Not so rational choice

I ran across this on Slate when I was over visiting Tantulus Prime and left this comment.

As this is something close to my heart, I decided to put it here, too. So here it is.

I can't begin to tell you how much this scares me.

Hope is indeed a powerful drug, especially when it blinds one to reality or to the possibility of something better.

As a parent I can undestand the absolute agony of trying to love and care for an autistic child; the absolute agony of having to admit that you may have done/passed on something that damaged your child. But blinding yourself willingly or unwillingly to reality is just another instance of doing harm.

As a teacher I've seen a steady increase in the number of autistic students over the last few years. Every predictor of future student population dynamics suggests that will continue at an increasing rate.

Of course parents want answers.

It's particularly difficult for parents as their students enter high school, facing the knowledge that they are coming to the end of what public education can provide and worrying about transitioning their child to the next phase of life.

There is a lot of information to be considered; a lot of factors beyond one's control, and a host of intangibles.

I see a lot of parents trying to cope with the reality of their child's disconnect from social norms, but willful blindness or ignorance does not serve the best interests of the child.

In spite of propoganda to the contrary, very rarely are any decisions made with any clear sense of the best interests of the child.