tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23662617.post-18939232201520851922007-05-07T06:12:00.000-07:002007-05-07T06:12:00.000-07:002007-05-07T06:12:00.000-07:00You know, Sam, I don't think you really grasp the concept of "actionable statements." <BR/><BR/>Your comment above is, <I>prima facia</I>, <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slander" REL="nofollow">libelous and defamatory</A>, absent your ability to prove that she is not really autistic and also has an agenda to make autism look a lot easier to deal with than it "really is."<BR/><BR/>Autism is a diagnosis and unless you have a suitable degree and have a relationship with her which would perforce preclude makeing any public statments about her condition, you cannot say "she IS not Autistic." <BR/><BR/>You'd be on safe ground saying that "she doesn't seem autistic to me." That's your opinion, for what it's worth. <BR/><BR/>Amanda - and others, such as myself and Oddzims are, however, living proof that "living with autism" seems to be less of a problem for the autistic than is for parents who insist on subjecting them to their magic cures.<BR/><BR/>I of course do not presume that being wrong about what will help your children is the same as willful abuse - but having been on the short end of that stick myself, I can assure you, it's the outcome that matters, not the intent.<BR/><BR/>Besides, when people willfully abuse strangers, how unlikely is it that they will abuse those that directly frustrate and anger them?<BR/><BR/>I, for one, would avoid acting in a casually abusive way in a context that is filled to the brim with mandatory reporters, even as I thank my lucky stars that I am not one of them.Bob Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12331371505961522315noreply@blogger.com