Alright – so, if you follow national autism news then you heard that Seinfeld the actor and comedian oh and the millionaire diagnosed himself with autism during an interview on NBC with Brian Williams. Well, this made some advocates and parents pretty mad and some who are always desperate that our kids and adults with autism to be different not disabled were very happy. Then Seinfeld said oops sorry, scratch that – just kidding I am not really autistic. WTF, who plays with such emotional and toll taking disorder like autism. Well – only over-rated Hollywood – please look at me, pay attention to me actors that have no idea the real lives of autism families.
My take was – are you kidding me. The show Seinfeld was based on an abstract comedy not falling down then laugh comedy. And, excuse me but understanding and creating abstract anything is soooooo difficult for our kids and adults on the spectrum. I think Kim Stagliano from Age of Autism who has three kids with autism put it best. My heart goes out to parents like Kim who have more than one child on the REAL spectrum.
I am sorry, but Seinfeld did not just acted on his show, he created it. Heck, I would like his kind of autism. I think out of touch celebrities who might not understand autism by any means think they can self diagnose themselves. The problem with this is – those with influence and power see these people and assume they represent all autism. How bad can autism be if Jerry Seinfeld has it
There are true autistic heroes like Temple Grandin, John Robison and Ari Ne’eman who are all autistic and have achieved so much, but Mr. Seinfeld – come on.
Autism is a nuero-developmental disability and while it affects each person differently, these kids/adults have many challenging and difficult things they deal with daily.
Above words do not represent any committee, agency or candidate.
Idil – Somali Autism Mom & Minority Advocate