CTV W5

Carly Fleischmann as featured on CTV W5 with Lisa LaFlamme.

[@Brynwyn123]

Meltdowns aren't tantrums, they're more akin to panic attacks.

[@evolutionfineart]

"Take time to know me before you judge me". No truer words have ever been spoken.

[@shyjohnonharp]

Every time I see something about Carly, my eyes fill with tears. She is a beautiful young lady, and smart; she will go far. I never had any kids myself, but if she were my daughter I would be very proud of her.

[@metallicarocks447]

Dear Carly Fleichmann and family, There are so many children out there with this diagnosis that you have helped by this. Maybe this can be a new way to teach them ALL to communicate. You have giving everyone an inside view on how this medical condition feels inside. Explanations why you bang your head, flail, hum, rock. Etc... I quote "Our brains are wired differently." God bless you girl. You are going to be famous... I will totally buy your book. You’re an inspiration to all.

[@21stcenturyhater666]

Carly is lucky to have a father that cares about her. All mine got done was hollering and swearing at me because i didn't socialize. Hats off to you sir.

[@kgaccount]

Great coverage. So encouraging to all of us who are dealing with severely autistic children, teens and adults. Just shows you it's NEVER too late for them to show us what they can do.

[@tracij38]

Carly, I am reading your book right now and I think that you are the most wonderful and brave girl. I used to work for Toronto Preschool Autism Services as an IBI instructor, and I wish that I had known then what I know now after learning about you. You are beautiful and funny and strong and amazing and I hope that all of your dreams come true! x

[@christianshakespeare3239]

Hi Carly, it’s Christian. I like the work that you do on your computer when you try and talk to people about your autism condition.

[@TravisMorien]

@Spydyee2 "Early interventions" does not necessarily mean "eugenics". It may also mean recognising a child with special needs early on so that they may be given extra help learning communication skills, help with understanding "theory of mind" and assisting with social skills like realising that others have very different interests and may not share their obsession with whatever subject they're into at the time. For someone like Carly it may have been more attention on non-verbal communication.

[@SuperMissblueeyes]

I'm so proud of you Carly, it's not difficult to see why you're parents are proud of you & your sister. The difference you're already making & will make for people with autism is probably beyond what we can imagine. And it's lovely to see your character & attitude coming out in what you say. I'm so glad you've found a way to communicate with people. I'm glad this is already improving your life & I hope it continues to do so. It will be enjoyable & interesting to see how you get on in the future.

[@seabird3449]

What we don't know about Autism is just the tip of the Iceberg Apparently... My heart goes out to Carly ...our teacher of the future!!

[@kamalmanzukie]

wept for you, but not out of pity or sadness for your situation. my emotions ran over thinking of a mind of your quality, one that really sees things and probably better than most, finding a way out of imprisonment. wish you the best. and remember if things seem hopeless, steven hawking has written whole books having only one muscle in his entire body that he can barely move to input information. as long as you breathe there is nothing that can stop you taking whats inside and making it real in the world. hope this message can find you and hope you are feeling better.

[@theblade66]

Just goes to show she shines within. Good on you girl

[@Spydyee2]

@TravisMorien I believe that informed consent and a required waiting period is critical to doing this right. If a woman on Medicaid in the US wants to be sterilized she has to wait 30 days from the day she signs a request form. At any time during that 30 days she can change her mind and the procedure will not be done. I know women that went from their doctor's offices to the hospital and the next day the abortion was done. That is too soon.

[@Spydyee2]

@TravisMorien My personal guess is that if they actually talked to parents of DS kids and actually interacted with them before making the decision you would see the rate drop to about 60-65%. I do not have unreasonable expectations. I don't even think all the doctors are eugenics happy monsters they are just contributing to a problem by only giving the mom one side of the story. Also, I think a "cooling down" period before the procedure is done is critical for all cases.

[@Moveth]

My right ear loved this video.

[@specialneedlifewrightfamil1418]

My daughter love KZbin . Plus my daughter turn on our tv in iPad.

[@specialneedlifewrightfamil1418]

God bless Carly may your future turn more leaven to you .

[@HavendaleBlvd80]

Yeow!! Way to go Carly!

[@Spydyee2]

@TravisMorien After she had been told all 3 of her options, if she wanted an abortion then she would fill out a form, wait 30 days, just in case she changed her mind, and then she could have the procedure. This would give her time to do research, think, if she is religious talk with her religious leaders, talk with her family who might have a member willing to adopt the child, or whatever. I had to wait 30 days from signing a form requesting to have my tubes tied before the procedure was done.

[@Spydyee2]

@TravisMorien I am so glad you have had such a "positive experience" dealing with these non-emoting mothers that are not being pressured by the physician you happen to know or work with. But you need to realize that out here in the real world most doctors are using psychological warfare to convince mothers to abort DS babies including the tactic of dropping them when they refuse!

[@Xokzu]

"I NEED TO TELL EVERYONE THAT I DON'T HAVE A HAND UP MY BUTT TO SPELL" was pretty interesting. Lol.

[@rainbowheadful]

Wow she's amazing

[@Spydyee2]

@TravisMorien yes and if they are schizophrenic you used to give them electroshock therapy to attempt to stop the hallucinations. Lobotomies were a common medical intervention in other mental illnesses. Eugenic abortion is the medical community's "cure" for Down Syndrome. medical science is a long way from being my friend when eugenics is a perspective they actually still adhere to by advising mothers to abort their prenatally diagnosed Down Syndrome babies.

[@Spydyee2]

@TravisMorien I think it could be a factor however the other side of this issue is that if enough of these mothers get together and start talking about the things I have heard them say the doctors could face lawsuits for putting them under emotional duress and mentally forcing them to make a choice that had they been given all the facts they might not have made. They need to really give them all the facts. They need to require them to talk with a parent group prior to an abortion occurring.

[@Spydyee2]

@TravisMorien no I am clearly opposed to an emotional hormonal woman making a snap judgment that she will regret the rest of her life based on only half of the picture. My "perfect world" would screen any mother that requested it but only if she requested the screening. Then if the child was diagnosed, she would be required to visit a parent support group and meet their kids. Then she would be instructed about the adoption process and the abortion process.

[@ttaylorfaithh]

does carly do "best buddies" in toronto??

[@ediann]

such a sweet and beautiful girl! my heart bleeds for her!!

[@Spydyee2]

@TravisMorien after that she had to have another doctor. She left that day and had another doctor that same afternoon. How much does a mom have to go through just because she won't kill a DS child. He was so sweet to my daughter. They danced together most of the evening. He is an awesome young man and it just breaks my heart yo realize that if some jerk of a doctor had gotten his way that child would not be here. If they find a way to diagnose Autism prenatally they will be doing the same thing.

[@Spydyee2]

@TravisMorien you just don't get it at all. Try to follow the scenario here. A mother is pregnant which makes her an emotional disaster area because of her hormones. Then she finds out that she is having a child with DS. next they sit her down and paint this totally negative portrait of the abilities of a person with DS. And shove papers in her hand telling her the exact steps to take to abort the baby.

[@Saimeren]

^_^ I would love to take Carly on her first date. :P She's such an inspirational young woman, and from the videos I've watched, she seems like a nice girl who likes to laugh and have fun. What more could you ask for?

[@Spydyee2]

@TravisMorien Try again. I had a child who had the precursor markers for Down Syndrome. They wanted to do amniocentesis and I refused. I got a 45 minute presentation on the "difficulties of raising a child with down syndrome' by my physician that was created by the AMA. He put me through that in order to try to convince me to have the amnio done so we could determine if my child had Downs Syndrome. He then sent me home with information about how to abort the baby and none on Downs support groups

[@Spydyee2]

@TravisMorien no they are just arrogant period. I could actually care less about this entire issue except I am sick and tired of them deciding what is "normal" I went to a dance tonight for the athletes of Special Olympics. I saw beautiful people dancing and having a good time. If those same people were mixed with a group of "NORMAL" people they would have been laughed at and made fun of for the way some of them were dancing. There was none of that at this dance. It was heartwarming.

[@Spydyee2]

@TravisMorien If the abortion rate remained the same and every person had to go through the process of interacting with parents of DS kids as well as the DS kids and there was a 30 day "cooling off" time before the abortions, I would have a different attitude. I know how the doctors are handling things and that is what I want to see changed. Emotional, Hormonal women do not need to make rapid decisions. I know I am the mom of 9 kids and I didn't trust my own snap decisions when I was pregnant.

[@vivamaroc2000]

you're amazing

[@Spydyee2]

@TravisMorien They do not discuss all options they discuss abortion. I was in a major OB/GYN practice in my area with 8 doctors all of whom followed the same procedure. I was never given information about local DS support groups. I even asked for it and they told me they did not provide that information to parents. The told me I could find it for myself if I was not having the amnio to find out and the subsequent abortion that they felt was best. So don't tell me what "they" do I know reality.

[@Spydyee2]

@TravisMorien What would you do to avoid recreating the kind of horrors of Romanian orphanages under Ceauşescu? As you can see from my other posts I am not against abortion as long as all the other options out there are explored equally and that is not what is being done. We are not talking about limiting a woman's right to choose. we are talking a bout actually allowing her to take time to make her choice after getting complete information. That is not currently happening.

[@Spydyee2]

@culotta0048 The only cases of Autism that would remain if that were done are ones like my family. My daughter was not given any vaccines until after her Autism diagnosis because I once believed as you do. However after her diagnosis I did further research and both me and my husband were diagnosed on the spectrum. Some of us are genetic Autistics and my daughter is my proof positive that mercury did not cause the autism in my family.

[@Spydyee2]

@TravisMorien yes our healthcare system is screwed up and I wish we would get our act together and fix it but I am afraid that a single payer system or national healthcare system would promote eugenic abortion even more because of the expenses surrounding having a child with a lifelong disability. I guess I would have a different attitude if the UK had a lower rate and France is not impressing me much either with their 78% rate.

[@meadowdelorto9216]

if i was at your school i would want to be your best friend!

[@Spydyee2]

@TravisMorien As for why I want a separate subspecies classification that too is logical. We can't get recognized as having a separate "culture" because we lack the basic components as defined by NTs to have a "culture" mostly because "culture" is a social construct and we generally are not "social" people. We are not a race because autism knows no racial limitations so the only thing left, logically, is a larger classification which would be a subspecies of Homo Sapiens. Homo Sapiens Autisticus

[@Spydyee2]

@TravisMorien I did not say the animal would have autism you did not understand what I said. I said that if an animal was found with as many different DNA markers as Autistic people have compared to the base species that the animal would be classified as a new subspecies.

[@Spydyee2]

@TravisMorien the eugenic abortion rate in the UK is 85% so you are not doing much better. The UK is also known for aborting babies with club foot and cleft palate since both can be diagnosed prenatally. Doctors here rarely, if ever, check for those so we have a very low rate of abortions for those issues.

[@TravisMorien]

@Spydyee2 One factor which may well have played on that OB/Gyn's mind here was the high risk that such patients bring of litigation. If large numbers of people were not attempting to sue medical professionals for the costs of raising a disabled child then I am sure there would be different attitudes from doctors. Many of these lawsuits are patently absurd and amount to chutzpah of the highest order, cynically suing doctors for the patient's own choices. Do you agree that could be a factor?

[@Spydyee2]

@TravisMorien Medicaid made me wait because often women are pressured by family and their sexual partners to be sterilized when they really do not want to be. The cooling down time gives the woman time to think about her decision, while at the same time appearing to everyone to be planning on having the sterilization done. Why not do the same thing for a woman wanting to abort a DS child? Sterilization is life altering which is why the waiting period exists. So is having an abortion.

[@tsc9191]

How are you Carly?

[@footsy420]

I would like to learn about her communication because there is a sad history of assisted communication which has been proven not to work. I'm not claiming that's what is happening here but not much focus was on the heart of the story being how she learned to communicate. Can she type alone without anyone else in the room? I really hope that is the case.

[@aspiringmultiplicity]

Honestly I doubt it very much. The whole thing seems off, suspicious to me. The videos are all heavily edited, and we never really see what's truly going on. I have a strong feeling that this whole thing is a hoax, just another FC offshoot. In the videos where she's supposedly typing "independently", we don't see a close-up of the keyboard, so we don't know what keys she's pressing and a speech synth vocalizes them, supposedly. But it's dubious. There could be a lot of cueing happening off-camera--the type of subtle cueing that goes on in FC doesn't necessarily need physical contact to still occur. She could be picking up on subtle movements or body language from her parents that tells her to press a key and voila, FC all over again. Lest I seem cruel, I say this because to date (AFAIK) there hasn't been any major update or breakthrough in the autism literature showing that forever-nonverbal autistic people are of normal intelligence or capable of acquiring written language. So, nonverbal autistics are intellectually disabled. Intellectually disabled people who have never been taught to read or write simply cannot "miraculously" acquire the ability to spell out whole sentences and write paragraphs. That's not how language acquisition works. *Nobody* acquires written language out of nowhere by simply being "immersed" in it or whatever, at least, no child of average IQ or below and no autistic child who hasn't even learned spoken language yet. That just doesn't happen. Sometimes children learn to read early--I knew how to read by 4, in preschool--hyperlexia exists, but not in nonverbal (i.e. intellectually disabled) autistic kids who struggle with spoken language. If there are/were nonverbal autistic people of normal intellect and above capable of typing on their own to express themselves with absolutely no FC or FC-adjacent cueing nonsense at any stage, where are they? As soon as computers and the internet took off, we'd have seen them in droves and the literature would've been updated. Go on Reddit or any online forum and look for full, coherent posts by nonverbal adults--who were nonverbal as children, never learned to speak and cannot speak--describing their experiences with this. There aren't any. That's because this is bogus, just as much as anything even related to FC, "supported typing", RPM, whatever always was, and it's sad, the lengths people will go to to deceive themselves.

[@Spydyee2]

@culotta0048 actually there is a known cause for autism. It is a genetic anomaly. The researchers concentrated on a type of genetic difference that distinguishes one person from another, called copy number variations (CNVs), where the same stretch of DNA containing up to 20 genes is replicated several times. They found that autistic children were likely to carry about 20 per cent more CNVs than ordinary children.

[@TravisMorien]

@Spydyee2 It has been my experience that the people aborting DS fetuses tend to be well informed of what they are doing and, while the decision is not taken lightly and is commonly accompanied by feelings of guilt to some degree or another, the parents are the ones who want to abort the DS child, often because they do not wish to raise a disabled child. My mother has never regretted not aborting my DS sister, but is also well aware of the large and permanent burden she has to carry.

[@cplova333]

3:48 YORKDALE!!!!! lol

[@Spydyee2]

@culotta0048 WHat scares me with this finding however is this one statement There is no simple test to detect autism in early childhood. Such a test would be important because it could lead to early interventions. They made a test like that for Down Syndrome and now the rate of Down Syndrome children born is significantly reduced because of Eugenic Abortions. I hope no test like this ever comes about.

[@Spydyee2]

@TravisMorien So as you can see this is not an emotional issue it is a survival issue thought out logically. Now I often present it in an emotional way by pointing out the mass murders that go on world wide of unborn children with disabilities in hopes of waking up the people both NT and Autistic to the reality of the situation. 90% of all babies prenatally diagnosed with Down Syndrome are aborted. That is a US statistic and the worldwide rate is about 83-85%. I have an aversion to eugenics.

[@Spydyee2]

@TravisMorien The common Human is Homo Sapiens Sapiens. Autistic people have enough DNA marker differences from Homo Sapiens Sapiens that we would be classified as a new sub species if we were fish or any other animal being compared to its base species. Frogs, for instance, can be classified as a new subspecies for a simple difference in the tonality of their croaking. The arrogance of Homo Sapiens Sapiens however would never admit a new subspecies because man is man anything different is broken

[@TravisMorien]

@Spydyee2 The parent of the DS child made a decision to raise the child, a decision I respect and understand. Do the parents who decide that no, they DON'T wish to be burdened with a lifetime of caring for a child that will never really achieve independence, will require parental care all of their lives, NOT deserve respect and understanding for their decisions? If you say that a 90% DS abortion rate is deliberate eugenics instigated by doctors, what % rate would you consider acceptable?

[@AlexRaveloTV]

wow so she should be 14 just about now thats how old i am :D i couldn imagine living with autism i feel for her so much she broke boundaries with her spelling can anyone else tell me if other autistic can do this?

[@Spydyee2]

@TravisMorien The latest DNA tests show enough DNA marker differences that IF we were frogs we would have already been labeled as a different subspecies. However, the only thing the Scientific community is looking to do is develop a prenatal test so they can allow mothers to eugenically abort Autie and Aspie babies. That is the way they fixed the down syndrome issue and that is the way they plan on fixing this one too. That is not emotive that i reality. Why? T4 (Do your research)

[@TravisMorien]

@Spydyee2 We can be recognised as having a different brain development, giving us a characteristic blend of personality traits, social characteristics and learning abilities. I'm perfectly happy with who and what I am, I don't see the need to wall myself off with any additional labels from the rest of humanity. I do get a little kick though out of you chastising the rest of the world as "arrogant" because they refuse to embrace your new taxonomical system. ;)

[@Spydyee2]

@culotta0048 The reality is that TRUE Autism like that of me and my children is a genetic thing. I do however believe that some children can become damaged by environmental poisons because they are genetically predisposed to being unable to rid their bodies of those toxins and can develop Autistic like symptoms. I would love to see those cases rooted out. To do that would mean getting rid of all mercury in all products given to babies under the age of 5.

[@TravisMorien]

@Spydyee2 You are clearly of the opinion that parents should be denied the right to make a choice, am I right? If you had your way, if somehow you were given dictatorial powers over the reproductive decisions of others, for what conditions would you permit prenatal screening to be carried out and what options would you permit, or deny, parents and doctors in dealing with those screenings? What would you do to avoid recreating the kind of horrors of Romanian orphanages under Ceauşescu?

[@Spydyee2]

@TravisMorien It does with DS so why would I believe they would grow a conscience over Autism? As long as they don't develop a prenatal test I am good. Test that child all you want once it is here, not before. There is no need to do an prenatal test EXCEPT to facilitate a eugenic abortion of that child. But you mark my words, now that they have a series of DNA markers there will be a prenatal test developed and the number of Autistic people born every year will go down and the abortions up.

[@TravisMorien]

@Spydyee2 That you talk about "the scientific community" as if we're one monolithic block of like-minded eugenics fans indicates you really don't know much about the scientific community. It is as diverse as any other community and includes people of a wide variety of personality types, worldviews, political ideals etc. On the other hand, aspies and HFAs tend to be overrepresented among us. Do you think that aspies would also favour abortion of aspies, if asked?

[@specialneedlifewrightfamil1418]

Hi Carly my daughter with autism . Melody skin dry and medicine of sleep . Some time no work melody weak up 24 hour .

[@Spydyee2]

@TravisMorien the majority are from what I can see and those who are not obviously are a minority or they don't have the guts to stand up to the ones running the show. Either way they have made no effort to lower the abortion rate of children prenatally diagnosed with Downs Syndrome and for some reason that 90% rate has this overwhelming effect of making me nauseated, concerned, and angry. So tell me what have you done to reduce the eugenic abortions that happen daily lately?

[@TravisMorien]

@Spydyee2 I doubt there are many doctors that actually push mothers to abort any baby capable of living for any length of time. (They do however frequently push for the abortion of children with such profound developmental disorders that they're unlikely to survive long, a child who has failed to develop a brain for example.) That said, doctors are obliged to discuss all options with patients and let the patients decide. I have a DS sister who is 18 now and know personally what DS involves.

[@Spydyee2]

@TravisMorien Sorry to rain on your parade but if Homo Sapiens Sapiens were not quite so arrogant I and my children would not be sen as disabled homo sapiens sapiens with faulty biochemistry but as Homo Sapiens Autisticus within the normal parameters for the subspecies Autisticus. I like that perception much better. I have a picture of a four legged animal with fur. The caption reads It is not a disabled Dog It is a Cat. Take a hint!

[@TravisMorien]

@Spydyee2 Given that high abortion rates are high in all countries you have looked at, do you think it more likely that doctors all over the world are eugenics-happy monsters, or that worldwide a high percentage of the population who are having kids would choose, if they could, to abort rather than choose to raise a DS child? In the absence of any kind of pressure from doctors, what percentage of parents making informed decisions do YOU think would abort, and WHY?

[@lynnbedard7817]

Professor T, in more than one video it is explained that because Carly types with one finger, interviewing her while she types would be extremely time consuming. So they save her answers so that during an interview, she only has to press one button for the answer. For you to say that it's all fake makes you a very ignorant person who clearly needs to change his name from PROFESSOR T, to Ignorant T.

[@TravisMorien]

@culotta0048 I know you believe that there is a massive global conspiracy of doctors, health researchers and epidemiologists, but typing in all caps is interpreted as shouting, and that makes you sound crazy(er).

[@agentj1326]

I've heard horror stories of aba.

[@privatepile762]

Strange how we never see Carly actually type anything. If Carly wants people to believe her, then why are their no videos of her typing these elaborate sentences? All that exists is a video of her typing a learned response/word to get a potato chip. This story is a fraud and perpetuate memes about autism that are counterproductive to the goal of ensuring their dignity.

[@Monsolol]

Why don't you have a look on the right side of the screen, you will find your proof.

[@privatepile762]

Julian Tanner I've seen these examples. They hardly approximate the samples of text on offer that are attributed to Carly. It can be relatively easy to teach someone to type single words in response to specific questions (e.g. what color is this? What is your name? and etc). This is a far cry from the elaborate, insightful messages in this and other sources. Autism is a disorder that affects language and communication, not just communication. The notion that people with autism are intellectually intact individuals trapped in broken bodies is a meme with origins in the facilitated communication fever of the 1990s. There exists no evidence to substantiate this notion and plenty of evidence that contradicts it. This and similar stories rely on appeals to emotion and provide no compelling evidence. I truly wish stories like this were true and that we could find magical keys to liberate people with autism, but wanting something to be true is always cause for careful examination of the evidence and skeptical attitude. These stories do not help people with autism because they misrepresent the condition. They promote an idea that we need not invest in intensive treatment; a simple solution is right around the corner (did you hear the craze about broccoli sprouts this week?). It also flies in the face of dedicated researchers with hard won discoveries about what works while giving credence and capital to pseudoscience peddling charlatans. I hope you understand my disbelief is not because I do not respect people with autism. On the contrary, it is precisely because I respect (and work for) them that I draw attention to this sort of exploitation and propaganda.

[@wcdstepmother]

wcdstepmother if there were no videos offering proof of her typing, you would demand one; since there is video proof, you demand more! since it takes so long for her to type very simple responses, why would they take the time to video her typing longer, more elaborate thoughts? can you imagine how long it takes her, and how difficult and tiring that must be? it doesn't mean she doesn't have intelligent thoughts - it's just hard to get them out. but, a skeptic will be a skeptic - if you don't want to believe it, then you won't. just do the world a favor and simply do not work with the autism community.

[@privatepile762]

wcdstepmother I'm not sure what you consider proof, but evidence exists on a continuum (evidence and proof are not synonyms). For example, testimonials are the weakest and therefore least respected kind of evidence. Experimental studies are much more rigorous and therefore more respected. The amount (and type) of evidence to support a claim depends on the claim itself. If I claimed I had a bicycle in my garage, the claim itself might constitute sufficiently covincing evidence (especially if we shared a history of trustworthiness) because almost everyone who has a bicycle and a garage keeps them in their garage, and there is no harm in believing my claim. The claim is not extraordinary. If I were to claim that I have a dragon in my garage, then the evidence needed to convince you of that claim would be far more substantial than my testimonial and your endorsement of my claim could be harmful (i.e., ridicule; embarrassment; hospitalization). A skeptical attitude toward claims does not mean the person is a cynic, as you imply. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Given that stories like Carly's run counter to the evidence that has accumulated over the past 50 years, a significant amount (or quality) of evidence is required to support the claim. This claim and others like it (Sue Rubin, Jamie Burke, Tito Mukhopadhyay) requires compelling evidence. Have you heard of facilitated communication? Are you aware that people often make errors in judgment? Are you aware that people have been convicted of crimes by their peers merely because the have dark skin (and evidence is scant or absent)? Do you have respect for scientific consensus? Did you read my previous post about appeal to emotion? My suspicion is that you believe that people like me (who have dedicated their lives to improving the treatment and education of people with autism) should be credulous and believe anything that comes along (e.g., broccoli sprout extract? chelation therapy? special diets? megavitamins? hyperbaric oxygen chambers? and on and on). Sorry, but respect for people with disabilities means demanding evidence for extraordinary claims. If your position is that we should accept anything that comes along until it is disproven (i.e., credulity), then you are the one who is dangerous to members of the autism community. Such thinking serves as invitation for pseudoscience, and autism is rampant with snake oil peddling charlatans. I suppose you prefer them over those who value science.

[@wcdstepmother]

Professor T: i have a hard time believing someone who has dedicated their life "to improving the treatment and education of people with autism" would spend that much time/words trying to convince a total stranger that your way is right and all others are wrong. i value science to the extent that it respects me, an individual who has the intelligence to research and weigh the evidence and form my own opinions, regardless of how many letters i have after my name. i work WITH people with autism; i understand that a person with autism is a person, that every person is different and all have differing levels of intellect, that communication does not equal intelligence. i understand that different things (treatments/therapies) work differently for different people. i also work alongside "experts" who believe solely in the science that has the most evidence to support it (meaning, the most funding to back it), and who have consistently tried to convince me that people with autism are not intelligent, must be trained like circus dogs, and must meet somebody's definition of "normal" in order to be accepted as a success story by the scientific world. as a devout believer in all things science, you must not allow your clients to appeal to your emotions; as a "helper", i can, and i am content to keep it that way. (by the way, i love how you include "special diets" in your snake oil list of treatment options to be scoffed at - as someone who must observe a special diet in order to be able to get out of bed in the morning and be a productive member of society, i scoff at your narrow minded attitude.)

[@TravisMorien]

@Spydyee2 Maybe that's just America. American healthcare is seriously fucked up. Medical students from outside of the US like myself almost never want to visit US based medical forums, in part because we're sick of all that ludicrous hysteria over "socialised medicine". The US healthcare system is far inferior in all kinds of metrics and produces poor outcomes for the majority of the population. Cultural differences maybe, but at least here in Australia nobody is pushed into an abortion.

[@philliptruongrules]

don;t place her in a group home she can't help it

[@TravisMorien]

@Spydyee2 No sensible definition of "species" which I've ever heard would result in someone with Autism being classified as non-human. I'm not sure why you'd even want to push for that. And please stop being so self-righteous about this, I'm deep into the spectrum myself and find the fact that some people are getting pissed at me for not getting this stuff to be rather amusing. Like many Aspies I'd rather you used logical arguments than bring emotive crap into it.

[@Spydyee2]

@culotta0048 did you go get tested yourself to see if you are on the spectrum? did you investigate whether you have family stories of members with extremely quirky behaviors like my great great grandfather that always wore one shoe from one pair and the other from a different pair? He wore one brown shoe and one black shoe and always wore a black sock with the brown shoe and a brown sock with the black shoe. He also never used personal pronouns correctly a common language disorder in Aspies.