Friday, February 17, 2012

'If Autism Makes Me Me, I Wouldn't Trade it for Anything'

Came across this on an Albany Times Union blog it really resonated. We as a field, need to stop recognizing people as having autism or a developmental disability, for that matter. Why can't they just be people and accept the fact that everyone is different?

Hi, I’m Zack Kilmer, and I have Autism.
More specifically, I have PDD-NOS which stands for Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified. There are 3 major classifications on the Autism spectrum: Autism, Asperger Syndrome, and PDD-NOS.
You can look up details if you want, but PDD-NOS is basically the name doctors stick on kids when they don’t meet all of the criteria of Aspergers or classic Autism, but still exhibit obvious deficiencies in social interaction, motor skills, and/or communication.
Those who know me are always shocked when I tell them. “I never would have guessed” is something I get a lot. This is understandable, as I’ve exceeded the wildest expectations of when I was young, and have become mostly normal at this point. You might just think I was a little awkward or quirky.

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