Misunderstandings about autism add to the challenge
9:14 p.m. Tuesday, July 22, 2008
"It's giving them the opportunities to have a camp experience like any other child would."
The summer camp at Heartspring is not for every child.
It teaches social skills, how to express yourself...
"What should she have been doing if she was sad?"
...And interact with others.
"Once you learn how to cope with it, you're basically normal again," said Chance, who's been diagnosed with autism.
One of every 150 kids is diagnosed with autism.
"Autism has just been a challenge for me. I'm working on it, very hard. I'm trying," Chance said.
"We know and we've known for years that this has nothing to do with bad parenting," Outreach director of autism resources Connie Coulter said.
So when Michael Savage, a national radio talk show host, makes such claims, counselors say it hurt the kids, their parents and the effort to raise autism awareness.
"I encounter people with that attitude daily," Teresa Arensberg said. "It's gotten to the point where it can be hard to take them out in public because you get looks from people, judgemental looks."
Some call it a hidden disability. While researchers haven't found out what causes autism, they say that doesn't mean the public shouldn't be understanding of their needs.
"It's our challenge to make sure responsible information gets out there and say what these kids can do, how we can support them," speech therapist Lindsay Randle said.
Support that adds to what the kids are able to do.
It does make it a challenge, but it's a wonderful challenge. I love it," Randle said.
A challenge, counselors say, doesn't need an outsider's inaccurate comments.
Later this week, autism groups will be calling for a national protest and boycott of the more than 300 stations that air Michael Savage's show.
Two sponsors have already pulled their ads.
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