FW: Arc of Texas

[Guest guest]

Well, Clay,

Actually the research has begun to show the IQ assumptions about persons

with autism have been deeply flawed, and though general assumptions are

usually wrong, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the ARC

doesn't

get the needs of the majority of the kids with autism because the majority

of

the kids with autism DON'T have mental retardation. Autism is a

communication

disorder, so the fact that they can't express their thoughts verbally in a

timely manner

makes them appear to have an IQ below 70. You would appear to have an

IQ below 70 if I gave you an IQ test in Russian or any other language in

which you

were not fluent.

I know of NO person with only mental retardation who went through an

intensive

behavioral therapy program and emerged to function at grade level.

Also, programs designed to help children with mental retardation

most--intensive

stimulation through lots of activities, sights, and sounds--make a kid with

autism

completely shut down.

So in that sense the ARC doesn't have the best interest of the majority of

kids

with autism in mind. Just being a long established organization doesn't

make one

good in all areas. It just makes you long established.[ Singleton]

The FDA

is a long established organization too and so is the IRS, Medicaid, etc. I

could

go on.

The ARC has actually come out in Houston on the CDC side of the vaccine

argument

and promote the Istitute of Medicine study in their newletter.

So please check out exactly what the ARC is doing right NOW to help the

majority of

people with autism before cutting short one of the most dedicated autism

advocates

in Texas who is making a positive difference in promoting effective

education and

treatment for kids with autism. If you want to be offended, be offended

that a

group that supposedly advocates for kids with developmental disabilities

would be

so at odds with what that community has defined as its needs. Does the ARC

treat all of the populations it serves with equal disdain?????

S.

Arc of Texas

As a new member of the Board of Directors of The Arc of Texas, and

the father of two children with autism, I disagree with your opinion

that they " do not have a good understanding of the unique needs of

individuals on the autism spectrum " .

The Arc organizations in the United States have been working to

serve the needs of people with developmental disabilities since long

before most of us were born. While it's everyone's right to

disagree on specific issues, it would be inappropriate to suggest

information should not be communicated simply because we disagree

with it. I'm not sure, but isn't that one of the principles America

was founded on?

- Clay

>

> If you will notice in this information forwarded from the Arc of

> Texas, they DO NOT support the majority of the state autism plan.

> IMHO, they simply do not have a good understanding of the unique

needs

> of individuals on the autism spectrum. They also do not support

and in

> fact are very strongly opposed to autism waivers.

>

> I would, unless you agree with the Arc's position and are against

the

> majority of the state plan, avoid forwarding this particular email

and

> info to folks who plan to testify on Thursday.

>

> nna

>