Absurdities of the day

There must have been something in the air this past week because there have been strange things written in the past couple of days. Perhaps it is being caused by the anticipation of the big announcement coming tomorrow (something like pre-wedding jitters).

This brings us to the first absurdity of the day - tomorrow's big announcement. If all of chatter is correct, the CDC is set to announce that rate of autism in the US has reached 1 in 100 (or possibly higher). This is all due, of course, to the tireless work of the medical community. They have been expanding diagnostic criteria, raising awareness, and getting better at finding autism in children everywhere. Without all of their hard work for the past twenty years, we wouldn't have as much autism as we do today. So, if you happen to be talking to your child's pediatrician tomorrow, make sure you give them a pat on the back for a job well done.

The second absurdity of the day is Michelle Dawson. Michelle Dawson wrote a post yesterday claiming that it is only due to her hard work that people with autism in Canada are recognized as people. Well, actually, it was her suing her former employer for discrimination that she says did the trick. Before that people with autism were apparently not "human beings with human rights". Although, like most things in life, there is a catch - to qualify as human you have to meet Ms Dawson's definition of "most autistics" -

By "most autistics," I mean those of us, the majority of autistics in Canada, who have not received unlimited ABA-based interventions starting early in life.

So, if you are a parent of a child with autism and want to make sure that your child is considered a person you will want to immediately move to Canada and stop any ABA interventions you are doing.

(For a better treatment of this nonsense go see what Harold Doherty has to say on the subject, I can't bring myself to take such absurdities seriously).

And since strangeness, like deaths or weddings, always come in threes, here is the last one. Did you know that Hitler may have had autism?

Scientists and behaviorist have studied the life and mannerisms of Adolf Hitler, some believe he may have had Asperger's Syndrome, which is part of the Autism Spectrum. Michael Fitzgerald, an expert in the field, concludes that Hitler did indeed meet all the criteria set out by Hans Asperger.

If the diagnosing of historical figures isn't absurd enough for you, the comments on the post take it to a whole new level. The people who are normally so quick to agree with historical diagnosing seem to be distancing themselves from this one -

I have Asperger's diagnosis (in 2003) and I'm a mother of two children on the autistic spectrum. ... I'm also ethnically Jewish and just the idea that someone who killed millions of Jews AND people with disabilities, including those on the autistic spectrum is claimed to be LIKE ME is preposterous! Hitler was not autistic - he was psychotic and evil.

Comparing Hitler's behaviour to that of autistic people will only further victimise us who are 'different' while giving the real abusers yet another excuse why their abuse of us is 'justified'.

So remember, if you feel the need to diagnosis a famous historical figure with autism, make sure you pick someone who wasn't psychotic and/or evil.