Friday, August 19, 2011

Editorial: Autistic Adults Pose Challenges

Simon Greenspan's neighbors wanted peace, quiet and respect for the privacy of their own homes.
Simon Greenspan's parents wanted to keep their family together. They love their son and wanted to continue caring for him -- no small task, since he is a strapping 26-year-old with autism.
In recent years, those seemingly reasonable desires clashed, as a recent story by Plain Dealer reporter Peter Krouse chronicles.
The civil authorities got involved at the repeated request of the neighbors. Eventually, the Shaker Heights police levied thousands of dollars in nuisance fees against the Greenspans.
Today, Simon Greenspan lives in Ogden, Utah, in an apartment with 12 other adults with disabilities, and is being treated at a therapy center there. His parents' feelings are hurt, their family is divided and they question how their son's medical condition can fairly be classified as a criminal nuisance.

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