This will be short and sweet. I pretty much detest the use of the word “retarded”. I imagine that those who use the word either a) don’t know anyone who has experienced the pain or stigma of mental illness/impairment or b) Just don’t care. I probably used the word when I was in grade school, but certainly not in the past 20 years or more.
A lot of kids with autism are mistaken for kids with “MR” (mental retardation or cognitive disabilities). Who are any of us to judge them or what their life must be like? I remember a kid named Jerry when I was in 4th grade and he was “mentally retarded.” I remember getting just as irritated with him as I did with my typical classmates. The positive side is that he was in our classroom – we had to learn to interact with him and respect him for what he was and he had to do the same. He was only with us for a year and I don’t know what happened to him after that. The negative side? This kind of inclusion simply doesn’t happen anymore. Not in the U.S. in any case.
A recent study states the rate of autism at 1 in less than 100 kids – and something like 1 in 58 for boys in the United States. Major organizations are conducting endless fundraising campaigns for genetic research into the “cause” or “causes” of autism. There are still many who believe autism can be cured.
When my son was diagnosed in 2001, we did everything we possibly could – financially, emotionally and physically. But he still has autism. Are we parents of children with autism to divide ourselves into categories depending upon how impacted our children are by their diagnoses? Are parents of children who are unable to speak supposed to go along with the agenda of parents whose children experience “social difficulties?” There is no doubt that all along this spectrum are children who don’t fit any of the molds that have been crafted for them by our society or our educational system.
What can we possibly do to “fix it” for our kids and for future generations?
I don’t know the answer. I don’t sleep at night. I wish I did.
Peace.
Filed under: autism, autism intervention | Tagged: autism, mental retardation, MR
