Autism: The News Isn’t All Bad - By: Clifford VanGaren

Autism has been in the news again over the past few months and, unfortunately, it hasn’t always been the most positive press. Comedian/actor and writer Denis Leary released a new book in October, and in it Leary expressed some comments about Autism that were at best insensitive and at worst completely wrong and inflammatory. The media picked up on it and soon excerpts from Leary’s book were everywhere. The good news is that Leary’s opinion (that most children diagnosed as Autistic are simply academic underachievers whose parents have failed at their job and are looking for something to blame), ignited a firestorm of protest, along with articles explaining Autism and its treatment.

So, if one were to look at the net effect of Leary’s rather negative take on the disorder, I would suggest that ultimately the initial negative publicity was short and painful for many of us to hear, but it resulted in a public information campaign that has likely provoked more recognition and positive discussion than we have seen in years.

Having spoken to many parents in recent months, I recognize the confusion and sense of self-doubt that negative comments can cause. It can difficult enough to cope with caring for an Autistic child at the best of time; the challenges are many and sometimes it can feel like progress is infinitely slow. We all have days or weeks when we wonder if everything we are doing is simply wasting our time. Negative comments and the discussions they spawn can be difficult to deal with and tend to re-enforce feelings of frustration. But this incident illustrated yet another reason why support groups are so important. During times of doubt, caregivers can find strength in each other’s successes and by coordinating responses, a more effective message can be sent to the media.

I definitely saw the effect in action this time. A potentially disasterous media storm only brought families affected by ASD closer together and ended with the public having a better understanding of the challenges we face.

About the Author

Clifford VanGaren PhD, works with families having to adopt to a child suffering from Autism. After his own daughter was diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome, VanGaren began volunteering with a local ASD support group, and has contributed related articles to numerous publications.

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Clifford-VanGaren/48923

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