LoveToKnow Kids:AllComments

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Lighten Up...

-- Contributed by: ade6547

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Bonnie,

I am sorry you feel the article is insulting. That was certainly not my intention. While I do not claim to be an expert on autism, the article was researched fully. Some of the information was obtained through the National Autism Association, the Mayo Clinic, and WebMD. WebMd, for example says this about autism sometimes being confused for hearing problems, "They also may be confused about their child's hearing abilities. It often seems that a child with autism does not hear, yet at other times, he or she may appear to hear a distant background noise, such as the whistle of a train." Parents of as-yet-undiagnosed deaf children often have the same experience.

As you mentioned, autism is a spectrum and there is a wide range of symptoms within that spectrum. It would be impossible to cover all symptoms within the entire range in one brief internet article. There are entire books on the subject!

As for the terms being incorrect, this article is not intended for doctors, teachers, or parents who are already familiar with autism-- this is for parents who are wondering if their child may show symptoms. This article is meant to be written in very basic language so that anyone, whether they're familiar with autism or not, can understand some of the symptoms easily.

The article refers to autistic children in a variety of ways to avoid being repetitive.

All that said, I will be happy to look over new information about autism to see if some aspects of the article need to be updated. If needed, I'm also happy to assign a new article next month. Above all else, we strive to be accurate and unbiased.

I hope this clears up some of the misunderstandings. I see that you have your own website devoted to autism, so of course this article would not be helpful to you. It is geared towards people in the early stages of information gathering.

Oh, and Bonnie... to say that it's insulting to say that young children with autism can sometimes be mistaken for deaf is a bit insulting to the deaf. I happen to have two hearing impaired children-- one is profoundly deaf-- and trust me, I'm not insulting anyone by comparing them to my daughter.

I wish you and your family the best.

Sincerely, Misty

-- Contributed by: Misty

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Autism is not a little understood development disorder, but it sure looks like the writer here is quite confused on what autism is.

It is not confused with personality disorder. Too bad there is not a rating system at this site, because this article would be rated as poor.

-- Contributed by: Bonnie Sayers

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I am interested in knowing how the author of this is involved in relatThe terminology in this is off. I have two children on the spectrum, ages 13 and 11. We have lived with autism for ten years and the terminology used in this article is not correct and insulting to families.

I would really like to know your sources for this material. Especially the part about violent trantrums, unbiased diagnosis, marked lack of response to the outside world, frequently throwing tantrums instead of using speech.

Where is the term nonverbal - instead you utilized nonexistant language skills.

Referencing children with autism severa ways - these children, they, autistics, autistic children and so on.

This statement is flat out insulting to the autism community - "The complete and utter lack of response can imitate deafness".

This article is a set back to the families getting diagnosed and is not at all something new families should read as it is outdated and not accurate. April is autism awareness month, please post something encouraging from someone who has experience with a child on the spectrum.

-- Contributed by: Bonnie Sayers
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