This week features a very special back to back, two podcast episode release as Annette speaks with two guests who were interviewed for a recent Today Show Article called "Autism Wars." Today's episode features Annette's interview with Amy S.F. Lutz, an author, vice president of the National Council on Severe Autism (NCSA), and a mom to 5 children, her oldest son Jonah having severe autism. Amy also became so interested in the history of autism due to her son's issues, she went back to school and is currently seeking a doctorate in the history of medicine. Annette and Amy speak about the "Autism Wars" article, severe autism, and extreme caregiving.

Severe Autism

Severe autism looks very different from very mild forms of autism – this is why autism is noted as "Autism Spectrum Disorder." Autism can be very mild on one end of the spectrum or very severe on the other end, with a wide range of levels in between. A severely autistic individual will have profound intellectual disabilities, can be very aggressive and exhibit violent behavior, and are often very unstable and can potentially harm themselves as well as others. Severely autistic individuals also usually require exceptionally trained staff and specific supports and programs due to the challenging behaviors they often have. While individuals with mild forms of autism are often able to live somewhat typical lives on their own, those with severe autism generally need extra support and specific care for most if not all of their lives.

Autism Wars Article

Most parents of severely autistic children use a common-sense position based on their experience with their children. Unfortunately, as the Today Show article "Autism Wars" conveyed, these parents often face criticism from some autistic adults and some that view their own autism diagnosis more as an identity rather than an illness or impairment. Some of these autistic adults tend to label parents of severely autistic children as ableists - that these parents don't really love their children and they are only sharing things about their child to gain attention for themselves. Some autistic adults also feel that the parents of severely autistic children are violating their children's rights by sharing items about them publicly on social media or other platforms. Unfortunately, most severely autistic children do not have the capacity to consen

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