Parents love to label their children as special! Unfortunately, there are as many doctors who will happily oblige in this quest to ruin a child forever.
When I was growing up, the "in" disorder to have was attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). If you weren't labeled as having this disorder then you were not a special kid. Those children have grown-up, and, of course, you can't label your child as having a disorder you had as a youngster. That would just be wrong and uninspiring. So, what's the new disorder to have?
Autism!
If a child bats his/her eyes the wrong way, is slow at learning to walk or talk, or if they seem a bit withdrawn, then he/she must be autistic. There's no doubt about it! Call the pediatrician up on the phone, pay the $150 office fee, and viola, you have an autistic baby or toddler to take care of for the next fifteen years!
Of course, I am being sarcastic. I realize there are cases where a truly unique child has this disorder. But I find it hard to accept that fifty-percent of students, who are enrolling in kindergarten for the upcoming school year, have this disorder. Where was it when I was a kid? The answer is, as I said before, we all had ADHD back in the 1980s and 1990s, except for me, I wasn't special enough. (By the way, thanks Mom for not filling me full of Ritalin, in order to make yourself feel special!)
The bottom line is not every baby has to be autistic to be special. You can be special without being labeled with a disorder. I was perfectly happy being one of the "regular" kids (although, we were few and far between, in retrospect!). So, when a proud parents tell me about their little Suzie, who is autistic, I accept it with a healthy dose of skepticism.
Sorry! In fifteen years, kids will be labeled with another disorder. Just wait and you'll see I'm right. (Grandma had ADHD, mom had autism, and I have ___?____. After all, that's why my portfolio is littered with stocks of drug companies.)
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