[mannykannot]

This response, describing autism as being merely different, is exactly why the single diagnostic label was a mistake, and should be immediately reversed. I know an autistic person whose ability to use language is so impaired that only his parents and siblings can communicate in any meaningful way with him. Effective use of language is a signature feature of being human, and to dismiss an inability to do so as being merely 'different' is a cruel dismissal of some very serious problems that have come to define the life of this family - most of all, of course, for the victim himself (and yes, he is a victim of circumstance.)