I see that Ari Ne'eman and ASAN have yet a new crusade and that is to exonerate and free Zakhqurey Price, an 11-year-old autistic boy who was being restrained by some special educators due to some behavioral issues and in the process injured the special educators and is now facing felony charges. One of Ne'eman's and ASAN's recommendations is that the charges against the young boy be dropped. They are crusading other ND's to write letters to the principal of the school and to have legislation passed that would give protections to handicapped children such as these in future situations.
Normally, autism's gadfly would be praising Ne'eman and saying perhaps this is a rare example of ASAN actually doing something good, as in the past when they have criticized the judge Rottenberg center (of course this is aside from the issue that ASAN does not do much more than give lip service opposing Matthew Israel and his ilk and spends more time protesting autism speaks than the electric shocks and other aversives that Israel and his colleagues dispense). I would agree this boy was too impaired to know what he was doing, had a disability/disorder/disease which would not make him culpable of these actions and though I don't know all the circumstances, I would probably be in favor of dropping the charges. It is likely a diminished capacity defense would be warranted under the circumstances.
However, in this case, it is my opinion that attention needs to be brought to inconsistencies on Ne'eman's part (seemingly so common for him) in regards to this issue which at the very least reduces his and ASAN's credibility.
Ne'eman has written an essay ,entitled 'equality demands responsibility', in which he completely digresses from the tenets that he is currently expounding upon to help protect and give rights to Zakh.
Ne'eman complains of a Dr. Phil show in which a case similar to Zakh's is presented and Ne'eman feels this puts people with ASD in a bad light:
Dr. Phil portrays those of our neurology as unstable, aggressive and out of control. As a community, we can probably agree that this alarmist ratings ploy is not the face we want to present to the public.
Of course Ne'eman wants to make a public case out of this 11-year-old boy.
Ne'eman goes on with other interesting statements in this essay, describing a character with an ASD in a television show who commits a crime and then has charges against him dropped:
it arguably paints almost as insulting a picture as Dr. Phil. When Jerry’s threatened colleague agrees to drop the charges against him—after learning about his unfortunate “disorder” and ensuring that he leaves the firm for “treatment”—the message sent is a simple one: his actions were simply outside of his control. This makes for good television, but does it really benefit our community as a whole if autistic identity is portrayed as a defense against assault? The resulting implication is not a positive one.
Ne'eman goes on to make other baffling statements in light of his new position about this 11-year- old boy's situation:
Yes, we are autistics living in a neurotypical society. Undoubtedly, that brings about certain pressures and problems. But if we are to demand equal legitimacy, if we are to assert that a “cure” is not only unnecessary and undesirable but also morally reprehensible,(emphasis added) then we must accept for ourselves equal responsibilities. Accommodation within the law can be sought when reasonable, exemption from the law cannot be.
Ne'eman then goes on with a homily about how terrible it is that there is a trend among persons with Asperger's syndrome to use this as a defense when charged with crimes. So apparently it would seem he is opposed to a diminished capacity defense for criminal behavior under any circumstance for persons on the spectrum.
He claims that curing this 11-year-old boy of this neurological condition that caused him to be charged with felonies is not only unnecessary but is morally reprehensible.
One wonders why Ne'eman is not more consistent in his thinking. Based on the essay he wrote about equal responsibility, one would think that Ne'eman would be helping to prosecute the young man accused rather than saying that the charges should be dropped. Ne'eman would be recommending juvenile hall or institutionalization for this boy. After all, this young man should be living up to his responsibilities if he wants to be treated as an equal. A cure for his condition would destroy who he is, it would be totally undesirable, so instead one would think Ne'eman would want him prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and have the book thrown at him.
Instead Ne'eman not only recommends dropping the charges but he is recommending accommodations under the IDEA and behavioral support which constitutes "treatment" for this "disorder" which Ne'eman put in quotes in the example from the television show.
Well, I continued to be baffled by the logic of neurodiversitites.
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38 comments:
No, Harry, you get it wrong again as usual. This was not just a boy throwing a tantrum. It was a boy who actually assaulted people and resisted being restrained and inflicted injury on people and he was charged criminally. According to Ne'eman's old essay he should not be allowed to have a diminished capacity defense and he should be culpable for his actions, yet now Ne'eman is saying something else, get real!
http://counteringageofautism.blogspot.com/2010/01/herd-immunity-is-not-responsible-for.html
The grandmother's story of what really happened is on my blog. As is my contention that you screwed the pooch on this one.
Kim: As usual you get it wrong. The grandmother's story as to what happened has no relevance to this post. The subject of this post is Ari Ne'eman's inconsistencies in saying on one hand that autistics should be held accountable for their bad behavior and then saying something entirely different in this case. Such lack of insight seems par for the course for you.
Seriously,
It's an 11 year old Autistic child. Not a professional, adult criminal.
Socrates: Ne'eman made no distinction between juveniles and adults in his essay. There is a criminal system for prosecuting juveniles, even young juveniles under the age of 14 in most places in the USA, though it is different from the adult justice system and they are not treated the same.
Therefore, the point originally stands that according to Ne'eman's essay, autism should not be used as culpability in crime regardless of person's age, so his credibility is zero here. And, apparently since you are involved in a British ASAN affiliate, your credibility is zero also.
Autism may be part of the reason but it should never be used as an excuse.
As a parent that spent YEARS (toddler, preschool), dealing with meltdowns, headbanging, hiting, the use of Risperdal (age 6 to 8) to deal with the anxiety and behaviour, and now has a mouthy, drug free, hands and head to himself, normally behaving 10yr old, instead of one that I was certain by now would be in a Behavioural Class and is one of the better behaved in his class... WHY?? B/c I dug a deep dark trench of what was right and what was wrong and said "NO"... and took away toys, tv, video games etc etc... Started at 2min (no meltdowns allowed - and yes it got ugly at times) to now I can go a day or 2... and have... I don't like being called names... and geez... I no longer am...
Then when they complained at the end of Gr 3 (he's now in Gr 5 and doing AMAZING) - without any warning, 3 days before school was out and it wasn't his main teacher but the one that taught English only - I threw a hissie and demanded Ontario's PPM 140 - ABA for school's - be put in and we got playground and classroom social skills programming, 1/4 time support, OT as a team member to deal with the claustrophobia issues, and a token system set up by PDD and it all written into the IEP.
If you can teach appropriate behaviour to a 2 to 4 yr old.. you can teach it to anyone with any diagnosis.
A diagnosis is NOT an excuse. Just changing the way school does things won't fix anything. The job starts at home, back when he was a toddler, with the word "NO". There's MUCH more to that story... and I suspect it will come out in court. Hopefully the judge will look at both sides and deal with the situation in a manner that the child gets help.
Insight, yes, you're dripping in it. You no more reported the "whole story"; we don't have that. You didn't even have the grandmother's side. Where your focus SHOULD be on the child, where your concern should be for the child and his well-being, it is instead on whether Ne'eman is consistent. I'll grant you this, you're consistent.
Funnily enough, I think the essay was written when Ari was about 15. Is that so?
All right, how about this: yes, I believe that for there to be true equality someone on the autistic spectrum should be held accountable to the laws of society just as someone not on the spectrum would be. But to me this isn't so much an issue of criminality (yes, okay, he fought back at those teachers but hear me out - and this would go equally for someone not on the spectrum by the way) - if someone were going against the given recommendations as to how any child - or even yourself! - were to be treated when upset, and instead of giving them the space and cool off time they needed, did not allow him that (as I understand it, that's why he dumped things out etc. in the classroom, out of sheer frustration) and then ran at him and held him - have you ever seen a restraint? I've never been restrained myself, only been in the room, and that was unnerving enough. So imagining this little guy with several teachers coming at him - of course the body's natural response is going to be fight or flight, and I'm thinking flight wasn't an available option.
I am against restraint for anyone, ASD or not. I believe restraint can only serve to escalate a situation and create fear, anger, and resentment *on both sides* - and I don't think that's what anyone needs.
As for Ari's statements, I can see why you'd get the idea he was flip flopping a bit, but I don't think he'd seriously say that an ASD person convicted of, say, murder, should be allowed to use ASD as a defense and I think he'd be rightfully upset if they did. I think he was just concerned about popular cultural portrayals of people with ASD as weird, different, and criminal (potentially), and/or violent - as the first several portrayals I remember seeing (on Law & Order, etc.) did - which is a dangerous notion to put out there. Or at least, unsettling. But just as unsettling to me would be the suggestion that ASD is grounds for a diminished capacity defense to a murder! True social misunderstandings, perhaps, could be discussed if they occured, but I don't think (and hope not) that anyone is suggesting ASD folks be allowed to get away with crimes because of their ASD.
Same thing with criminal assault, of course, but I think I've already said why I don't think this was that. How do you feel about restraint procedures? If you see them as a necessary evil or a good procedure to follow, I recommend doing some reading - and my feeling about restraint goes for everybody, as I said - it's not a pleasant or nice thing for anyone involved.
@Socrates: Actually I think Ne'eman was about 17 when he wrote that essay, but I am not sure. If at 21, not out of college yet, with no experience in anything his nomination for a top disabilities post in government is okay, his being 21 does not prevent him from being a major spokesperson for ND then the fact he was 17 when he wrote the essay is irrelevant.
@Kim: I am concerned for the child's welfare and everying about the child as I am for all handicapped children. I wish to give him the cure that Ne'eman and apparently some of your other friends finds morally reprehensible. I want research done that will lead to new treatments and cures so this tragedy will never happen to any other child, ASAN and other ND's want to stop this and curtail these efforts.
I am in favor of helping him with legal representation and whatever other means possible. However, unlike ASAN, I believe autism is a medical not social disability, so I don't have their quick fix easy answers of societal acceptance. Unfortunately in the case of severely impaired children like this, there are no easy answers or quick fixes. I wish I had one but I don't. You can believe what you wish about me.
ASAN and the rest of the ND movement certainly has nothing to offer this child.
"ASAN and the rest of the ND movement certainly has nothing to offer this child."
I imagine these words will come back to haunt you.
If you can get your head out of your pity bucket for one moment you will realise that Ari is just representing, like any good leader, the opinions and beliefs of his Council. Members of which are Legion.
@Emily
"but I don't think he'd seriously say that an ASD person convicted of, say, murder, should be allowed to use ASD as a defense and I think he'd be rightfully upset if they did. "
Do you think Sky Walker should be convicted of murder? I don't. I tried to get the Autism Hub to blog about Sky's case, but some told me that "we" needn't defend Sky because "we" didn't want to be associated with his act. I found that disturbing and it was the catalyst for me leaving the Hub.
Socrates,
I think you are missing Jonathan's point. The situation with the child in question is bad, no matter what your perspective on autism is.
However, the real point here is what Ari Ne'eman actually believes compared to what he says he believes or what he may be doing for the publicity. He has publicly stated that people with autism are only "different" not disordered, that autism is not a defense or a justification, and, most importantly, that autism is not a condition that should be cured.
He may have said some of these things when "only" 17 - but that wasn't too long ago for him. I still stand by what I said and believe 4 years ago, as do most thinking adults. I may not stand by what I said at 17 now, but I am not the one claiming to represent every person with autism.
The point here is about beliefs, intellectual honesty, and above all else, integrity. The real test of your beliefs is not what you do in easy situations, but what you do in difficult ones. Either Ari Ne'eman believes what he says and will stand by what he says - or he doesn't. His current actions are saying that he does not really believe what he says.
Consider what the results would be if another child, who did not have autism, physically attacked and injured his teachers. Do you doubt for one second that charges could, would, or should be filed?
More importantly, if this was a "normal" child, would Ari Ne'eman be attempting to intervene on his behalf? It is specifically because the child has autism that he is getting involved and it is because of his autism that he is saying that the child deserves special treatment.
I happen to think that he is correct, that the child should not be charged - especially because he has autism. But then again, I think autism is a disorder that needs to be cured while Ari Ne'eman says that it is not.
MJ, what do you do when you are presented with new information? Do you continue to cling to your old ideas and ignore the new information so as not to appear contradictory, or do you embrace the new knowledge and evolve?
Kent,
If I were hearing new ideas from the ND crowd and Ari Ne'eman in particular, I would rejoice and be first in line to congratulate them. But I all I am hearing and reading is more of the same.
All I am seeing is more examples of why they don't represent people with autism and why they don't even have the courage of their own convictions.
In my opinion, there are few things worse than being a hypocrite.
If this is truly reflection point for Ari Ne'eman, I hope he has the integrity to stand up and admit that he was wrong in the past. But for some reason, I don't think I should hold my breath.
MJ,
And what exactly is this endless pity party offer up that is preferable to what the ND movement has to say? I've an Aspergerian and I've known plenty on the spectrum. Not all are success stories but those who are (and there are many) owe what they have to the unique set of skills that their state of being has conferred upon them. That is the message of the ND movement: that autism has benefits as well as drawbacks. Focus on your strengths and compensate for your weaknesses. That's what life is about for everyone.
By the same logic, Ne'eman would have to support prosecuting Amanda Baggs for fraud.
Do you think Ari will start a campaign to ask Vermont and Social Security to cut her off from all the benefits she receives?
"And what exactly is this endless pity party offer up that is preferable to what the ND movement has to say?"
What exactly DOES the ND movement say? I hear so many different opinions and so many different philosophies from so many different people that I'm not even really sure what it is. And it is a pity that more than 80% of people with ASDs (high-functioning) do not have jobs, most likely because they are unemployable, not because they are being discriminated against. It is equally dangerous to give people false hope and have them believe that they can be as successful as the handful of successful autistic people when in reality they never will be.
"Not all are success stories but those who are (and there are many) owe what they have to the unique set of skills that their state of being has conferred upon them."
So what about all of those who AREN'T a "success story," which are the majority of people with an ASD? Is it fair to just have a few people be a success and have the majority be unsuccessful?
"That is the message of the ND movement: that autism has benefits as well as drawbacks. Focus on your strengths and compensate for your weaknesses."
This is so much more easily said than done. And what about those who truly have no "benefits?"
It sounds to me like you are bitter and twisted , more concerned with scoring points against Ari who you obviously dislike for disagreeing with you, than with knowing the whole story of the injustice done to Zak. I am a teacher in England where its illegal to restrain any child . I am appalled that so few people comment on the behaviour of the teachers which was innapropriate and unprofessional . If they had responded to Zak differently , this whole fiasco could have been avoided. Not only then , but since then the non autistic powers that be [school district , judge etc ] have behaved badly and even illegally , withholding information ,and doing allsorts to make Zaks distress worse . Get your priorities right ! There are more important things at stake that your own personal battle with another man!
Elaine, I'd like to give you a big, big (((((hug))))).
We've all made genuine and heartfelt overtures to Mitchell in the hope that we can show him the brighter side of life, which he stubbornly refuses to acknowledge.
This place is a pity party.
"What exactly DOES the ND movement say? I hear so many different opinions and so many different philosophies from so many different people that I'm not even really sure what it is. And it is a pity that more than 80% of people with ASDs (high-functioning) do not have jobs, most likely because they are unemployable, not because they are being discriminated against. It is equally dangerous to give people false hope and have them believe that they can be as successful as the handful of successful autistic people when in reality they never will be."
Why, yes, of course. Telling children about people who are like them who have become successful is misleading. It's so cruel. Most black children are not going to become critically acclaimed authors when they grow up. Why get their hopes up? Most girls will not grow up to make an important contribution to science. What's the point of letting them know that any woman has ever done that? Why inspire anyone to anything?
And, quite frankly, it's clear to me by my life experiences that NTs, including those who specialize in the field of autism, haven't got clue one as to how those on the spectrum actually think, much less have any capacity to predict which five year old headbanger is destined for unemployment and which one is on his way to working for NASA.
Our brains are wired for introspection and systemic thinking and we process information in a completely different manner. This allows some of us to master our particular fields in ways beyond that of the NT. Of course to do this, these skills need to be recognized, valued, and nurtured. I, and those like me, found success because we were not written off at four or five because some bogus statistic says 80% of us will somehow end up unemployable.
Harry (Socrates): The autism hub in general and the new republic in particular are propaganda and hate mongering parties.
Walter,
I don't know if you realize this but I am an adult with high-functioning autism. I live off SSI, am unemployed, have no friends, spent time in institutions, etc. etc. etc.
I get it: there are successful people in every "group." But you have to face the fact that most people are not going to be that way.
And why is it people with ASDs are always successful because of their autism? Are black authors successful because they are black? Are women scientists successful because they are women?
It just makes me angry to see some people distort reality with a few very high-functioning people and not the majority of people with ASDs.
Anyone impaired with an ASD would know the punishment was far too harsh. Whoopie doo for Ari!
I'd love to see him try harder without anyone supporting him.
What did ND proponents expect the teachers to do? "Oh, don't worry little boy. Just calm down and everything will be ok! We're not gonna touch you if you cooperate with us since we know you dislike being touched without warning." ;-)
Stephanie,
No, I did not know those facts about yourself. But your particular condition is irrelevant as to whether or not children should be encouraged to think that they can become successful in life and achieve great things.
I am sorry that your life, as you describe it, sucks. The world is, unfortunately, filled with lonely unemployed people living off a meager government check. Some even have an unpublished and unpublishable novel stuck in a drawer somewhere. Most of them are not on the autistic spectrum. Those people no more represent the potential of NTs than do your unfortunate set of circumstances represent the potential of the autistic.
As to your question as to why autistics, when they succeed, always do so BECAUSE of their autism. I neither know nor have claimed this to be the case. Only that it is the case with regard to myself. And this is because my Aspergerian nature is the core essence of who I am. To a certain extent blackness or whiteness is a social construction. You are free to embrace or reject it as a personal identity as much as you wish or are socially allowed to. To that end, an author's perceived and self-perceived racial self-image may play a crucial role in whether he or she succeeds or fails as a writer. Or it may play no role whatsoever. On the other hand, how one thinks and processes information is never not relevant.
Every group that has bettered its position in this society has done so by rejecting the labels of inferiority or dysfunction put upon them by those in power: blacks in the 1950s and 60s, women in the 60s and 70s, homosexuals from the 60s onward. And in every instance there have been those in the community who have bought into the lies about themselves: that they weren't as good as white people, that they weren't deserving of equal pay for equal work, that they needed to be cured of their monstrous affliction by psychiatric intervention.
Again, I am sorry you have a crappy life. But it will never be made better by believing that the same society that isolates you and treats you as an affliction has, in any way, your best interests at heart.
Jonathan
I admire your calm integrity in posting the cheap personal shots from Elaine, KWombles and Socrates.
Harold Doherty
Is the punishment too harsh or is it necessary to protect the other children. What has happened to push that school to the point of placing a felony charge against that child. This was not the first incident.
What happened in that classroom?? Is it not societies job to protect the innocent from voilence?? What gives those with ASD the right to be violent??
You assume it's the school's fault. You claim it can't be the child's fault. ND's, those like Stephanie and Jonathon all know the difference btwn right and wrong. It's taught at home first. As the book I am reading says "The 11th Commandment is - Take responsibility for your actions". Again you don't think the guy who hacked into the US security sites needs to be tried either, he doesn't know right from wrong... Sounds like an excuse to me b/c my barely verbal 8yr old certainly knows when he's in the wrong.
That child needs mental health help. He needs to learn to control his own head, his own thoughts and take responsibility for his behaviour. He isn't a child, he's 11. Contrary to whatever ND's think.. and Kristina wrote yesterday... It's not OK to have to patch holes in your house... It's not OK to create Skye Walkers.
"No, I did not know those facts about yourself. But your particular condition is irrelevant as to whether or not children should be encouraged to think that they can become successful in life and achieve great things."
This is very typical of "Neurodiversity:" completely forgetting that there are people with ASDs that are actually *gasp* disabled!
"I am sorry that your life, as you describe it, sucks. The world is, unfortunately, filled with lonely unemployed people living off a meager government check."
Yes, and many of them have an ASD, whether or not you choose to accecpt this reality.
"But it will never be made better by believing that the same society that isolates you and treats you as an affliction has, in any way, your best interests at heart."
Neurodiversity has done nothing for me but reject and shun me because I am actually disabled.
Stephanie
ND ideologues also shun and reject you because you do not follow the ND Ideology party line.
Harold
I can think of several "ND ideologues" that think quite the opposite.
And there's more documentary proof of that than supports the average FAINB or AG post.
And finally in response to 2nd comment:
I've not seen any statement from any of the staff to support the idea of him actually causing any injury.
"I can think of several "ND ideologues" that think quite the opposite.
And there's more documentary proof of that than supports the average FAINB or AG post."
Maybe that's because nobody cares about an incident that happened to a minor that did not happen anywhere near where you live?
The only people who would be bothered by this incident is anyone affected on the autistic spectrum that impairs them enough to want to emphasize with an 11-year-old who's affected with an ASD LIKE THEM. What's funny, though, is that I've been told in the past by others on the spectrum to not compare myself despite them being a part of Neurodiversity, yet deep down they compare themselves to an 11-year-old boy who shouldn't have as big of an impact as 9/11.
So what about other ASD individuals who are on my side besides Stephanie's, Jonathan's, Jake's, etc. who do not publish "documentary proof"? Perhaps no one else with common sense would want to waste time with you, yet you should be grateful we're taking some time from our lives to support you by making you realize the reality of why you are considered handicapped!
And what the heck is FAINB? Do you expect everyone who posts here to know what that is in the same sense everyone should know what NBC, ABC and CNN are? Oh wait! You don't live in the U.S. so you may not know what those abbreviations stand for, but my point is that someone like you would yell at your Mom if she asked you, "What's FAINB?" and respond that you're the one with the bigger brain and what a stupid NT she is!
Doherty, it isn't a cheap shot to say that Mitchell screwed the pooch on this one. The appropriate focus would have been to express concern for Zakh Price. Each of you has the opportunity to show that your concern is for autistic individuals in dire need of help.
The grandmother has found representation for Zakh, but she needs to raise $5000 to pay for the lawyer. We've set up a chip-in at http://zakhs.blogspot.com/. Show your support. Do something. A couple dollars from a couple thousand dollars and this young man will have legal representation.
"a couple dollars from a couple thousand PEOPLE" --makes more sense.
Thanks for posting my comment, Jonathan.
Hi, Ylanne Sorrows here. I'm a woman with Asperger's, and a neurodiversity advocate. But I'm not here to defend neurodiversity or Ari Ne'eman. (Surprised? Making assumptions goes in both directions...)
Quite frankly, I think that you're missing the point. The point is not whether neurodiversity is a good thing or a bad thing, and it is not whether Ari Ne'eman is a good person or a bad person. The point is not whether Zakh Price is another Gary McKinnon.
The point is that Zakh's school refused to implement an IEP, blatantly ignored his grandmother's efforts to educate the teachers on Zakh's behavioral problems, and when he had a meltdown, they did everything you shouldn't do when an autistic kid has a meltdown. So he kicked a teacher.
If he were a non-autistic kid, I think the answer is obvious: give him detention for a week, suspend him for a few days. Criminal charges is pushing it. Kicking a teacher who has grabbed you is not the same thing as choosing a random victim and beating him/her senseless. Now that would be worthy of felony assault charges.
But in fact, a crime was not committed. If anyone committed a crime, it was the school administrators in refusing to recognize that as a child with autism, Zakh needed behavioral interventions. Whether or not you support neurodiversity, we all know that in many cases of autism, students do need behavioral intervention and therapy! We all know that our children need to have IEPs and other supports in place. It doesn't matter what we think about ND or a cure, but the reality of autism is the same.
The infighting among the autism community needs to stop. We need to recognize that the Fort Smith School District is trying to ignore Zakh's autism and the challenges of his problems by charging him as a criminal. To me, this is idiocy at its best. This issue is NOT about ND. It's about an autistic boy whose rights are being abused at the behest of a broken system.
Blessings and peace,
Ylanne
(P.S. If you post this comment, thanks for posting!)
It is hard to know what to do. On the one hand, I care for Zakh. But on the other, he was taken from his home with the rest of the kids after his sister's death and sent to foster care. What was that all about?
They treated him bad in school. that much I get. But I wonder if he doesn't need some help all around and not just at school.
Ne'eman seems to be using this story to clinch his nomination for the national Council on Disability, but what kind of appointee will he make if he does not do more checking of the facts of all this and tell everyone all about them. Does anyone know what Zakh's sister died of for instance?
Kagan Raylynn Price was just a sweetheart. people was sad when she died that October. they took those kids away and didn't even put them with any other family members, so maybe the whole bunch of them had something wrong. (the family, not the kids.)
I don't know what the cause of death turned out to be, but I guess the kids got back home after a while so it must have come out alright. but then kids don't just act like nuts for no reason either, and Zakh had a history of causing trouble in that school.
his brothers who has autism didn't act out at school, so maybe either Zakh don't have it or else his is worse, in which case, what is he doing in school anyway? don't his mamma have enough sense to put himin one of those special schools?
I wonder where his mom is anyway. it's his grandma we keep hearing about. maybe DHS ought to take another look at the whole thing and sort out this mess.
The DA was right to charge him if it comes to pass that Zakh winds up in a better home and also gets the charges dropped.
Funny thing about these neurodiversity folks....
There was a report out on KFSM by Darren Bob who did a little investigative reporting into the Zakh Price story, but the neurodiversity people didn't like the report so they spammed the website.
The report was taken down and the neurodivesity folks are claiming victory.
But all anyone needs to do to get the whole story is send a letter of inquiry to the station or to the reporter who will spill the beans.
I think the ND folks might wind up feeling pretty ashamed.
Especially if the story winds up getting re-posted.
Zakh's mother is both autistic and mentally retarded, and so Zakh is in the custody of his grandmother.
http://www.thezakhappeal.com is the website Carole Reynolds is maintaining with the latest updates on Zakh's case.
And to one of anonymous commenters (not sure which one, but the one who was wondering whether Zakh really has autism), not all those who have autism behave in the same way, even within the same family. I think all of us can agree on that - everyone with autism is different, and in more ways than just one.
Also, his grandmother has the documentation of the diagnosis of autism, even though the school is refusing to acknowledge this fact.
(Thanks for posting my last comment.)
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