By the Way- Did you notice McCain said Palin's baby has AUTISM?

[Guaranteed]

Wrong.

The baby has Down Syndrome.


He's obviously so concerned about the plight of the developmentally disabled.

[ryanmuegge]

1. Forms of retardation are often misdiagonsed as autism these days.

Or so I've heard.

[Left Is Write]

3. But that's got nothing to do with McCain's gaffe.

The baby has Down Syndrome.

Autism isn't even diagnosed in 6-month-old babies.

[Guaranteed]

9. That's right- there is no genetic test for the presence of autism,

at least at this point.

[silverojo]

16. That's because McCain is retarded

Retarded in the areas of compassion, conscience, and common sense.

In other words, a typical Republican.

[Guaranteed]

6. Down Syndrome is NOT something that is diagnosed as autism.

The moon face is dead giveaway- not to mention the fact that Down Syndrome is actually diagnosed through genetic analysis in babies- there is an obvious, extra chromosome.

[ryanmuegge]

17. Oh yeah, I forgot about that. It's easily quantifiable. McCain's just an idiot.

One more reason he shouldn't president.

[BlooInBloo]

27. If you don't know, then don't fucking say it. DUH.

[ryanmuegge]

33. LOL. Wow. you get pretty worked up over a misunderstood post on a message board, buddy.

If that's your biggest problem, I wish I had your life.

I'm sure you're an MD or a Ph.D clinical psychologist.

Notice I said "mental retardation," not Down Syndrome. The world doesn't revolve around Bristol Palin's kid. Tough to believe, I know.

Moreover, I don't need to prove my intelligence to people like you. You don't sign my paychecks.

[Odin2005]

28. Which is stupid because Autism isn't mental retardation.

Autism is ultimately a sensory-motor-perceptual issue, nothing to do with intelligence.

[Mariana]

2. They're all the same.

:sarcasm:

[Barack_America]

4. Yeah, that pissed me off. They are very different conditions with very different needs.

But McCain knowing that Palin's kid has Down's assumes that she herself understands her own child's condition and explained it to McCain correctly.

[Guaranteed]

7. And not even CLOSE to each other. nt

[chelsea0011]

5. I certainly did. I couldn't understand why he kept saying autism

when he must know it's Downs Syndrome. I came away believing he just didn't feel comfortable saying Downs. Maybe I'm wrong.

[Chorophyll]

8. Yes, I did notice that.

Twice, in fact. He doesn't give a shit.

[krkaufman]

10. Did he say the baby had autism? Or just that Palin understood special needs children?

I didn't hear the direct statement that Palin's baby had autism.

[Guaranteed]

11. He talked about autism twice.

The first time, it was just in general.

The second time, he mentioned Palin and her child and in the same sentence said something about the plight of autism. It was pretty clear he thought the baby had autism.

[krkaufman]

14. Right. But he didn't literally say Palin's child has autism, then? n/t

[Guaranteed]

25. No, he actually did- it's just that he didn't say "Palin's baby has autism."

In the context he was referring to Palin's baby as having autism.

[Odin2005]

30. "Plight" of Autism?

Sorry McLame, us Auties don't want pity. We want to be treated like human beings,not a problem to be "cured"

[hedgehog]

36. I understand where you're coming from since me and my kids may

be somewhere on that spectrum, but there are people who have a great deal of difficulty simply functioning as a result of autism. For comparison, a person might be near sighted and get along fine with glasses or even without but that's not the same as being blind.

[mzmolly]

12. Well in all fairness, McCain is "old and confused."

;)

[lady raven]

13. It says a lot about his judgment that he doesn't know his own running mate

well enough to know what developmental disability her baby has. After all, she has waved that poor baby around at every opportunity. My 8 year old knows Trig has DS.

[Dem_4_Life]

15. Isn't Sarah Palin's sister's child the one with Autism?

Either way, stating that Sarah's baby has Autism obviously shows that he doesn't care enough to even pay attention.

[PA Democrat]

18. Newsflash. Funding for autism research was included as an EARMARK

in the latest defense funding bill. Would McCrappypants have vetoed THAT bill and named names?

[lady raven]

19. Thank you for pointing that out- I did NOT know that. n/t

[PA Democrat]

24. You're welcome! Here's a link:

http://www.autism-society.org/site/News2?JServSessionIdr001=ddy1irgnf1.app23a&page=NewsArticle&id=12206&news_iv_ctrl=1882

[lady raven]

38. Thanks for the link! That's good to know! n/t

[Odin2005]

31. What kind of research?

I hope it's not research into ways to "cure" us or for creating a genetic test so non-autistics can abort us.

[Blaq Dem]

20. I caught it too. Started a thread about it a while back.

[K8-EEE]

21. He doesn't know/doesn't care about the difference

or about disabled kids.

[Plaid Adder]

22. I noticed that.

He didn't say that Trig had autism, he said that Palin would know "more about that than most," which implies one of two things:

1) He really does think Trig has autism.
2) He thinks that having a child with Down's Syndrome is so much like having a child with autism that it's pretty much all the same thing.

1) would indicate he's not paying attention. (I think he also forgot Michelle's name at one point.) #2 would indicate that he doesn't know enough about either disability to realize that the challenges are very different.

Ah well,

The Plaid Adder

[Essene]

23. that was very pathetic, yes.

[Odin2005]

26. This Autistic person is seriously offended by McLame's stupidity.

Autism isn't mental retardation (Einstein and Jefferson are thought to have been on the Autism spectrum), something most people don't seem to understand. comparing Autism to Down's Syndrome is comparing apples to oranges.

[Jennicut]

29. Autism has nothing to do with Down's Syndrome

With Down's there is an extra 21st chromosome that leads to mental retardation. There is no explanation for how a child gets Autism, just theories. Autism is not mental retardation, its a brain development disorder. One can be autistic and still very very intelligent. I know all this because I am studying to be a preschool teacher and taking a child development class. Tell me, John McInsane why would Sarah Palin would be so great on Autism when what Trig has is nothing to do with it?

[Greg K]

32. I heard that he was refering to Palin's nephew, who is autistic. No gaffe then, and best left alone.

[gatorboy]

34. Aye, aye, cap'n!

[Dems4me]

35. I don't think any media people have picked up on that yet. n/t

[hedgehog]

37. I think they are embarrassed at the confusion of two separate issues.