CNN Presents

[Guest guest]

I tuned in late but caught the last half hour of a special on " CNN

presents " called

" Autism is a world "

It was heartbreaking but hopeful. It focused on a young woman named Sue,

with several disabilities, but the one which impacted her life the most

was Autism. She narrates the documentary via her Assistave Technology

device.

She was a non verbal Autistic who was attending college, living on her

own, and had she not had assistive technology, she would have been

considered severly mentally retarded. There was one scene where a

researcher who was studying Sue's case. She had stated that 75% of

Autistic people are MR. After meeting with Sue, the researcher

appologized, to which Sue typed this:

" Sadly you don't have all the answers "

The learned old medical scholar slowly nodded her head and said " No Sue,

I don't have all the answers "

While you watch in amazement as this young woman fly through complex

college academic subjects with the assistance of her AT device and 2

home health aides. You also see her spending hours collecting spoons,

running her hands under water and saying no more than the word " later " .

Our children are a puzzle, but they are IN THERE, they have possibility

we could never fathom.

Their future, though not quite how we imagine, is possible. I wish I

knew when this special airs again. I'm going to try and tape it.

- Stoecker