold on tightly to the baby, and fend off Nat's clawing hands.> Stop the Band-Aid Treatment > > » Jimmy | Israel has a right to defend itself, but it is counterproductive to punish civilians in the hope that somehow they will blame Hamas and Hezbollah for provoking the response.> > Hope Beyond the Muslim Rage?> & raquo; Ignatius | Non-Muslims who wonder how cartoons could give such offense should think how Americans react to the "N-word."> > --> > Cohen: A Mel Gibson Moment > Dionne: A Lesson for Lieberman > PostGlobal: Trade Talks Failure > > > OPINIONS SECTION: Toles, Editorials> > > > var technorati = new Technorati() ; technorati.setProperty('url','http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/28/AR2006072801206_Technorati.html') ; technorati.article = new item('What\'s Autism Got to Do With It?','http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/28/AR2006072801206.html','How do we make sense of the murder of Lash IV, an autistic 12-year-old from McLean, killed by his supposedly loving, well-respected father? After living with my son Nat\'s severe autism for 16 years, I am no stranger to hardship and struggle.','') ; document.write( technorati.getDisplaySidebar() ); > Who's Blogging? Read what bloggers are saying about this article.> > Autism Press > Autism Diva> > #technorati_link a {color:#339900;}

Full List of Blogs (2 links) »> > Most Blogged About Articles> #technorati_link a {color:#339900;} On washingtonpost.com | On the web> > > > > #delicious_display { display:none ; color:#333333 ; background-color:#EEEEEE ; padding:4px ; padding-top:0px ; border:1px dotted #0D3159 ; } > Save & Share > Tag This Article> > Saving options> 1. Save to description:> [input] Headline (required)> > 2. Save to notes (255 character max):> [input] Blurb> > 3. Tag This Article> > > > > > setTimeout('update_delicious_form(delicious_cookie)',1) I remember the agonizing thoughts running through my brain. This was the most severe of many such episodes in the preceding few months. I felt myself going to a dark place in my mind, down that "what

if . . . ?" path. Life would be so much easier had he not been born or if he were. . . .> That evening, I cried as we began to make arrangements to put Nat in a residential placement. My sadness collided with my guilty relief, as I dared, at last, to imagine our life without Nat: travel, going to parties easily, visiting other families.> In the end, I just couldn't send him away. As hard as things were, it just did not feel right. And so we hung on; we got through it, with calls to supportive family, new medications and the healing passage of time.> The thing I know now, that I did not know then, is that many parents with or without disabled children have similar devastating moments, filled with terrible wishes. Autism does not make my family unique or its circumstances more tragic than those of any other family. That is what makes the stories about Lash, and DeGroot and

McCarron, all the more horrifying. These children were killed by their parents, and the way the stories read, presumably because of their autism.> Like those parents, I have seen some pretty dark days because of autism. But I have also known some of my brightest moments because of my autistic son. Understanding Nat and autism have certainly been difficult, excruciating at times, but by now, so have certain other challenges life has thrown my way.> No question, dealing with autism without understanding it is difficult. But murdering because of it? Unfathomable and inexcusable. We all have our own sack of troubles, as my great grandmother, a pogrom survivor, used to say. And to paraphrase another survivor, Tina : What's autism got to do with it?> > -- Senator> Brookline, Mass.> > susan@...>

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