Afflicted?

I read an article this morning on autism where autism was described as an “affliction.” Seriously. This is the first time that I have ever heard it called an affliction.

Today was the day that we had our two children with autism over for a visit. I looked at both of them and I did not see any affliction. Of course they have some issues. They are both nonverbal. There are some safety issues. They cannot do everything that others can do. But they are not afflicted.

I took my daughter to Tim Horton’s to pick up some donuts. I am always looking for an excuse to take her for a drive. When we got in the car, I saw her making faces in the rearview mirror. She saw me catching her and we both broke out in laughter. Afflicted?

I was sitting with my son and I saw him looking at me strangely. I finally figured out that he was amused by my Walking Dead shirt. He kept touching my shirt and putting his face on it all the while with a silly grin. Afflicted?

I realize that it is difficult to come up with the right words. Autism is not an affliction. Autism is not a disease. Autism is a disorder. That is why they call it Autism Spectrum Disorder.

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