Autistic Child in Area

I was driving the other day and saw a street sign that read: "Caution: Autistic Child in Area"; you know, similar to those "Caution: Blind Child in Area" signs.

That got me thinking. What am I supposed to do if I encounter this child while driving?

Blindness is something I can comprehend...the kid can't see. Easy enough, I just drive slowly and tell him/her that they're in the middle of the street if they mistakenly wander into the road.

But what about autism? They can't just put a sign like that up and expect everyone to automatically know what to do. Even Autism advocates themselves will admit that it's still a relatively mysterious disease. So the sign should really read "Caution: You would have no idea how to deal with an autistic kid if he were to wander into the street right this instant. You are so ignorant, how do you live with yourself? You make me sick."

To make things worse, it turns out there are varying degrees of autism, from Asperger's to Rett Syndrome to CDD. So now you're even more screwed. Not only does this kid have a disease that you know nothing about, but chances are you won't even figure out which type of autism he's got.

Maybe we can form a game plan if we identify some common symptoms:
- trouble interacting with others
- unemotional
- unable to hold eye contact
- unable to speak
- obsessive fixation on specific items, subjects, etc.
- views people simply as objects

So now what? If this kid runs out into the street (well, that eliminates Rett Syndrome, which is typically characterized by an inability to walk):
- you can't yell at him/her, because they won't understand the urgency of the situation evidenced by your emotion.
- You can't drive slowly toward them, hoping they'll move, since there's a chance that they've become fixated on your car.
- You can't hope to ask them questions, since they may not speak to you.

So I guess the sign should read "Caution: you need to write a check to AutismSpeaks.com because if that kid wandered into the street right now, you'd be f--ed. Or you can stop your car, crawl into the fetal position, suck your thumb, and hope everything gets better."