These words were spoken in class last week by my oldest son when asked to write a report on a disease such as cancer, Parkinson’s, or autism. He stood and firmly informed his teacher that autism is a disorder not a disease, and that his little brother is not diseased, he’s just different.
Insert proud parent moment here.
As a result, his teacher told him that autism is, in fact a disease. My son continued to argue the point and is now writing a paper, not on a disease, but a disorder.
Works for me.
Unfortunately I see a lot of people who refer to autism as a disease. It is not. Autism can’t be transmitted. It cannot be “caught”. Autism is not contracted due to any known environmental or biological agent. It is not a disease, it’s a disorder.
Autism is classified by the national Institute of Mental health as:
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), also known as Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDDs), cause severe and pervasive impairment in thinking, feeling, language, and the ability to relate to others. These disorders are usually first diagnosed in early childhood and range from a severe form, called autistic disorder, through pervasive development disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), to a much milder form, Asperger syndrome. They also include two rare disorders, Rett syndrome and childhood disintegrative disorder.
Notice that the word disease is not used. Problem solved, yes?
Unfortunately, no. A lot of otherwise educated people want autism to be a disease. a disease can be fought and cured. A disorder has a much slower path, requiring therapies, sessions, and time. Lots and lots of time.
But if you ask me, the kid below is worth all of that time.
His brother thinks so, too. And that makes his Stepmother and I incredibly proud of him. now if I can just get him to study harder…
Ah, well. One battle at a time.
Peace, I’m out
