2008 Woodie Awards
Columnist's autism remark insensitive
Issue date: 4/4/08 Section: Rocket Letters
To the editor:
I sometimes appreciate Lisbeth Wells-Pratt's creative approaches to topics in the column "They're Only Words," but I was offended at a remark she made in the March 28 edition ("Better parking on campus? Only in 'Good News' of my dreams").
In describing her thoughts about a fictitious "Good News" e-mail, Ms. Wells-Pratt referred flippantly, and I'm sure she thought humorously, to "some professor with amnesia teaching autistic monkeys to write sonnets."
A statement like this in print shows the power of words and the lack of respect for people with disabilities like autism.
April is Autism Awareness month. Although I'm sure most are aware that monkeys are not born with autism, one of every 150 children born today will be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
Some of these children may one day write sonnets, others will never speak a word. Autism is an "invisible" disability, in that those with autism often blend in with their "typical" peers, but they are faced every day with challenges from a world filled with people who don't understand the pain of not being able to communicate your thoughts, fears, and ideas.
There are those who will say that taking offense to a statement meant as an exaggeration or written in jest is another example of political correctness, but I think it is, instead, an example of how well-meaning people are oblivious to the pain and hardships that people with disabilities like autism must overcome to be accepted in society.
There is power in words, and I hope this writer and others at the university begin to learn about how we can include people with disabilities in our academic and personal lives.
My hope is that some day there will no longer be a need for a special month set aside for awareness because people with disabilities will be accepted and respected as an integral part of our community.
Kathleen Strickland
Professor
English
I sometimes appreciate Lisbeth Wells-Pratt's creative approaches to topics in the column "They're Only Words," but I was offended at a remark she made in the March 28 edition ("Better parking on campus? Only in 'Good News' of my dreams").
In describing her thoughts about a fictitious "Good News" e-mail, Ms. Wells-Pratt referred flippantly, and I'm sure she thought humorously, to "some professor with amnesia teaching autistic monkeys to write sonnets."
A statement like this in print shows the power of words and the lack of respect for people with disabilities like autism.
April is Autism Awareness month. Although I'm sure most are aware that monkeys are not born with autism, one of every 150 children born today will be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
Some of these children may one day write sonnets, others will never speak a word. Autism is an "invisible" disability, in that those with autism often blend in with their "typical" peers, but they are faced every day with challenges from a world filled with people who don't understand the pain of not being able to communicate your thoughts, fears, and ideas.
There are those who will say that taking offense to a statement meant as an exaggeration or written in jest is another example of political correctness, but I think it is, instead, an example of how well-meaning people are oblivious to the pain and hardships that people with disabilities like autism must overcome to be accepted in society.
There is power in words, and I hope this writer and others at the university begin to learn about how we can include people with disabilities in our academic and personal lives.
My hope is that some day there will no longer be a need for a special month set aside for awareness because people with disabilities will be accepted and respected as an integral part of our community.
Kathleen Strickland
Professor
English
