I All Ready Knew This

<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060219/hl_nm/autism_dc">Autism surrounded by misunderstanding-experts</a><br />n<br />n<blockquote>People with autism are more intelligent and able to function better than previously believed, but mistrust of doctors, biased tests and the Internet have bred myths about the condition, experts said on Sunday.<br />n<br />nAt a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, researchers presented reports showing that even autistics who do not speak can have above-average intelligence. They also offered additional studies disputing claims that vaccines can cause autism.<br />n<br />n"The current figures are that 75 percent of autistic people are mentally retarded, with the mute the most … impaired," said Dr. Laurent Mottron, an autism researcher at Montreal's Hopital Riviere des Prairies.<br />n<br />nBut Mottron believes the wrong intelligence tests are used to assess autistic children. Many are tested using the Wechsler scale, a common IQ test that includes questions about words and concepts learned in school.<br />n<br />nThe Raven's Progressive Matrices test measures abstract reasoning and consistently gives autistic children higher scores, Mottron said.<br />n<br />nThe average boost in score is 30 points, Mottron said, enough to put someone previously considered mentally retarded into the normal range and the average to gifted status.</blockquote><br />n<br />nMy boy is more than enough proof to me of this. He might not be able to speak but he is as smart as a whip, in his own way. Don't get me wrong his speech is coming along but he is no where near as dumb as people think he is just because he doesn't speak. He does things that would surprise a person and his sense of humor is flat wicked at times. The sense of humor is really odd in an autistic but he definitely has it.<br />n<br />nI guess the moral of the story is don't judge a book by its cover. There is a lot more hiding underneath than you know.<br />n<br />n<b>Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Martin Luther King, Jr.</b>