autism. They are only a temporary fix for the problem. Autistic people can become productive members of society, but they will always need a form of supervision all their lives. With help, autistic adults can successfully work in the competitive job market or in work groups. They can live semi-independently in a group home or supervised apartments. It is possible to work through autism and become semi-normal again. Nobody Nowhere and Somebody Somewhere are the autobiographies of Donna Williams. She was born autistic and now she is a college graduate and a writer (Williams ix). Another story of an autistic person beating the odds is that of Ian Drummond. He was unable to speak, but with the proper help he eventually learned (Martin). Autism is a complex and still relatively unknown disorder. There is still much to be learned and much research is going on now. Autism is like no other disorder or disease because of the wide range of symptoms and the unknown cause. Autism is similar to other diseases like schizophrenia , but still remains distinctly different. Autistic people are not idiots or hermits, they have a problem that is beyond their control. They do not choose to be that way, that is just how they are. Everyone has their own ideas of how to treat it and what causes it, but at this point only God knows what really happens and why....
