I have no words for this one...

[fireheart17]

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/par...-1226700462142

So a woman with a 13-year-old autistic son ended up receiving an anonymous letter telling her about what a "nuisance" her son is (I'm presuming meltdowns or similar) and suggesting that they either move somewhere remote or euthenaise him.

Now, as far as noise pollution goes, I know that some children can be incredibly loud at any time of the day or night, but there's a way of dealing with it civilly.

As for the second suggestion, I have absolutely no words.

Oh and it gets better, the letter-writer states that the meltdowns (I think that's it) scare the heck out of her "normal" children. Two things to that:

1) Define "normal".
2) if your kids are scared of the meltdowns, then do they have issues whenever they're out in public and hear a toddler throwing a tantrum? (and I'm sure we can all share in how loud a tantrum can be) Do they have issues at school when kids are screaming or fighting? If the issue is more about the content of said meltdown (for instance, threats or something of a dangerous nature), I would have to wonder if mommy dearest lets her kids watch violent TV shows/play violent games LOUD.

Oy vey, what a


OK, rant over.

One good thing that has come out of this though is that the neighbourhood is helping her to track down the letter writer...wonder if they'll still think the way they do when they answer the door to 20-odd men/women wielding pitchforks

[Amanita]

Yeah, I just love how the letter writer didn't even have the balls to sign their name!

[fireheart17]

Yeah, I just love how the letter writer didn't even have the balls to sign their name!

For some reason, the whole thing sounds a little bit teen-ish too. As in the style of writing.

[s_stabeler]

Well, apparently the community is trying to find out who wrote the letter. Apparently the letter writer doesn't have as much support as they think, which doesn't surprise me.

[anakhouri]

I can see if the kid was standing in the yard screaming his head off all day, every day, that would get annoying.

But I would also approach the neighbor and mention it to them and ask if I can help. The writer apparently did no such thing as they don't even know the neighbor's name!

What a dreadful person. There's no way they have 'normal' children if this is how they teach them to address conflict.

[Panacea]

For some reason, the whole thing sounds a little bit teen-ish too. As in the style of writing.

I was thinking red neck ignorant, myself.

[Greenday]

What a piece of work. If your kids get scared, educate them. What part of having your child play in your yard is "special treatment"?

[Jester]

I fully support the idea of euthanizing those people who annoy the crap out of the rest of us.

In fact, I think we should all get behind this, and push for the euthanization of the letter's author. The neighborhood would be a much better place.

I have only one request: 5 minutes with the author at some time before the euthanization, in a locked room, with no cameras, no windows, and one baseball bat. To "discuss" the situation. Of course, since some people might have a problem with a man having such a "discussion" with a woman, we can always have my best friend Neets take my place. As the mother of an autistic child, I am sure she could get the relevant points across.

[hinakiba777]

One of my friend's children has a very prominent vocal tic. He sounds kind of a like a moose. So it might be something like that as opposed to the child having a meltdown.

Anyway, I have seen this letter ALL over the place. Every time I read it, I feel sick. The fact that there are people like the writer of this letter who would tell a parent to "put down" their child it's just horrific. I fully support Jester's request, as well.

[s_stabeler]

Honestly, I have resisted the temptation to comment, since I've got Aspergers Syndrome, which is on the Autism Spectrum. ( It's also sometimes known as High-Finctioning Autism, for perspective)

All I can say is WTF is the letter-writer THINKING? A) if your kids are scared of another kid having a meltdown, I wonder about your parenting skills, as that suggests that you do something ill-advised whenever they cry. (considering the reference to putting down a kid that is disturbing the? Quite frankly, i fear the letter-writer is hitting his kids) B) ever considered talking politely to the mother?
C) special treatment for people with disabilities- The only special treatment for mental disabiltiies is usually "don't do this- it causes this to happen" or, sometimes " you need to explain things like this, as otherwise he won;t understand and will get fustrated" neither of which are exclusive to the disability. (for example, bursting a paper bag next to a current/former soldier is asking for trouble. And if someone needs something explained better to understand something, any employer should be willing to do so.)

[anakhouri]

Actually my son gets very upset when other kids cry and make a scene. It's not because I am a bad parent, but because he is naturally a calm kid and lives in a quiet house. He's not used to noise and drama and it frightens him.

But I always explain that the other kid is upset/angry/sad and doesn't know how to use words to express their feelings, and it's OK because their mommy or daddy is taking care of it.

I don't tell him the kid is abnormal and shoule be euthanized.

[IDrinkaRum]

My daughter has what is considered "classic autism". Not entirely sure what that is as autism is autism and once you've met one autistic child/person, you've met one autistic child/person. What I can say is that she is a step below Asperberger's in functioning. She also has a verbal tic when she's happy (she shouts what sounds like Mick-A-Moo over and over again. When she does that, I know she's happy.) She also lost most of her ability to talk (normally children with autism literally stop talking over night. She could still say Mama.)

Anyway, my daughter gets upset when other children cry. Especially 3 year old's and younger. However, I know she has SPD/SID (Sensory Processing Disorder or Sensory Integration Disorder). I tell her that's what they do because they can't use their words.

This letter just pisses me off. My daughter is beautiful, intelligent, and can do just about anything she wants to (much to my dismay). I cannot understand people like this letter writer who thinks like they do.

However, I do keep my daughter inside a lot. The only reason I do this is because she has little to no impulse control and she will run across the street with no warning. I'm going to have to look into putting up plastic signs with the word "STOP" on them.

It's things like this that make me incredibly sad.