Comments on: On Good Morning America, June 10

By: laa and family

laa and family — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 10:57:16 +0000

I’m late in commenting here.. I didn’t get to see this as it aired, but learned about it on another blog. I was so happy to see this in “mainstream” media – finally! I was also happy to see that you were in it, you are a wonderful spokesperson for parents who accept their child’s autism. To think that they consider “neurodiversity” to be something new!

By: Last Week’s Top Posts

Last Week’s Top Posts — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 16:01:39 +0000

[...] If You Happen to Be Near a TV from 7-9am Tomorrow… See below. [...]

By: The White Flag?

The White Flag? — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 07:00:13 +0000

[...] after the Good Morning America segment on neurodiversity aired on Tuesday, I was asked to do an interview with CFRB in Canada, on the [...]

By: Emily

Emily — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 22:59:42 +0000

Nicely said, Regan.

By: Regan

Regan — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 19:49:48 +0000

Man, maybe it’s me, but between a lot of comments there seems to be this zone that is missing–that acceptance means “giving up” or “dealing with heartbreak” and doing something has some kind of necessary relation with rejecting western medicine and detoxing.

I do something, every day. I teach and involve Eleanor in the life of the community and seek to give her as many opportunities as I can for choice, a rich life within her terms, and sincere appreciation that she is a valuable and important person. She’s come a long way and if I am really honest, is probably the most genuine person in the family at this point.
I suffer because of the politics of this diagnosis, and the future, which is more dependent on other people and systems. But right now, because of Eleanor herself–uhn-uh, no way.

By: Kristina Chew, PhD

Kristina Chew, PhD — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:50:59 +0000

Being happily “blessed with the responsibility to care” for my son, I’ve learned that not seeing his disabilities as a loss and a deficit changes things profoundly, and makes his strengths and talents clearer, and shows us how best to teach him. The best cure for wishing for “recovery” is to see how a child can learn and change and grow, thanks to the hard efforts of parents and teachers every day.

By: liquid zeolite

liquid zeolite — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 17:41:59 +0000

To wish for a cure for neurological conditions in some cases isn’t much different than wishing for world peace for for the Chicago Cubs to win a world series. Acceptance does make more sense as long as we temper it with vigilance to see if anything we can do on our part will help with symptoms. IMO, to disregard things like diet changes, avoidance of certain chemicals, avoiding artificial food additives, detoxing of heavy metals, etc which can “turn down the noise” or prevent adverse reactions is right. Those blessed with the responsibility to care for autistic children should never give up on finding ways to improving their child’s symptoms. That doesn’t mean you’re looking for a cure, that means you’re going to do your part to stay up to date on the latest findings and research, to consider approaches which wreak of “common sense” in regards to eating a healthy diet and avoiding the chemical assault we’ve been under for the past 30 years (See bodyburden.org for more). It also means avoiding fluoride, chlorine, and a host of other harmful chemicals that can adversely effect those with compromised immune systems. To accept that we live in a toxic world which causes havoc on our health (and sometimes leads to disease) is not enlightenment, it’s denial, and I’m happy to bring this to this boards attention.

By: Kristina Chew, PhD

Kristina Chew, PhD — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:20:29 +0000

Am with you on this, Tracey—-sometimes I think the whole notion of “cure” is a sort of buzzword that sounds like what should be said.

By: tracey

tracey — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:20:21 +0000

I just watched the story on-line and have begun reading the comments. One thought that keeps bugging me is symantics. The gentleman who spoke about the importance of finding a “cure” then turned around and said, to make life easier and more productive. Ok…you are either curing or you are not…there is no in between. The neurodiveristy movement is not advocating ignoring. They are saying that the focus and money should not be about fixing, but about making their lives better. I have two children who some might consider a “moderately severe”. I don’t believe there is a cure. Like there isn’t a cure for down syndrome or dyxlecia. But I do believe there are therapies that give significnalty change their lives for the better.

By: Emily

Emily — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 01:42:49 +0000

” taste, smell and percieve music based on colours based on each key and I associate people and abstract concepts with scents that don’t exist.”
You’re not in Switzerland, by any chance, are you? If so, I’ve written about you before. Do you taste intervals?