Shouldn't we be investing in helping children with autism instead of high costs of greener living?

Question

I find the future will be destroyed if we don't help autistic children get better in life.

Answer 1

Did you ever think that maybe kids with autism will create a better future?  I've worked with kids with autism for almost 10 years and I kind of feel like they ARE the future and the unique skills and obsessions they have can actually be a huge benefit to society.  That is, of course, if society can get over the fact that they act weird.

In addition, pollution is a main focus of study in the cause of autism, so maybe by making the world greener it could lower the incidence of autism.

Answer 2

There are tons of groups and money going to this investigation. AutismSpeaks is one of them.

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Fut...

Answer 3

And I think the future will be destroyed if global warming takes over. As worthy a cause helping children with autism is, greener living kind of involves all of us. If you try selling something that will help a minority over helping practically everyone, you won't get a good response.

Answer 4

To quote a friend of mine "if we don't look after the environment what's the use of helping the children." I may be slightly misquoting her as it was a few days ago. But her point was that if we don't look after the environment then anything we do for the children won't be worth it.

I'd personally like to see funding go into both areas. I'm not much of an enviromentalist but when my friend said what she said it kind of made sense.

Another thing you are saying help get children better in life. Are you meaning like you get better from being sick, because although Autism is treatable it is a lifelong condition for which there is neither no known cause of cure.

Answer 5

Or if you want to talk about high costs, how about the "war on terror" and the 5 years our government has spent waging war in Iraq.  Personally, speaking as a person who is very interested in both the education of children with disabilities as well as making progress in "greener" living, I don't see why there should be any conflict between the two.  

I am a special education teacher, and for the past 10 years, 1/4 to 1/2 of my students have been considered to be on the "autism spectrum."  A number  of their parents have felt that their child began to show symptoms after events like being exposed to pesticides, herbicides, or harsh cleaning products.  While I am not so certain that these exposures were directly related, I would suggest to you that greener living may very well be in the best interest of all of us, perhaps especially in the case of children on the autism spectrum.  If you are looking for a place to cut government waste in order to redirect funds to education, try looking at our military budget.  (By the way, I am a family member of many people who have been service members, and I in no way disrespect their service to our country.  But if you are looking for ways to save our government funding, research the costs of our efforts in Iraq, and think about how that money could be spent within the United States....)

Answer 6

What if it turns out that all the preservatives, antibiotics, or growth hormones in our foods and medicines is causing autism? What if the increased carbon footprint from non-green living is causing autism?

Don't they deserve to have clean air to breathe? Don't they deserve to see a flower grow and bloom, or watch lightning bugs, or swing from a tree limb . . .

Answer 7

I'm not sure how much we can do with children with autism than what is already being done.  Once more research is done and statistics are taken, then it would be wise to react.  Day to day living will not change drastically.  Sorry but true.

What are you hoping we could use the funds for?

Answer 8

yes i think we should, i think the lotto fund, should donate to these causes, instead, of the money going to art and theatre ,funds,good question  blue

Answer 9

As an educator, you can't compare the two situations.  If we don't improve our planet, then we wouldn't be here at all.

But, I do think more concrete research needs to be done about autism.  I feel there are too many myths, theories and methods surrounding it.

The only way we are going to help autistic individuals is if we discover what's going on in the brain, environment or genes that causes it.

Answer 10

Absolutely. Greener living is fake anyway. It's all hype.

Just another religion.

Answer 11

I believe the answer to your question is completely based on one's personal preference.  In my opinion, both are extremely worthy causes.  However, unfortunately there are many other issues besides autism which drastically affect the lives of children and adults......hunger, child abuse, poverty, mental retardation, cocaine and meth babies, and many many others.

Answer 12

If we continue to destroy our world with pollution and excessive non-renewable energy use, there will be nothing left for any children, autistic or not.