Argh. Being both a dyke and an aspie, this sentence stung me in the heart. I didn’t choose either, and identified both last year (at age 17). Though I agree that children don’t know yet if they will be gay or not, and it doesn’t mean a problem for them in their early years, and it is also true that homosexuality does not have such a great impact on one’s life (as in ‘does not prevent or jeopardize staying alive on their own’), but come on, it was not so long ago when gays had their own place in the DSM. And I think we had it rightfully.

If I had to decide in this particular question, it would be a “which one of my hands should be severed”-kind of decision.

I have many many friends who are gay and many many friends who are autistic. I’m sorry but it is slightly impossible to try to compare the two. Homosexuality is not a mental discorder, a neurological disorder and there is no scientific evidence that dictates that “people are born that way.” It has become a very convenient for the gay community to refer to it as such when it works for their political rhetoric and to deny when it doesn’t. In any case, “the gay gene” theory was based on a sample size of 12. Seriously. If that’s science let me know.

Second point “children” are not gay. Children are 3, 4, 5 , 6, etc years old. Gay children are not using the facility in question. I seriously doubt it will make any difference in the “success” of any of it’s users. What kind of success are we talking about anyway?

Autism, on the other hand, is a serious neurological disorder. If autistic children are denied the multitude of services they require they may never speak, they may never tie their shoes, need I go on?

I believe that without services of any kind, most gay people do not require assistance with functioning in this world. For years and years gay people have sucessfully lived in a world where they may be atypical, but they are not neurologically impaired.

Does that not seem a little bit different? I don’t mean to be sarcastic, I honestly don’t. But when will it end??? People who choose an alternative lifestlyle have needs equal to (or in this case as important or more important) than children, toddlers, grade school aged children with a neurological disorder????????

The notion of this is utterly absurd and no doubt has more to do with the fact that gay adults who will use this community center are typically in higher income brackets, they patronize businesses in the area, and are economically a great thing for any community.

Which is the saddest thing I could imagine. The mother of the beautiful gay daughter clearly does not know anything about autism if she thinks her daughter’s chances of success are somehow comparable to the chances of “success” of an autistic child.

In fact, I’d love to hear her definition of “success.” For her daughter “success” would mean happiness and marriage and a good career in world where she is fully accepted.

She should know that the parents of autistic children have a much different definition of “success” for thier children: Like maybe one day they’ll stop banging their head against the wall, maybe one day, they’ll speak their first word, maybe, just maybe they’ll be able to to live independently as adult and not be institutionalized.

I’m really too disgusted to even think about this but one thing is just gnawing at me. Every parent of an autistic child that I know (which is 50+) has said the exact same words at one time or another “I can never die.” I have to be here forever for this child.

All my friends are gay. I have never heard one of their parents say those words. We are comparing sexual orientation and lifestyle choices with autism and it’s completely disturbing and sickening. Does it make parents of gay people feel so much better to believe their children were born that way and that it’s somehow just like being autistic? Well it’s not, there is no conclusive science to say gay people are born that way, and if there was, it’s still a lifestyle and behavior choice. No one has to act upon sexual desire. That’s a choice.

Autism is not a choice.