Autism was mentioned in the Prez. Debates

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In your view, was what they said "positive" or "negative"? (Did you like it, or not?)

Well, McCain seems to think that autism and Down's Syndrome are the same thing, so I'd say that's a negative.

McCain is just dead wrong on the issue. He showed no acknowledgment of the fact that autism rates are rising in large part because of expanded definitions and awareness. He was falling into the trope of autism fear-mongering, which I can't stand. Having said that, Obama's answer didn't exactly thrill me, either. What kind of "research" does he mean? Will such "research" actually improve quality of life, or are we searching for a mythical cure? What about services? Like much of the debate, it sounds pretty good until you start to wonder about the details. I also wish both parties would have addressed autistic adults at all. We're not our own constituency, and we're not visible. It's not surprising given that Autism Speaks has done a very good job of setting up the mainstream autism paradigm, but it is very unfortunate.

Here's the transcript btw:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/15/ ... index.html

Autism was mentioned a 3 times.

McCain: "She'll be my partner. She understands reform. And, by the way, she also understands special-needs families. She understands that autism is on the rise, that we've got to find out what's causing it, and we've got to reach out to these families, and help them, and give them the help they need as they raise these very special needs children."

Obama: "I do want to just point out that autism, for example, or other special needs will require some additional funding, if we're going to get serious in terms of research. That is something that every family that advocates on behalf of disabled children talk about."

McCain: "And I just said to you earlier, town hall meeting after town hall meeting, parents come with kids, children -- precious children who have autism. Sarah Palin knows about that better than most. And we'll find and we'll spend the money, research, to find the cause of autism. And we'll care for these young children. And all Americans will open their wallets and their hearts to do so."

I think it was all grandstanding.

It certainly did not help my indecisiveness.

I say it is not about research or finding the origins but instead awareness.

Finding out the cause implies that is is a problem, and if you ask me we are all very fortunate to have the abilities we have... they want to use us as guinea pigs just like Big Bad FDA/Pharmaceuticals.

My ideal presidential answer would have been something along the lines of, "We need to make sure every autistic child gets early intervention programs such as occupational therapy or speech therapy. We need to provide schools are built for the autistic student in mind, with less sensory distractions, smaller classrooms, and teachers who know what the autistic student needs. And we need programs for autistic adults as well: community housing and job placement assistance."

Unfortunately neither candidate offered any specifics, so in my opinion they both failed the autism question. McCain failing a bit harder than Obama though.

What they said was ambiguous to me.
It would have been interesting and more insightful if they debated what they would do and stated their own opinions, but I understand that it wasn't a priority in the debate.

Both of them support further research and support services for children/families with ASD. So, there's no major difference between them that is obvious to me.

Take a look yourself.

http://www.johnmccain.com/content/?guid ... ae650a2f11

http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/AutismSp ... orders.pdf

Edit: Just thought I would add also that it appears that both of them are open the idea that vaccines are involved in autism and want more research into it.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-che ... ccain.html

I'm siding with Obama on autism.

McCain is a senile jerk who would care less about autism.

McCain said that Sarah Palin understands "what it is like to have an autistic child." But she doesn't have an autistic child. Her sister, Heather, has an 13-year-old autistic son, Karcher: http://www.startribune.com/politics/31130044.html .