[WOW] Anonymous woman says autistic child should be euthanized for being disabled

Actually, I fully expect it from a mother. Some have a superiority complex.

A man would ignore or confront, not leave a letter.

 

As a father of a 16 year old severely Autistic son, I wish I could say that this surprises me but it doesn't. I do think this is a woman who is self absorbed much like the Pom Pom Mom of yesteryear. This Mom who got so wrapped up in her perfect child/life that she wanted to bump off some other kids mom to benefit her own kid.

Families living with Autism become isolated from society. This was obviously a family who was making an effort to integrate their child back in to society only to find out why most families choose to live their life in a vacumn. As life progresses for these kids it becomes more difficult to take them to other peoples houses and this includes friends and family. People cringe when they see your kid coming.

My wife and I realized a few years ago, the best source of support is within our own peer group which are other families living with Autism. We reached out to other families and started fund raising to go on retreats together. Going out in public raised awareness. I'm sure some of the people who became aware of us felt just like this ignorant woman. There are so many others though that see us and come up to us to offering kind words of support or just a smile to our kid. That so outweighs people like this woman.

The thing is... When I didn't have an Autistic son, I was no different than most people who didn't know much about Autism and never thought about the effect on the child and their family. People get wrapped up in their own lives and own issues. That's understandable. I can't take issue with people for not knowing what they haven't experienced. I can't take issue with people who think what they will about a misbehaving child not knowing whether the child has a condition that is causing the behavior. What I do take issue with is people who verbalize their opinion to these families.

You are not going to change what people like this woman think. There is no use in trying. She is a lost cause with a lot worse problems than the child with Autism.

Our group of 16 families this past year visited Belize. We wanted to meet Autism families with less resources than we have. We boarded a bus at the Port in Belize and headed to a Special Needs School. The bus had no air conditioning and half the windows didn't roll down. We got there and were swarmed by the kids. Some of the parents of Autistic children were there to meet us. We gave the school educational tools and money. We bought lunch for the Autistic class and their parents.

We talked with the parents and shared experiences. These families were viewed as taboo there, much like with the venom in this letter. I met a Dad named Martin there. When I was introduced to him, Martin started crying, hugged me and said "I can't believe you guys came here on your vacation to show support to us". These parents at this school had never done anything as a group. 2 weeks after we left, they started their own Autism walk. Martin and I will be friends forever.

The family who received that letter need to know some good came from it. Like I said, you can't change people like that lady who wrote the letter,but there are more people out there than just her. Carry yourself with dignity and those with open minds and good hearts will come to know and appreciate your child's struggle. There are far more people who care.

 

Amen!!

 

Are they trying to say "wail" as in "Jump, Jive and Wail"?

So the person bothered by his noises? Meh... why don't YOU move, letter-writer?!?!

 

That letter wasn't written by a woman, much less another mother. You can just tell by reading it that it was written by a man - probably with no children.

He's obviously just pretending to be a mom to throw people off his scent.

 

.... and do what? Did she say/do anything illegal?

Ignorant and cold? Absolutely... but nothing more.....

 

Plot twist: Autistic boy's mother wrote the letter because she's an attention w**** looking for free handouts from angry readers.

 

Not funny.

 

Exhibit A.... Another person like the woman who wrote the letter.

 

Granville, I remember you sharing your story about your autistic child a few yrs ago. My daughter is autistic as well. She has made HUGE strides and last yr actually started Kindergarten (public school). By the grace of god she's doing really good and is about to start first grade next week.

I need to say this, you are an incredible person, and from what I can see a HUGE inspiration to many parents out there who are walking the same path as you. I know you would be the first to say that your child is the real inspiration!!!!!

You're getting out there and sharing your testimony, and more importantly providing hope for others that they're not in this alone. That you all went to another country to do this is flat out AMAZING!!!!! I totally understand why Martin started crying.

All we want to do is protect our children, and it's so sad to know that there's SO many damn hateful people in the world. I commend you for taking the high road and getting out there and making a difference for others who don't know where to start.

Your child is SO blessed to have you and your wife, but you and me both know that we're the ones who are truly blessed. Again Martin I commend you for sharing your story and being a shining light for others to see. God bless my friend.

 

Appreciate the kind words. God bless you and your family too. Congrats to your daughter!!! Check your message box.

 

Thanks Clutch. Appreciate the opportunity that your board provides to the community to discuss sports and life.

Check your message box.

 

Why are people surprised

 

Saw this on Reddit a few days ago and I couldn't believe the amount of people who agreed with the letter.

 

The world is littered with sociopaths who have no empathy for others, it is highly unlikely that they are all men. We tend to look at women as the more nurturing and caring of the two sexes, but in reality women can be quite vicious. Whether it was a man/woman isn't really important , what's important is not letting this person get away with this type of behavior! I feel sorry for this family and what they are having to go though, I hope they don't alienate themselves from society which happens quite frequently in situations like these.
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The person who wrote that letter does not represent the majority or they would have signed their name to it. It's important to remember that. It certainly doesn't cause the child's parents to feel less pain, but these type of stories do not lessen my faith in people. Far from it, the fact so many are outraged is proof that most human beings are decent and generally empathetic towards those who are defenseless.

 

Not saying it couldn't have been written by a woman, just that it seems like it wasn't. I don't have any evidence to back that up, but some of the words used and all the exclamation marks, etc......the writing style just doesn't suggest it was written by a woman.

Also, it makes perfect sense that a bitter old man with no kids would write something like this and say he was a woman WITH kids just to throw everyone off his scent. I mean, we're not exactly dealing with a Mensa candidate here...

 

I don't disagree.....

 

Nothing necessarily has to be done - but if the neighborhood knew who it was, I think they person might find out that there are consequences to being a jackass simply by not having as friendly neighbors.