I am the divorced mother of an Autistic 9 year old son who was diagnosed in 1998 at the age of 17 months. I am concerned about the lack of attention the hispanic and african american communities as well as single poor parents, and other ethnic communities receive in the media. In particular the recent NBC specials which primarily focused on upper middle class caucasion married couples with Autistic Children. I am in the majority and our voices needed to be heard, I am from NYC and I am now residing in Cheyenne Wyoming with my son due to the fact that I could no longer afford to raise my son in NY. Many parents like myself struggle to raise our children and with the slow decine in SSI payments being paid out, it has become an every day struggle for most parents to make ends meet. Divorce and death of a spouse is a reality for most of us and poverty is an even bigger reality for many parents raising children with disabilities. This is not what was shown in the NBC specials, I myself made it a point of calling NBC and leaving many messages concerning the specials to no avail. It is as if we are the ignored majority that the media just wants to sweep under the table.
I agree. Unfortunately the networks only look at the bottom line. So if people started boycotting their products that their sponsors endorse, they might get the point. That is the main thing I had against that special or any commercial on autism. Those are the upper middle class or rich class. And it doesn't bring to the forefront the main issue alot of these parents face. And that is an income factor.
Tammy
I am a little confused here. Your title says "Autism and the Hispanic Community"
Yet your post talks about poverty, divorce, death etc. These ladder topics effect all races in society. And so does autism. There is no statistics that I am aware of that says that autism effects one ethnicity more than any other.
As far as the specials on TV showing upper middle class caucasion married families with autistic children....Your right. But you know what? I actually am grateful that they are showing the country that it does effect those communities also. WHY? Because we all know that to get anything done in this country then we have to show that it DOES EFFECT those types of people. It's sad...but it's true. Nothing ever seems to get done around here unless these trageties do effect the upper middle class. I know for a fact that if that special would have been taped at my house that the whole country would have said..."Well...that would never happen to us because of this that and the other" I think it is imparative to educate the public that autism DOES EFFECT everyone. What better way to do that then to show the upper middle class??
Karrie
There is nothing wrong in showing the upper middle class but they should had shown that autism is not class,race, or gender specific. You could also say that the average person would say "well that does effect me, I am not upper class." And alot of the research and testing they do on new drugs is not down with upper class people. That might be why they pay so much per participant. But then that also depends upon the type of study they are doing. I know the kids pca did a medical study and got paid 00. And I wouldn't consider her upper middle class. She probably would fall into the middle class range.
Tammy
I am a never-married mom of a kid sx ppd.nos. I am professional educator, and while am not finacially wealthy, i am far above the poverty line. I am also African-American and and more concerned about peopel understanding that 'whoopin' a kid is not the answer to everthing. Among African-Americans, there is intense denial/rejection/suspicion against anything having to do with mental health issues or 'invisible' disabilities. I am a member of CHADD and they are making intentional, gigantic efforts to educate the community regarding Attention Deficit and getting appropriate care. That is what I'd like to see happening regarding Autism Spectrum Disorders. So many children in the more defined ethnic communities, such as Hispanic and African-American, are being inappropriately placed in Special Eduaction programs because of parental lack of knowledge, or proactive involvement. We are a long way from network specials. Janet