Ma 1

An Ma
Professor Batty
English 113B
26 March 2016
Autism is not a disease
Many americans today believe that autism is a disease and needs to be cured. The fact is
that, autism isnt a life threatening disease and there is no cure for autism. By definition,
autism is disorder that impairs the persons ability to communicate. So by definition, autism isnt
a disease. The people that want to cure autism are not open minded. They think every mental
disorder should be cured no matter how severe. Other people in the world want to help autistic
people. A person with autism cant spread their autism. The person with autism can still be
treated. Autism isnt a disease and the person doesnt face any life threatening situations.
Autism is a disordered that is usually diagnosed early on in the persons life. A parent
might notice their kid is acting differently but not know they had autism. Before her son Evan
was diagnosed with autism at age 3(Kam). There were many events that lead Kam to suspect
her son had autism like By age 2, Evan spoke no words -- not even "Mama" or "Dada."(Kam).
Just like all parents, Kam was severely shocked to find out that his son had autism. Luckily,
autism at a young age can be treated as their brain is still being developed. Just like there are
programs to help blind and deaf people, there are programs to help autistic people. As it is a
disorder and not a disease, it cant spread to another person. Furthermore, autism affects a the
persons social and communication abilities. For people with extreme cases of autism, it can be a
problem and acquires more attention. However, getting past the childs autistic childhood can be
hard. But once theyre more grown up, they dont need to be dependent.

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A lot of people see autism as a major disorder that needs a lot of caring for. To sugar coat
autism, it is basicly being unable to talk and communicate to people as well. There are many
people in the world that is socially awkward but arent autistic. The difference here is that the
socially awkward people are scared or shy about being social while the autistic people literally
cant be social. Autistic people need many help from their parents growing up, and social helping
later in their life. This latter group objected when people advocated special diets as a treatment
for autism...(Cascio). They arent in need of any medical treatment or of that sort. They can still
do normal things like, read or write. At the end, of the day an autistic person can still function
like a normal human without the communication ability.
Raising a child with autism can be a challenge. Especially during the toddler ages. It is
hard enough not knowing what a toddler wants, but trying to talk to a toddler with autism can be
a nightmare. Jeffery Howe, who has written articles about autistic children and fathers one, had
his son ...falling two and a half stories, breaking his pelvis and fracturing two vertebrae. He had
pushed his stuffed animals out the window, and lacking any understanding of gravity or height,
he simply wanted to join them in our yard(Howe). One of the reasons why Howes son fell is
because he couldnt tell his dad that his stuffed animal fell. His mind probably isn't capable of
understanding What will happen if I fall out the window to get my stuffed animals yet. Things
like height and gravity isnt easy to explain to a toddler especially ones with autism. Even though
raising an autistic child can be hard, it is what makes them unique and different from the other
kids. Just like every kid in the world, they will come across problems growing up, like being
talkative in class, starting fights. Just like autism, those things can be helped and many get better
over time. Autistic kids isnt in any danger or pain. The parents just have to love their child more

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and put more effort in. Curing autism on your child ,as Howe puts it, It would be sending E.T.
home(Howe).
With all the negativity autism has, it does have some positives. Autistic peoples brains
develop faster in certain areas than others. With the exception of them all having the inability to
communicate, they can be prodigies at anything. Kids like Jacob Barnett has autism but excels in
physics and astrophysics. Barnetts brain has developed so fast in physics that he has completed a
one-year program at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ontario at the
age of 15. People like Barnett can benefit the world later on in his life. There are also many
reports and beliefs that the famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was autistic. Although
this might not be one hundred percent correct, the work he left behind shows that he would of
most likely been autistic. Just like how Barnett shows proficiency in physics and astrophysics,
Mozart clearly showed proficiency in music. There are records that he was proficient on the
piano and violin at the age of five. Aside from the music aspect, there are also reports that
Mozart had unintentional movements with his hands, repeated facial expressions, and sensitive
to loud sounds. If Mozart didnt have autism, the world would have not gotten a musical genius
and legend like Mozart himself.
In sum, raising a child with autism is really hard. Many public service programs are out
there to help kids with autism. The child and the parents will face many obstacles in the way, but
that is what makes the child unique in their way. Not everything about an autistic person is bad.
They can become geniuses like Mozart or Barnett. In the end, autism only affects the persons
communication abilities and nothing that is life threatening. If treated early on in their life, their
communication skills can still be developed. Autism is what makes every child with it unique.

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Works Cited
Cascio, Ariel M. "Rigid Therapies, Rigid Minds: Italian Professionals' Perspectives on
Autism Intervention. Springer Link, Web.
Howe, Jeffery. "The Language of Autism: Disease or Difference?"Motherlode The Language
Of Autism Disease or Difference Comments. The New York Times,14 May 2014. Web.
Feature, Katherine KamWebMD. "The Challenges of Raising a Child With Autism."
WebMD, n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2016.