People have autism.
That's about all anyone can agree on these days. How many people have autism, how long it's been around, what we can do about it--these are all questions that lead to more questions than answers.
Many of these questions hinge on whether or not there is an actual rise in numbers of people who have autism, or just an increase in our ability to recognize and diagnose autism.
There was a diary written yesterday about that very question: What caused the increase in autism rate? Not vaccines. It was a fine, informative diary. The diary or the information presented in it is not my problem.
My problem is not one of scientific data but more of perception. Scientists can look at hard data and come to conclusions about rates and numbers and that is a good thing that we all want to see.
What we don't want to see is a perception formed off of internet fluff, and part of that is the oh-so-common comment that I see everyday which runs something along the lines of, "I've been told I have autism. I was shy/introverted/quirky/add your own adjective here as a kid but I grew out of it/dealt with it/was hurt by it/add your own consequence here"
All this does is feed into the notion perpetrated by the likes of Michael Savage and Denis Leary that this whole "autism epidemic" is just a bunch of people who are shy and quirky but call themselves autistic now. That people with an autism diagnosis are just weak willed and unable to work out their quirky problems on their own like their GI Joe uncle did, so they need a diagnosis, because America ain't what it used to be.
Let me be clear. Autism is NOT being quirky and shy. Just because you "have an uncle" who was kind of strange but did okay so he probably had autism does not mean that's what autism is.
Autism is a real diagnosis for millions of people. It effects their family life, their education, their jobs; for better or worse it effects every aspect of their lives. Some people with autism will need assistance for the rest of their lives, others will devise routines which help them get through their days but continue to struggle every day.
So, unless you or your quirky uncle or whoever else got a diagnosis, please don't sling around the term autism like it's a common cold. If you know and love someone with autism, or even if you have acquaintances on the spectrum, and want to know what you can do to help, this is something small but significant.
Please.