Microsoft labels autisitic child a cheater on Xbox live.

Post Reply New Topic

Let's take the label out of the equation.

If he was the average 11 year old, which would we assume?

Edit: Would we assume that he knew what was going on or not?

Last edited by MrLoony on 30 Jan 2011, 1:51 am, edited 1 time in total.

If he was an average 11 year old NT kid then he would be labelled a cheater and there would be no news story.

I feel a bit scammed by the family, I notice the idea that they gave out his account to others didn't come up in the first story. The kid didn't earn all those achievements, how many did he get my loaning out his account that didn't show up as a cheat? He might be great, start a new account and do it all yourself, lesson learned.

I hope the kid did have help, I hate to think of him playing xbox constantly all the time some estimate it would take to earn those points. I hope the family is at least trying some other programs or outlets for social skill development. There are a lot of 11 year olds that would love to sit and play xbox all day if they could, all things in moderation is a good rule of thumb.

This is exactly my point. I am offended that the news media has made this into a story because he is autistic, and that his mother obviously used his label to make it so. This happens daily to NT people and you never hear a word about it in the press. The underlying message in the original story is that MS is an evil company because they banned a kid for cheating who obviously could not have known any better because he is autistic. Autistic = stupid. Autistic = ret*d. I am autistic and I take offense at those labels. If I was ever given a pass because of my label I would die of humiliation.

Except that Microsoft doesn't follow any "public humiliation" policy; you will notice that they never named the child, nor his mother, in response to enquiries; after being pestered for three days, they did provide the gamertag, which only tells you who that is if you happen to already know him (in which case his mother has probably already filled your ears with the tale).

Further, Microsoft didn't make this public; that's contrary to corporate policy. Instead, the boy's mother insisted on taking this to the press, apparently in the sincere belief that her little angel couldn't possibly have done anything naughty (a level of protection from consequences that, in my opinion, borders on child abuse, as it leaves a child unfit to deal with a world where Mommy isn't always there to protect the child's fragile ego). She seems to have assumed that since her son is autistic, Microsoft would apologize, back down, and give him all his unearned Achievements.

I begin to agree with MidlifeAspie on this point - I'm a bit insulted that so many think all autistics need to be so very sheltered...