环球英语20160514 Ways to Think About Autism
Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Liz Waid.
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And I’m Bruce Gulland. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand - no matter where in the world they live.
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What if you saw someone smile and did not know what it meant? What if you saw a color that was so bright it frightened you? These are some different ways people may experience autism. Today’s Spotlight is on ways people think about autism.
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Autism is a kind of mental and physical condition. In fact, autism is a group of conditions. These conditions affect everyone differently. But all of them include problems with social behavior, communication, and personal behavior. People with some form of autism may be able to act in society with no problems, or they may need someone to help them with every basic activity. The World Health Organization estimates that one in every 160 children worldwide has a form of autism.
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A person is born with autism. Experts do not completely understand what causes autism. Some say it is genetic. Other experts blame chemicals, or other drugs. In the past, people believed that vaccines caused autism. But studies have shown that this is not true. Vaccines and autism are not connected.
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It can be difficult to understand autism and how to treat it. The brain is a difficult thing to understand. And then every person’s condition with autism is different too. But there are different opinions about what having autism means.
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Dr. Temple Grandin is a famous scientist. She works with animals. She also has a form of autism. When she was younger, Grandin did not talk. Her parents took her to a doctor. But he told her parents that her brain was just damaged. The doctor said Grandin could not care for herself. He told them to send her to a special hospital. The doctors there would treat her. But she would never be able to speak or learn.
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Temple Grandin’s father agreed with the doctor. But her mother did not. She did not want to send her daughter away! She searched for a long time for a way to help her daughter. Grandin’s parents were very rich. Her mother paid people to care for her daughter. They taught the girl to speak and to learn. Grandin told reporter Joan Raymond:
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“I had people in my life who continued to help me. For example, I had my mother, my aunt, and my science teacher. I had treatment to help with my speech. The person who took care of me played games with me all day. The most important thing people did was to show me new things.”
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Growing up, Temple Grandin had a very good system of support and many resources. Her mother and teachers worked with her often. Her teachers respected her way of thinking with autism. They helped her use that difference to her advantage. In her book Emergence: Labelled Autistic, Grandin says:
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“There are many people who still believe that once a person is autistic, they will always be autistic. This has meant sad and sorry lives for many children who have autism. To these people, it does not seem that the qualities of autism can be changed or controlled. However, I feel strongly that my life shows they can.”
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Temple Grandin believed that having autism was an advantage. She discovered that it made her an excellent scientist. Today, Grandin also speaks and writes about autism. She believes that many people with autism are like her. Their brains are different from a normal person’s.
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This way of thinking about autism is called neurodiversity. Neurodiversity is a way to think about learning and disability. People who study neurodiversity say that people should respect forms of autism and other mental conditions as natural human differences - not disabilities. In fact, they say people who have conditions like autism should be able to live their lives as they are. They do not need to be changed to be “normal”.
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But not everyone agrees with this opinion. Autism can make life very difficult for many people who have it. Some people with autism suffer more than others.
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Jonathan Mitchell is a writer who has autism. He does not agree with neurodiversity. He wants a cure for autism. Mitchell’s experience with autism is very different than Temple Grandin’s. He did not speak until he was five years old. He had a very difficult time in school. He did not make many friends. After many years of struggle, he finished college. Today, he is over 50 years old. But it is difficult for him to keep a job. And he depends on his parents to survive. Mitchell does not think autism is a gift. He sees how much it has hurt him and others. In Los Angeles Magazine, he writes:
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“A cure for autism will not be possible in my lifetime. In fact, at my age it would be of limited value. It is too late for me to do the things I would have liked to do. But that does not stop me from wishing for a cure for future generations of children. They should not have to live like I have.”
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John Elder Robison is a writer with autism. He says that the answer to this debate is not easy. Is autism a gift? Or is it a problem a person should try to cure? But dealing with autism is more difficult and complex than simply fighting a disease. Robison says:
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“I know life is hard for some with autism. But I also see the gifts that other people with autism bring. Both kinds of people have autism. It is a part of who we are. That is why our condition is so complex. It is difficult to keep the gifts while we ease the suffering.”
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Autism can be a very difficult condition to live with. There are many different ways that people think about these conditions. Many people think their way is the best way. Do you know anyone with autism or another mental condition? How can people support other people who have a form of autism? Tell us what you think. You can leave a comment on our website. Or email us at radio@radioenglish.net. And find us on Facebook at facebook.com/spotlightradio.
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The writer of this program was Dan Christmann. The producer was Michio Ozaki. The voices you heard were from the United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at www.radioenglish.net. This program is called, “Ways to Think About Autism”.
You can also get our programs delivered directly to your Android or Apple device through our free official Spotlight English app. We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.
