Reply #91: I spend 8 hours a day with kids with autism

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and I think that what this article fails to mention is that the kids with PDD/ASD who they interviewed are really exceptional individuals. I work at the Virginia Institute of Autism, which is a non-profit school here in Charlottesville that was started by a few parents of kids with autism. We provide services for about 25 kids, each paired up with a staff member. I don't have any statistics about the population of individuals with autism who are "high-functioning," but from my experience at least none of the kids at my school are even aware of their label. Even the most developmentally on-par kids at my school aren't aware of the label they carry with them.

It's helpful that towards the end this article the author talks about the DSM/psyc101 features of PDD/ASD; unfortunately she insists on painting the Rain Man savant portrait of ASD. The nature of the spectrum is so much more debilitating and crushing than you can ever imagine.

At our school, we employ a method of teaching called Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA.) It's the opposite of conventional Special Ed. It incorporates all of what we have learned about contingency, reward vs. "punishment", behavior chains/routines, etc into a coherent teaching strategy that allow the kids not to ignore their inner drives, but to engage in socially unacceptable behavior only during times when it is appropriate. Our goal is not to program the kids into blank faced automotons who are filled with energy, but rather to allow the kids to gain and build independence in every aspect of their lives. These kids are able to learn this way (it's perfectly predictable, routine and structured and builds in time for independent play) and it DOES allow them to have more independent and more fulfilling lives.

From reading an article like this, it seems that allowing kids who are able to encapsulate their personality into a cogent theory of self allows their savant skills to fluorish. That is simply not reflective of the reality of PDD/ASD. It is true that for the most part, you will find that kids with PDD/ASD seem to be wired to enjoy or excel at a certain activity or subject. Kids who lie in one very narrow part of the spectrum are able to understand that their interest/obsession is unique, that they are different from their peers, that they are autistic, etc. What necessarily goes hand in hand with this is a less pervasive disconnect from reality, therefore a greater ability for self-regulation. In short, they are able to understand that their quirkiness is somehow socially isolating/aberrant.

Our kids just don't have that. What it comes down to is not "act autistic," but rather being aware that certain behaviors when not appropriately regulated are socially stigmatizing/somehow bad. The kids featured in this article clearly delineate themselves from "neurotypicals" and unfortunately, the article frames it as some self-actualizing escape from the chains of special ed.

Leaving kids with autism to their own devices and explore their "autistic" side not only ignores the issues that the vast majority of the population of PDD/ASD individuals face, but also is dangerous because it blinds people with little or no experience with PDD/ASD to what they are really like. For most of our kids, it's not about creativity or cultivating their "autistic" sides. It's about independence and self-reliance.