Troubling Times

I’m currently reading ‘Neurotribes’ by Steve Silberman. The book is now 10 years old and it is terrifying how cyclical things seem to be.

I’m only a third of the way through, but I want to share a quote here from 1930s & 1940s Germany/Austria.

The institution in question was in Austria and I believe these events took place from 1939 to 1944.

‘…Jekelius and his successors…murdered 789 children…’

‘Most of these children had been diagnosed with feeblemindedness, epilepsy, or schizophrenia – the three diagnoses that autistic children were most likely to receive in the days before autism was an accepted diagnostic category. Nonverbal patients were favoured … because they created extra work for the nurses; eventually children who were “simply annoying” were added to the list.’

In the grand scheme of things this is not that long ago. The rhetoric from RFK junior is very troubling and reminiscent of the beginnings of this series of historical events.

My father was born in 1944, so to think that events like these were taking place during his lifetime really brings this home to me.

I’m sure my father was an undiagnosed autistic. Even more terrifying.

I hope sanity prevails and RFK junior’s ‘autism is a disease in epidemic’ rhetoric will be shown as the fabrication it really is.

More troubling were his statements that autistic children “will never pay taxes, they’ll never hold a job, they’ll never play baseball, they’ll never write a poem, they’ll never go on a date”.

This statement hints that they will not contribute to society. A thought that others them and makes them targets for abuse. Autistic people, like all people are able to achieve many different things.

I personally hate sports, worked for 20 years, am married with children and hate poetry despite a BA (honours) in Literature. 😅

Autism is a different way of thinking, needing support and understanding and not ‘curing’.