I am using the neutral, if politically incorrect term, mental handicap here.
I am not using the overused and incorrect term 'autistic' here, as this label is now merely a soothing
name for parents. Originally, when the term had some specific meaning, inividuals with this condition were a
rarity, now they are ten a penny, and 'autistic' and 'mentally handicapped' are in fact synonyms.
Mentally handicapped people are not intelligent people trapped behind a pane of glass,
straight out of a Hollywood tear-jerker. They do not usually have an area of much greater ability,
are not idiot savants, and are not obsessive-compulsive neurotics.
See the article on autism on this site.