As a parent I do sometimes get tired of family and friends sending me copies of newspaper cuttings about autism and the latest 'cure', which is inevitably evidenced by a miraculous success story. I know they mean well but I have usually already come across this exciting 'news scoop' elsewhere weeks before the article appears and anyway I know by now that there isn't a cure. There are lots of different approaches to autism, many of them will work for some people but not others, but none is going to actually take the autism away and it is unfair of journalists to suggest otherwise.
Its nice sometimes to read work by writers who can combine personal experience of special needs with the ability to write in a moving manner which doesn't oversensationalise the subject matter....Nick Hornby, India Knight and Charlotte Moore being recent examples. There is certainly a huge role for the use of writing not just to disseminate information but also as a healing tool for the writer or story-teller, however there needs be some caution used as to how the material is presented to the public. By all means 'tell it how it is' but with a realisation that everyone's experiences will be unique.
This is a subject I'm very interested in, it's one which has already impacted upon my own writing and will continue to do so I'm sure.
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