Posted by Declan on August 21, 2005, at 14:59:04 [reposted on August 23, 2005, at 1:28:35 | original URL]
In reply to part 2, posted by spriggy on August 21, 2005, at 13:09:40
Hello Spriggy
I wonder if you would be interested in some of my brother's story. Born 1947. By age 3 absence of speech . By age 6 medical assessment was started. Diagnosed with what might now be described as severe classical autism. By age 8 a decision made on the best available medical advice to put him in a home, called Sunshine, for heavens sake. (Would never pass the mental age of 3). 500 miles away.
9 months later my father found someone special who could help. He was taken out of the home and lived with her for the next 10 years. It sure helped to have money at that point.
Eventually after a lot of coaching he got his private flying license. He has been flying now for , what, 30 years? I think he has flown for 10,000 hours. That might not be right, no I think that's it. 2 engine Beechcraft Baron at the moment. Glides on the weekends.
Anyway, he's done all sorts of things. Often enough he's been to that big airshow in the US, it has a funny name that I forget (like Okidoki but not), maybe in Kansas, thousands of light aircraft go there. A couple of times he's been in the crew that has flown light aircraft from the US to Australia (friends) and once bought a plane in Russia and flew it back here to Australia.
Not so much was known about autism then. He still remembers the precise dates on which he went into Sunshine and came out. 50 years later.
I don't think my mother ever got over making the decision to put him away and then making the desion to take him out of there.
Declan
poster:Declan
thread:545522
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/child/20050817/msgs/545525.html