BronxWench

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Not at all... we're just infectious. ::grins:: I on the other hand pride myself on speaking, reading, and writing both English and American.

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And they'd be cosplaying it in Harajuka, and J-box would be selling the pantsu.

There is an uncomfortable assumption that all autistics are to a degree also ADD/ADHD, which is not a firm comorbidity. There is also a presumption that all autistics are behaviorally unstable. That is also not a firm given. Many autistic children, while delayed in their communications skills and sadly lacking in social skills, still manage to observe the basic rules of a classroom without acting up or acting out. My son's onset was regressive. He was developmentally normal until roughly 22 months. At that point, he gradually began to stop speaking, developed repetitive behaviors and eventually exhibited other early signs of autism. The onset was gradual enough that he was not formally diagnosed until the age of 4, at which point we entered him into an appropriate early intervention program. What I find somewhat disturbing is the notion that autistic children somehow come from homes where there is a broken adult either present or waiting to happen. That is not always the case, and the broad brush serves only to obscure the fine details that make this disorder a spectrum disorder. Every child is unique and requires a highly individualized approach to ensure that he or she develops to the fullest potential. Students in my son's program have gone on to college. Others will never be able to write their own name. Yet each one has, in all the years I have known them, never been even remotely aggressive, violent or used inappropriate language. If anything, they could serve as behavioral role models for my neurotypical daughter's classmates.

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Just to be precise, autism has a behavioral component, to be sure, but there really is no such thing as "behaviorally autistic." One is on the spectrum, or one is not. However, I will agree that parenting does play a large role in how an autistic child behaves, and it behooves parents to learn the basics of applied behavioral analysis and implement positive behavioral reinforcements, since those have shown to have the best results. As to the causes of autism, there is an organic component, and I am also convinced that there is a genetic predisposition that needs to exist. But since autism can manifest either from birth or occur as a regressive disorder, it remains to be seen what might trigger that genetic predisposition. (And apologies for hijacking the thread with my foray onto my soapbox...)

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As the mother of an autistic son, I'm put in mind of the Bruno Bettelheim theory that autism was caused by cold and undemonstrative parenting, which he termed "refrigerator mothering." It always struck me as utterly repugnant how the entire onus was placed squarely on the mother, when in my case, it is largely my husband who distances himself from our son. Bettelheim's revolting theories have been largely discredited by, unsurprisingly, real science.

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I used to post on FFN myself, and when my fiction went past the point of heavy innuendo, I came here to publish it. Obviously, I like it here, and although I did pull my work from FFN a while back voluntarily, that was for other reasons not related to content ratings. But I did read the ToS, and I did agonize over whether or not my innuendo crossed the line. I have teenagers of my own, and I decided that if I wasn't comfortable with them reading what I wrote, then it didn't belong on FFN. Part of being a writer is being able to actually read the rules.

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For you, my favorite paladin, I always have time!

I'm always willing to offer what little I know in terms of my own background and interests. I've worked in finance, and at some rather odd jobs as well such as in a cemetery. I read extensively and love history. I'm working on my skills as a rogue... ::looks at shortbow in closet and lockpicks on desk:: Oh, and I'm very good at snark.