Walking down the street when I was about eight years old, I saw a man who looked and acted differently. This man was ina wheelchair and did not talk; he only rocked back and forth. I was afraid, of what, I don't know. As I walked by I ignoredhis existence. Only after working with autistic individuals,did I realize that the man I had seen so many years ago in thewheelchair was autistic. I discovered what I was afraid of. Iwas terrified there was nothing I could do to help him, and feared the differences which he displayed. Ignorance of thecauses of autism also contribute to the fear of autisticindividuals. There are many levels of autism. There are alsodifferent ways to help an autistic lead a normal life. Thereare also different severity's of blindness, and different waysfor blind individuals to adapt to their environments.Autism is a syndrome that inhibits a person's ability tosocialize and communicate. The cause is unknown and there isno cure, but it can be overcome through social adjustments andspeech developments. There is great deal of variety amongautistic people. Some autistic people may never learn to talkand may not be able to work or live independently. Others maydo well in special supportive environments, working insheltered settings. Still others are totally independent andfunction fairly well. The last, or "high-functioning," group isoften not recognized; however, they do exist, and people needto recognize and understand the difficulties they face: theirunique ways of thinking, doing things, and experiencing theworld. These levels of intensity in relation to the disabilityare not only found in autism. In her essay Georgina Kleegetalks about the varying degrees of blindness, and how peopleassume that there is only one type of blindness, totaldarkness.Their is no cure to autism but it can be managed throughmany different techniques. The same applies for blind people, there are many different types of treatment...
