Myths on Children with Special Needs

Lack of proper awareness about children with special needs especially in a developing country like ours inevitably causes a lot of myths to be spreading around and sometimes thought to be truths or facts by many.
One of the most common myth I know is that some people think that children that are mentally retarded, with Down syndrome and autism are one are the same. I have personal experiences with this one since my child has autism, so when I tell other people that my son has autism more often than not they would say, he doesn’t look like one. I guess they always think that autistic children also share the same distinct physical characteristics that is often associated with Down syndrome.
Aside from the physical characteristics that they often generalize as to should be the same for all children with special needs, they don’t think each child as unique. So they would always assume that if they meet one child with special needs, they already know what a special needs child are as a whole.
Another myth that I am aware of is that special needs children cannot be independent, that they have to be taken care of for the rest of the their lives. That they need to have a caregiver 24X7 to attend to their needs.
After watching the videos and reading the materials in the course I know for a fact that the above myths that I stated are really just myths and DEFINITELY not facts.  Mentally retarded, kids with Down syndrome and kids with autism are NOT the same. They might seem similar at first impression (DEFINITELY not on the physical characteristics) but on their social skills or behavioral tendencies, but they differ in several aspects. Mentally retarded kids are those kids with intelligence and abilities that are below that are expected of their age, Down syndrome is a genetic disorder which causes the distinct physical characteristic to kids which has this disorder. Autism on the other hand is a disorder that affects how a child communicates, interacts with other people and adapts to his environment. I just learned however through this program that 60-75% of kids with autism are mentally retarded.
Reading through the materials I also learned that each special needs child is also unique as much as a normal child is unique from each other. So it would really be very difficult to predict their potential that is why we should never lose hope and limit them to what they were able to do yesterday, or can do today as they could possibly surpass it tomorrow.
Lastly, although as mentioned that each special child is unique some might need living assistance but not all would need 24 x7 caregiver assistance for the rest of their lives. If early and properly trained (and depending on the physical capabilities), a child with special needs can live independently or at least with minimal assistance. The important thing is we don’t limit them to what they can do. We should let them develop their potential so they can be as independent as much as they can. It may not be 100% (again for some maybe) but at least to some level they can do some things independently.