[DrPhil]

Yes and I've had someone tell me conditions such as autism are merely differences that should be celebrated just as sexual orientation, race and ethnicity, gender, and aging are differences that should be celebrated.

Uh...that is such nonsense for so many reasons that explaining the nonsense could be its own thread. That is the newfound fragility of humans (especially in nations like the USA) and, as DubaiSis stated, pretending as though conditions such as autism are God's gift. We can love, appreciate, and empower people with conditions without REALLY believing "this is awesome and you're just like everyone else." There's this man with a condition who is successfully functional and running his own business partly because no one made excuses for him or treated him as though he is inadequate. But I'm sure no one is relishing over his condition as though his life is so awesome BECAUSE of his condition. No, his life is so awesome IN SPITE of his condition.

It also reminds me of that show on TLC where people are eternal "children" who don't change in size, brain function, or anything. This dumb woman had never sought help for her son's condition including never going to the doctor and asking "what's going on? Why is this happening?" She was just excited to have a perpetual child who needs her to wipe his ass (surely she has no life and no value outside of being needed in this context). That is extremely sickening and as far as I'm concerned her desire to see her son as just "different" borders on "child obsession" and "child abuse".