tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14162253.post5671844893302351742..comments2024-03-28T18:57:15.124-06:00Comments on Wash Park Prophet: Mutations and Mental Retardation and IQAndrew Oh-Willekehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02537151821869153861noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14162253.post-72517372906112147002011-02-18T16:02:53.388-07:002011-02-18T16:02:53.388-07:00You face a very difficult situation, and as so oft...You face a very difficult situation, and as so often is the case, one in which life is not fair. I've worked on custody cases involving children with these kinds of challenges, so I am familiar the anguish these challenges can provide for parents. My experience has been that the challenges often become greater as a child's physical development grows more and more advanced relative to his mental development.<br /><br />Even as we are increasingly starting to understand the root causes of autism/mental retardation in terms of genetic mutations v. oxygen shortages v. other causes, there has been virtually no progress in treatment, the social safety net in the United States is feeble, and we don't have the same kinds of strong extended families that provided backup for parents in the days before there was a social safety net.<br /><br />We also don't have a real good way of even thinking about how to fit someone who is severely mentally retarded/autistic into our society. A world increasingly designed around voluntary consent and incentives that provides more freedom and choice to the able, doesn't necessarily do those who lack ability and judgment any favors. And, one needs to be wealthy indeed to afford the kind of care that seems to really afford people receiving it the kind of dignity that they deserve as human beings.<br /><br />I wish I had answers. I don't.Andrew Oh-Willekehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02537151821869153861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14162253.post-79397428532402152842011-02-17T12:10:25.062-07:002011-02-17T12:10:25.062-07:00I have a severely mentally retarded/autistic son w...I have a severely mentally retarded/autistic son who is 8 but developmentally, maybe 3. The anguish is sometime truly unbearable. I am terrified,that when my Wife and I die, he will be all alone in a grungy facility somewhere, banging his head against a wall. I don't understand why he can't develop, why he is so "stuck", it breaks my heart every single day. I love him for who he is, but he can't survive in this world alone. How is it that someone who has a been shot in the head can somehow recover, but my son who had an oxygen problem at birth cannot.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com