Autism: How different are they really?

Autism is one of the most common mental disorders diagnosed in children today. 1 out of every 150 children born today will be diagnosed with autism. In the documentary film "Autism: The Musical", the lives of several children are documented. Each child had a different type of autism. Some of them were high functioning with behavior that would be borderline acceptable at public schools. Others were not so high functioning. There was one child who couldn't speak, a girl who could only repeat what was said to her, and a boy whose brain was overloaded with dinosaur facts. While all these children sound like they could be mentally retarded, autism is a disorder that occurs in mostly intelligent children whose brains work in different ways than other normal children. But can they be taught to live a normal life and function well in mainstream society? With the right communication devices and help from family and friends, children with autism can grow up and be semi-independent and live full and satisfying lives.

Amanda Baggs is part of a new generation of adults with autism. The Autism Society of America estimates that 600,000 adults are living with autism in the United States (Gajilan, 2007). This number will most likely skyrocket because as stated before, 1 in every 150 children have autism. Amanda was born with severe autism. She didn't cry when she was born and had to be taught how to nurse. As a little girl, she could actually speak, but as she grew older her spoken language disappeared altogether. In order to communicate with others, she slowly learned how to type. Today, she relies on her computer or a voice synthesizer linked to a keyboard to interact with people. This device is similar to the one used by a young Russian adoptee in the aforementioned movie. Although, she has autism, Amanda still lives her life on her own terms. She has her own apartment and communicates well with her family and friends. Adults with autism live normal life spans and may require long-term medication, therapy, and residential placement (Gajilan, 2007). But people like Amanda show us that it is not out of the realm of possibility that children diagnosed with autism can live an independent fulfilling life.

Having a child today that is diagnosed with autism can be a life changing and traumatic experience for new parents. The challenges of raising a child with autism have even broken up marriages. Although it may be stressful and frustrating trying to raise a child with autism, a parent is the determining factor as to whether that child will learn to communicate and be somewhat independent. Children with autism have thoughts and feelings just like any other normal person; they just have to express them in different ways. With more research being done on autism every day, I believe that these unique individuals will be able to live among and easily interact with us in the near future. After all, they are really not that different.

 

Work Cited:

Gajilan, A Chris. "Living with autism in a world made for others" CNN 22 Feb 2007 <http//www. cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/02/21/autism.amanda/index.html

 

Hurry up and "weight"

I always liked the expression, “If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.” I like it because it is one of many expressions that prove to be true. We’ve all seen the commercials for the million dollar on-line business, the miracle weight loss pill, and the workout plan that is guaranteed to get us into shape in a matter of days. Truth is, short of winning the lottery and winning big money in Las Vegas, not many things in this world offer instant results and gratification. We usually have to work hard to get the things we want. Unfortunately, this also includes improving and maintaining our health.


A man recently tried to sue the fast food chain, McDonald’s because he claimed that they were responsible for his obesity and overall poor health. His lawsuit was dismissed because it was determined that he made a conscious, educated decision to consume fast food over a number of years resulting in his weight gain. Our society has become more and more spoiled over the years. Thanks to ever changing technology, we are used to getting information, directions, and addresses in the blink of an eye. We also want things to be this easy when it comes to our health. We want to take a pill, eat what we want, not exercise, and still expect to lose weight. Things don’t work that way in the real world. According Forbes.com, the United States is the ninth fattest country in the world with 74% of our population being obese. We would like to blame fast food chains and other food companies but ultimately the finger should point back at us. If we intend to be healthier and slimmer people, we can’t do it with a one day exercise program or a miracle pill. We need to change our lifestyles and stop blaming fast food chains and other food companies for our obesity.

We all know that the key to losing weight and improving our health is a sensible diet and plenty of exercise. However, we are either too lazy or too impatient to commit to this kind of routine. We like to eat things that are delicious and lounge on the couch in our spare time. We eat fast food because it satisfies two of our desires: it is very tasty and it is fast. As I stated before, technology has made us a very impatient society with the need for everything to be easily accessible in the shortest amount of time possible. This mentality is what directly affects our health. We treat our cars better than we treat our bodies. Until we maintain our bodies like we maintain our homes and our cars, we have no one to blame for our obesity but ourselves.

Obesity is a big problem in this country and it can be rectified by first examining how we live our lives. We need to stop putting the blame on places like McDonald’s and Burger King. They are only taking the money that we give them for food that we know is not good for us. Let’s take a look at ourselves and try to change our bad habits. Who knows, we may even be able to put McDonald’s out of business.

Life is not Fair

We've all heard the expression, "A few bad apples spoil the bushel." This is not always fair in certain situations. There are a number of African Americans in prison but that does not mean that all African Americans are criminals. Policemen are often mentioned in the same sentence as donuts and coffee but there are many police officers that eat healthy. Unfortunately, people tend to lump similar groups together and cast judgment on the whole group instead of judging each person on an individual basis. This statement is especially true in the case of registered sex offenders. In my opinion, sex offenses are some of the most despicable crimes that we have. To purposely violate another person's body without consent is one of the sickest and lowest things a person can do. In addition to serving a prison sentence which I think should be significantly longer, they have to register as a sex offender wherever they choose to live. They have to let neighbors know that they have committed a sex crime so these families can take appropriate measures to protect their children. I usually don't have much sympathy for sex offenders, but there are a few exceptions that should be taken into consideration.

A few years ago, there was a young man named Janarlo Wilson who had consensual sex with another teenager. The problem was that Janarlo was 17 and the young girl was 15 and they lived in Georgia. In the state of Georgia, this is statutory rape which automatically carries a mandatory prison sentence of ten years. Even though the act was consensual, Janarlo was sent to prison to serve the ten year sentence. This was clearly a case of a teenager making a bad decision. We are all lacking in the judgment department when we are teenagers. This is a time when our hormones are on overload. Was it a stupid thing to do? Of course, but as I stated before, the teenage years are full of stupid mistakes. In a perfect world, our teenagers would choose abstinence until they are old enough to understand the consequences of sex. But our world is not perfect, and unfortunately we learn valuable lessons through our mistakes. In this case, I think the punishment was ridiculous. There is no way that a judge with any kind of compassion should have passed that harsh a sentence. It was clear that both kids were at fault, and to severely punish Janarlo like he was the only responsible party was very unfair. The most he should have gotten in a situation like this was probation, community service at an AIDS clinic, and a life lesson about unprotected sex. He clearly was not the predator that most sex offenders are. Now he has to live the rest of his life with the stigma of being a sex offender. These are the types of cases that should be given consideration on a case by case basis.

Sex offenders, especially rapists are some of the most vile, evil, and sickest people on the face of the earth. However, I don't think that all sex offenders should be lumped together under one law. Repeat offenders and people that actually hurt their victims should get the maximum penalty under the law. If it were up to me, they would serve a life sentence. But in cases like Janarlo Wilson's, judges should use discretion. When it is clearly a case of stupidity and not brutality, it is okay to single these individuals out. There is no reason to ruin their lives because of a legitimate mistake. Treating them the same as the violent rapists does not seem fair. Then again, life rarely is.