Isolation, scarce resources are still big problems

Marketers of specious miracle cures woo desperate parents

Michael Fitzpatrick, a London doctor, says autism has become better known and accepted in the 15 years since his son was diagnosed with the condition. But has increased awareness improved the quality of his son’s life? Not really, he says. Services remain scarce, unrealistic media portrayals exacerbate social ostracism, and high unemployment and public spending cuts promise an uncertain future. From the  [UK] Times:

Today autism seems to be everywhere. It has become a common, even fashionable condition, linked to talent and creativity or simply making people interestingly different. But the fact that everybody now talks about autism does not make life any easier for people affected by it.

… “Normalizing” autism may reduce stigma, but at the risk of trivializing the problems of those with more severe learning difficulties and also of underestimating the extreme aloneness that results from the social impairment of autism, even in higher-functioning individuals.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 12th, 2009 at 2:11 pm and is filed under autism, media, normal, NOT2BEMISSED, public attitudes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.