Palin and Autism

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Palin is no fraud. She is having the time of her life. It is not every day any bright, industrious Walmart head cashier gets to ride first class on the Gravy Train.

Um, the baby is four months old, so Palin doesn't have much experience raising a DS child.

It may be that having this child may in fact change many of her world views, but it will be years before that happens. Like, when she requests her first IEP for the child and goes through the process of trying to secure adequate services for him, which her school district in AK won't have. Or when the other kids don't want to play with him because he's different, even though their parents have told them to be nice to Trig. Or when he acts 'inappropriately' at a state function for which he, and his siblings, have been trotted out.

Harsh, yes. True, yes. SO Been there, done that!

Will she actually be raising her children if she makes it to the White House? Hm. Probably not. I had a hard time with Edwards running for pres when his wife is dying of cancer. I have a hard time with Palin running for VP with a DS infant. As a mother, and as someone who is devoted to my family, I could not 'make the trade' of my family for public office.

As to flying after her water broke -- doctors consider this to be a no-no. AIRLINES consider this to be a no-no. If the airline knew she had broken her water, they probably would not have let her on board -- they sure as heck would not want to have a woman go into labor on board. For better or worse, hospitals and doctors generally want you IN the hospital after your water breaks as there is a danger of infection -- for example, Strep B, which is life-threatening. BTW, my water broke 18 hours before labor started, and my son got Strep B in utero during that time. He was placed prenatally on antibiotics, which were continued for 10 days, intervenously, after he was born. Add to all of this the fact that most women who have had several births deliver each subsequent baby much faster and with a shorter labor. Some never even go into real 'labor' as most of us poor women know it.

While it may not be child abuse to fly this late in pregnancy, it certainly isn't smart.

True, however Palin is so many cons that it is too much to list but I'll try anyway.

1. Palin is so Antienvironmental that she sued the Bush Administration for putting the polar bear on the endangered species list just because it will get in the way of drilling.

2. Palin also wants to teach creationism at school. I call that cramming Christianity down peoples throats. She is also contradicting herself, Example a reporter asked Palin about teaching about homosexuality at school and she quote."That will never happen under a McCain-Palin Administartion."

3. Palin fired Walton Monegan over a personal issue involving Palin not firing her brother in- law involved in a child custudy battle.

4.Sending alaskans $1200 unstead of using the buget surplus to build roads, bridges and strengthen the school system.[Like The Bridge To Nowhere.]


I got some more but it also invilves what McCain will do wrong for this country. Secondly the child is only a few monthes old. So we don't know how good of a parent and advicate Palin is yet.

I can not quite comprehend the rigor and examination she is causing her daughter, Bristol! Watching the sacrifice of the family she is shoving into the limelight is mindboggling.

Merle

Yes, and this is why I won't vote for her. Just seeing photos of her draped in real animal furs, having an interview in her house with a dead bear stuffed and draped on the back of her couch, and knowing that she helped legalize aerial wolf hunting makes me sick.

I'm so with you on this...how much strong-arming did her boyfriend get to 'do the right thing'? And while I do agree that this is a private issue and should be off-limits, can you IMAGINE the rancor the Obama camp would have received had this happened to one of HIS daughters? Can you say 'just another welfare mother'? OMG!

a picture is worth a thousand words, janjt. . .

What isn't true? I'm not making any definitive stance on her motives, but the fact is that her conservative base would be severely shaken if she had an abortion, and so would her public image.

That much is undeniable, regardless of her true intent, but I don't really care, my distaste for her is completely irrelevant to this whole Down syndrome issue.

Sarah Palin will be a force in American politics for many decades to come. Even if you regard her willingness to have a Down syndrome kid as some kind of made for politics fakery, you have to admit that it is a helluva price to pay to appear convincing. Already her presence has been like a bolt of lightning through the conservative ranks. Minorities got their candidate and now the Christian Coalition gets theirs. I would be very interested to see how the experience of raising a Down syndrome child would impact her views on other congenital disorders. I view autism as similar to Down syndrome and regard myself as a high IQ moron. People with the two disorders actually live somewhat similar lives except that it is not okay to pick on individuals with Down syndrome whereas society turns a blind eye when people with Asperger syndrome are humiliated.

There is hope that Sarah Palin will become the greatest advocate for congenital disorders and it will not necessarily be a vote getting thing.

I think the fact that she went through with the pregnancy even knowing the child will have down syndrome says a lot for her character, also yes she could be knowledgable on special needs, im sure when she found out which is like 12 weeks into pregnancy, she probably did as much research as any other mother would do to figure out how to raise this child, and what steps must be taken for this childs safety and future. I have a down syndrome cousin, he just turned 40, hes the best, hes so sweet and i wouldnt know what itll be like not having in our life! Right after he was born like a week after he was born, my uncle and aunt became the most educated in special needs then any person i knew, literally by the age of my cousin turned 2 months they already started having a set plan, my mother whos brother is the one has the son with down syndrome told me he even started looking into group homes, special school, special therapies before that kid even got home from the hospital... some parents start early, how do you honestly know she isnt well up to par on being a special needs parent already? Anyways thats just my two cents...

Wow. Well, I guess I believe that there are pretty huge differences between DS and AS. First off, folks with Down Syndrome 'generate' sympathetic reactions because they look different -- we NTs can easily see that they are different, and can therefore equate behavioral differences to a genetic difference.

Aspies often look too damn 'normal' -- as do folks with ADHD, bi-polar, schizophrenia...which is why they are called 'hidden disabilities'. Because there is no visible difference, the NT world often makes the assumption that any 'aberrant behavior' is conscious and wilfull. In an NT's Theory of Mind as it were, there is no notion of normalcy in someone who won't come to a meeting at work because the air conditioning makes too much noise. Most NT people are just ignorant. It's not an excuse, just reality.

The other huge difference is cognitive. SOME DS folks can and do lead independent lives, but the majority will need assisted living. On the other hand, MOST AS folks can lead independent lives, with only a handful needing living assistance -- IF they have received help in securing 'good fit' jobs, gotten appropriate accommodations in school, and had supportive people around them along the way.

1. WHAT does the polar bear(in general) have to do with drilling when they are killed for food and protection? Listing the polar bear as endangered could mean more deaths, and destruction of a food sounrce for indiginous people!

2. She merely ALLOWED it! She didn't FORCE it, OR exclusion of evolution.

3. How do YOU know? They are STILL investigating!

4. I heard things were going well in general and she SAVE MONEY!?!?!?!? I keep offering. If you want to spend money so bad, I will be HAPPY to setup a bank account to allow you to do it! BTW The bridge to nowhere was a JOKE! It would be FAR better to just have planes. OOPS, Wait a second! WE DO!! !! !! !!

I guess YOU would just like to poor money down the toilet, and see alaska covered with cement and asphalt!

2unkenkerl, you may want to do some reading on the subjects you pontificate about. Inuit are exempt from the Endangered Speciecies Act.

But they ARE SOME that actually kill polar bears. Then again, they ARE only SOME!

If by independent you mean spending 12 hours online I suppose many people on this board would agree with you. But if by independent you mean getting a job, staying employed, building equity in a home, starting a family, preparing for retirement and so on, then you are going to bump into some resistance. One of the central problems that individuals with autism face is this belief that we can do it only if we tried. Well hunny, I worked as an investment banker, management consultant and private banker before starting my life as a member of the long term unemployed. I was fired from every job and in each instance, the same painful circus of abusive humiliations were visited on me time and again. But you know, it takes a lot of talent just to score an interview. So I guess you might be right, I can be independent. Why am I living on the edge of extreme poverty then? It must be my bad attitude towards life. I am lazy and I just will not try hard enough. It is me, I am to blame. You are right.

Last edited by Zeno on 07 Sep 2008, 12:15 am, edited 1 time in total.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/us/po ... tml?ref=us

For those seeking a better written analysis of Sarah Palin and her impact on congenital disorders.