Dressing Like Mickey: Abormal? Dressing Like Mickey: Abormal?

The NEW YORK TIMES has an interesting article (registration probably required) on autism and recent controversy over whether it’s an illness to be treated with therapies such as Autism Behavorial Analysis–or whether it’s simply a way of being. Why am I mentioning it here? Well, towards the bottom, the story says the following:

“Ms. Weintraub’s son, Nicholas, has benefited greatly from A.B.A., she said, and she is unapologetic about wanting to remove his remaining quirks, like his stilted manner of speaking and his wanting to be Mickey Mouse for Halloween when other 8-year-olds want to be Frodo from ‘The Lord of the Rings.'”

Since when is an eight year old wanting to dress as Mickey Mouse for Halloween something that demands medical treatment? Heck, it was once a sign of normality–and if I had a kid who was trying to decide whether to go out as Mickey or Frodo, I know which costume I’d recommend…

Jerry Beck

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