Parents and Doctors Create Monsters Out of Autistics

all a think of to say to this story is disgusting. Then again There is a school in Boston called Higashi  It cost a fortune for parents with autistic children to attend as it is residential care and protection.The results of how well they work with the autistic kids is awesome.So again its down to money.

Why on earth would someone want to share thoughts like this about their own child with the entire internet as well? That is so sick

Amy ..

I read some of the stuff written by Ann Bauer and I was struck by how wearing it all was . Some of the terms too she used seemed to me to be anguished - even angry at her own situation .

What's really worrying with all the so called mental health modernizations going on in various countries is the way large subsets of the populations with different mindedness are not catered for and fall quickly into the social shadows  again .  In the UK I have learned about a young woman who killed herself and many of friends (In the Borderline Personality Disordered community) have been very pained over some time now  and there is a patchy State support response to people which frankly creates serious risk .. 

What's clear to me is the politics of care (that form Care Services)  have to become reframed and better prioritised because many people are not either getting care or its being located to massive differences in quality also subject to people's ability to pay .. I really would like to see country States allocating budgets to people to create a quality driver that can be governed by people themselves with state assisted purchase power ..

I often write for a health website called Trusera.com.  My analysis of this woman's extremely one-sided story can be found here.  If you want the abbreviated version, it would be this:

" Autism does not make a person violent. Other people's reactions to autism over a lifetime makes a person so tired of fighting what they feel inside, that they turn the fight outward. They become violent against people who tell them what they are doing is wrong, because they are tired of always being wrong.

It is everyone's responsibility to stop the violence before it starts. That takes understanding, compassion, and a willingness to accept people for who they are." -- Whirlwind on Trusera (aka ManagerMom on blogger)

money and education. don't you think Ann Bauer must have had money to push Andrew into all the crap she pushed him into? i really hope my associates write and publish

i wrote MORE than that in my comment. NowPublic is FREAKING BROKEN!!

Ann says "golem"

my mother said "demon"

and that was before the prescribed drugs.

you are CORRECT, Jordan! GREAT catch!!

Thanks for the story.  I never saw autistic children or heard of that condition until the 1980's or 90's.  Did something new happen then?  I am afraid that unless this nation changes the way it deals with mental illness, these lovely children will one day join the 1.25 million mentally challenged persons currently in prison, some suffering inhumane conditions - 23 hours a day in solitary confinement, some abused by prison guards and/or other inmates, some gassed, tasered, or dying in restraint chairs. 

The petition at the link below is an opportunity for you to help decriminalize mental illness. Please take a moment to sign the petition and write a sentence about the need for CHANGE.  Save our sick citizens from prison, because treatment is more humane, less expensive, and promotes public safety. 

http://www.change.org/actions/view/support_the_national_criminal_justice_act 

Please tell your representatives in Washington that you support a thorough examination of decades of failed criminal justice policy in the U.S.  You may want to mention these issues – feel free to copy and paste:

1) decriminalize mental illness

2) repeal the death penalty

3) remove the NEED for private prisons by removing the mentally ill from prisons, potentially saving billions off America’s annual prison budget 

4) end mandatory sentencing

5) end three-strikes laws

6) limit judges' ability to give ridiculously long sentences – establish uniform sentencing laws to guarantee equal justice. 

And if you are bold, include

7)  Investigate the secret arrest and wrongful death of Larry Neal, a lifelong mental patient who died under secret arrest whose family has been denied any records and accountability about his secret death for five years (see link below).

Blessings!

Mary Neal
http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com

My wife, who is a special education administrator, says the schizophrenia is often comorbid with autism. One doctor ruled out schizophrenia, but a second or third opinion (really important in cases like this) might very well find otherwise.

Thank you for posting this, Mary. i didn't yet read your website about Larry Neal, so number 7 was not on my list. i signed the petition with the following:

1. Start a program to filter "uncaught" criminals from the power structure of the US Government, such as the persons with sociopathy (an anti-social personality disorder that actually is beneficial to a person in power-seeking but is terribly damaging to ALL people and social groups touched by these persons).

2. Punish, and enable the prosecution and punishment of, people who commit "transparent crimes" like mental abuse and harassment in workplaces instead of allowing it to be swept aside by corporate interest, a toothless EEOC and "legalese."

Other items i agree with that have been submitted before me:

1) Decriminalize mental illness (recognize the difference between acts committed during self-awareness and acts of "differentness").

2) Repeal the death penalty. It has clearly not provided a benefit to any society that has used it, and has caused the deaths of innocent human beings. One mistake is too many.

3) Eliminate the NEED for private prisons by removing the mentally ill from prisons, potentially saving billions of dollars in the USA’s annual prison budget.

4) End mandatory sentencing.

5) End all three-strikes laws.

6) Limit judges' ability to give long sentences & establish uniform sentencing laws to guarantee equal justice.

P.S.: "We are sorry, but the spam filter on this site decided that your submission could be spam. Please fill in the CAPTCHA below to get your submission accepted." This is just not acceptable...

Thank you, dear friend, for posting this. Thank you more for writing your analysis of Ann Bauer's story. It is excellent. It is right on the mark. Thank you.

p.s.: "We are sorry, but the spam filter on this site decided that your submission could be spam. Please fill in the CAPTCHA below to get your submission accepted." i barely wrote anything and it thinks it's spam. if i didn't believe in the IDEA of NowPublic.com so much, i would have abandoned the website forever at least three times over by now. IT IS EXTREMELY FRUSTRATING. the CAPCHA isn't even readable!! YyU63? Yyub3?? This is like my complaints about security efforts getting out of control!!

i hear you Otto Hunt. but... i think that schizophrenia is way too often diagnosed where it does not exist, instead of spending time investigating and seeing the true condition: different behavior and internal processing that ISN'T schizophrenia (or whatever candy diagnosis we could fill in).

It might LOOK like bipolar/schizophrenia to some people who THINK they know what "normal" should look like, but it's NOT the actual issue.

There are lots of comorbidities, yes. There are also a lot of "look-a-like" clinical symptoms. Some doctors apply diagnostic labels because they EXPECT the comorbidities that are "popular" at the time. This is a prime example. WORSE: some administrators (healthcare companies) REQUIRE a diagnosis to be written in on the FIRST doctor visit. The human brain is far too complex for that to be acceptable or even scientifically valid. Doctors are pushed into quick diagnostics because they are not paid for long sessions (not paid by the health/insurance companies). This sets a "standard" and a "tradition" which is anti-healthcare.

i don't doubt that these conditions can co-exist; i take issue with the damage "health professionals" are doing to people by incorrectly diagnosing their patients (customers!) and actually GIVING these people the problems they diagnose through improper treatment. Like the "self fulfilling prophecy," incorrect treatment can CREATE whatever problem the doctors want to see (want to be able to have written in on those papers and which they believe they KNOW how to "treat").

ECT, for example, is VERY destructive and can CREATE schizophrenia-like, bipolar-like or other "look-a-like" conditions via BRAIN DAMAGE. So too can medication.

Careful!

p.s.: "We are sorry, but the spam filter on this site decided that your submission could be spam. Please fill in the CAPTCHA below to get your submission accepted." i can't READ THIS CAPTCHA EITHER. zLJGD? 2LJGD?

I have to challenge ManagerMom's assertion that "Autism does not make a person violent.  Other people's reactions to autism over a lifetime makes a person so tired of fighting what they feel inside, that they turn the fight outward.  They become violent against people who tell them what they are doing is wrong, because they are tired of always being wrong."

Perhaps this is true in some cases, but I don't believe that has been the case with my son or the other autistic children I know that have struggled with aggression and/or violence.  The young man in question here is an adult though, and is less profoundly affected by autism than my son, so it's quite possible that he is frustrated at what he perceives as a lack of acceptance and that that contributes to his aggression.

However, when you have a 9- or 10-year-old boy with virtually no functional communication (despite having tried every method and device known to man) who rages because he is unable to tell you what is wrong or what he wants/needs, it can hardly be blamed on people telling them that what they feel inside is wrong, etc.  In that case, while it may not be entirely accurate to say that autism causes violence, it IS a direct result of the communication deficiencies that are a result of autism.

I think that there exists the perception that parents that pursue therapies/treatment for their children with autism do so because they are unable or unwilling to accept them as they are.  That they want their children to be "normal".  That they feel their children are defective and their goal is to "fix" them.  I'm sure that there is a very small population out there for whom this may be true.  I know of one instance of this phenomenon personally, unfortunately.

But for the majority of us, it is not about curing our kids because we want them to be normal or because we give a damn what anybody else thinks.  For most of us, it's about trying to help our children navigate a world that is so obviously painfully difficult for them.  It's about easing their struggles and alleviating the distress that they experience on a constant basis.  It's about trying to provide them with some measure of independence and human dignity.

The members of the autistic population that are vocal and advocate acceptance and neurodiversity do not represent everyone on the spectrum.  Sadly, the ones that need the most help are the ones without a voice of their own.  The ones like my son who are not content and who are not satisfied with their circumstances.

I pray that my son will some day be counted among the ranks of those that are capable of sharing their thoughts and wishes.  Those that are comfortable with their autism, the quirks and the strengths.  Those at ease in their own skin.  I consider that "cured".

Hi Judy A.,

i respect that you have a personal set of experiences here and that they differ from mine. i think the best way for me to start either a response or a conversation with you ABOUT your response (some good points i agree with, others that i would like to discuss because i do not agree with them)... is to point you to "silentmiaow." This is a woman who would be considered severely handicapped and incapable of communication... yet she had to learn "OUR language" in order to communicate that she's very capable and very expressive... in "HER language."

Check out her video "In My Language": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnylM1hI2jc

i add that it need not be autism that's the roadblock: deafness, blindness, language... no matter the obstruction, difficulty to communicate creates frustration; when frustration builds up enough, it does tend to become rage. i should know. i've been trying to make myself be understood for decades and i am an excellent communicator. i have autism, but autism need have no role in creating this frustration for countless people, so i see no good reason to put a formula together where this communication barrier, caused by autism, means that autism leads to violence. anger leads to violence, not autism.

If you feel like discussing or arguing constructively, i'd be more than happy to. it's not my desire to create conflict and i don't want to offend you since you sound quite sincere and well intentioned.

-jace
dysamoria

How can you criticize Ann Bauer's position?  Her son beat her; another time he picked her up and threw her across the room.  Regardless of the cause of his actions, he is autistic and violent.  He has no other physical or mental impairments.  How is a mother supposed to deal with a son like this?  Why on earth do you call for her being arrested? I question your judgement in this case. 

i question your objective view (nice anonymous name). there are many more details to the Bauer case than presented in Ann Bauer's character assassination story on her son. did you know she had him doctored with several known-complicating psychiatric drugs AND that he was given electro-convulsive treatments? or what about the long term social abuse he was victim to? this is why i'd hoped my associates would write a full story on this topic; i don't have the stamina. based on the results of their research, neither do they; it seems it's too distressing and complicated for either friend to cope with. do some research on Bauer's earlier articles. she's given all the rope needed to hang her.
violence and autism do not go hand in hand, but violence and racism DO.

You are the sick one , who has no empathy for someone who is crying for help & understanding.

I agree with you 100%! I also question this crazy person calling for Ann Bauer's arrest. I didn't get it. Ann is crying out for understanding while shaing her life. I admire her bravery!

Barbara, Bauer is isn't crying for help and understanding. She's venting anger, frustration and dismay at what is actually her failure to "fix" her child. The one who is most lacking empathy is Bauer herself, because she subjected her son to endless and forceful attempts to change his nature, resulting in corrupting the child into a distressed, angry, violent young adult. This is common in parents of children with autism when they do not have the empathy or wisdom to accept the nature of their child as being different from their "preferences" or expectations. Many parents of autistic children become very negative about the condition and refuse to accept it. There is actually a statistic for male parents of autistic children, but i don't know the numbers. True empathy starts with NOT causing harm to someone in order to change them to suit your own personal comforts and definition of "normal." Do you electrocute a down's syndrome child to "fix" his/her brain? Surely not. But Bauer's son received countless drugs and even ECT, all in order to make him different from the way he was born. That's cruel.