# Army battles enlistment shortfall by recruiting autistic teen **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 12, 2006, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-battles-enlistment-shortfall-by-recruiting-autistic-teen/356494 "2006-05-12T12:47:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2006, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-battles-enlistment-shortfall-by-recruiting-autistic-teen/356494/21 "2006-05-12T18:34:22Z")
[QUOTE=liberty] What are you trying to say? That Truck drivers are stupid??? I Scored good on an IQ test given to me and fared very well at my 4 year school and got my B.S. degree. I drive a truck and I know plenty of other really intelligent people who drive trucks. Actually, you don’t need someone with a low IQ handling an 80,000 pound vehicle. [/QUOTE] Settle down, dude. It’s a joke, like the one in the Air Force that says that everybody who washes out of Tech School becomes a cop. I did a year with the cops, and they are as well represented a career field as any other. The perception is that anybody can drive a truck. You know it’s not true, I know it’s not true, pretty much everybody else does as well, so get a grip, willya? Incidentally, IQ is not tested for. The ASVAB has nothing to do with IQ. It has to do with aptitude, hence the name. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2006, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-battles-enlistment-shortfall-by-recruiting-autistic-teen/356494/22 "2006-05-12T18:48:50Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] People with autism and related disorders are sometimes very intelligent and gifted, so an intelligence test wouldn’t necessarily warn you that anything was wrong. **Mama Zappa** may be right that they would struggle with that test; she’s got way more experience with autistic people than I do. [/QUOTE] I’m guessing that you mean they would _not_ struggle with the test 🙂 From the sample I saw, many high-functioning autistics would do fine on it. Many would not, of course! > [@bup](#): > > I bet there was no way for the doctor or the recruiters to tell the kid had autism. I’d bet you’re spot on with that. My kid, for example, on brief contact would come across as a tad odd but otherwise you wouldn’t suspect he was on the autistic spectrum. My nephew, on the other hand, wouldn’t get past any initial screening interview or test unless the interviewer was comatose. I actually don’t have any issues with the Army attempting to recruit him - the recruiters have a tough job and here appeared to be a perfectly normal kid who was eager to sign on. The pit-worthy part of the whole situation is that, when his issues were documented and brought to the attention of presumably the appropriate people, they refused to stop the process. They were willing to gloss over something that could endanger him and his buddies, just to meet their goals, until the whole situation was made embarassingly public. > [@Loach](#): > > They realized he didn’t belong there, despite the fact that he passed through the qualifications. He was being processed out of the Army before we were issued our first bullet during Basic Rifle Marksmanship. This is reassuring and what I’d hope would happen with anyone like Jared, or **Dweezil** , who somehow got into the service. Obviously that would be upsetting to the kid in question, but it beats the hell out of some of the other possible outcomes. Would such a person be given something like a general discharge? It would be a shame if the boy were given a discharge which had some long-term ramifications e.g. Dishonorable. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2006, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-battles-enlistment-shortfall-by-recruiting-autistic-teen/356494/23 "2006-05-12T19:17:00Z")
[QUOTE=Mama Zappa] I’m guessing that you mean they would _not_ struggle with the test 🙂 From the sample I saw, many high-functioning autistics would do fine on it. Many would not, of course! [/QUOTE] I was trying to say two different things at once, and I probably failed. Here’s a better version: ‘autistic people are sometimes very intelligent, so an IQ test would not necessarily tell you that a potential recruit is autistic. However, **Mama Zappa** said that kids with autism sometimes have trouble with those tests and I’m sure she knows what she’s talking about.’ ---
**Author:** ![liberty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/958977/32.png) [@liberty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liberty)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2006, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-battles-enlistment-shortfall-by-recruiting-autistic-teen/356494/24 "2006-05-12T19:30:20Z")
[QUOTE=Airman Doors, USAF] Settle down, dude. It’s a joke, like the one in the Air Force that says that everybody who washes out of Tech School becomes a cop. I did a year with the cops, and they are as well represented a career field as any other. The perception is that anybody can drive a truck. You know it’s not true, I know it’s not true, pretty much everybody else does as well, so get a grip, willya? Incidentally, IQ is not tested for. The ASVAB has nothing to do with IQ. It has to do with aptitude, hence the name. [/QUOTE] I figured I overreacted 😉🆒 ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2006, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-battles-enlistment-shortfall-by-recruiting-autistic-teen/356494/25 "2006-05-12T19:38:44Z")
[QUOTE=askeptic] Sure, why not let in hemopheliacs, blind people, quad and paraplegic, hell let in everybody we are a society of inclusion, we can find duties that all people can perform in between medical treatments. [/QUOTE] Hey, it’s not like I’m a big fan of the military or want recruiters to succeed (quite the opposite in fact), I’m just saying autistic people who have stabilized by the time they are in their late teens might do OK. What medical treatment are they receiving regularly at that point? ---
**Author:** ![askeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@askeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/askeptic)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2006, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-battles-enlistment-shortfall-by-recruiting-autistic-teen/356494/26 "2006-05-12T19:45:10Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] Hey, it’s not like I’m a big fan of the military or want recruiters to succeed (quite the opposite in fact), I’m just saying autistic people who have stabilized by the time they are in their late teens might do OK. What medical treatment are they receiving regularly at that point? [/QUOTE] Look, people with [tinea versicolor](http://health.yahoo.com/ency/healthwise/hw166595) are disqualified. I doubt people with diagnosed autism stand much of a chance of getting in. The military is not a place for people with “mental health issues”, hell they have a hard enough time with people that don’t have diagnosed problems. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2006, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-battles-enlistment-shortfall-by-recruiting-autistic-teen/356494/27 "2006-05-12T20:10:03Z")
[QUOTE=bup] I bet there was no way for the doctor or the recruiters to tell the kid had autism. [/QUOTE] Perhaps not initially, but why did they refuse to release him from his commitment even after his parents supplied his medical records? ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2006, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-battles-enlistment-shortfall-by-recruiting-autistic-teen/356494/28 "2006-05-12T20:28:30Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] Hey, it’s not like I’m a big fan of the military or want recruiters to succeed (quite the opposite in fact), I’m just saying autistic people who have stabilized by the time they are in their late teens might do OK. What medical treatment are they receiving regularly at that point? [/QUOTE] That varies widely, obviously. Some treatment that a high-functioning teen with autism might be getting, based on what I’ve seen: - Anti-anxiety medication (e.g. Prozac) - Medication to help with aggression issues (e.g. Risperdal) - Ongoing therapy such as social skills, psychotherapy - Seizure medication (incidence of seizure disorders is higher among people with autism, though I don’t have statistics) - Prolly lots more that I’m not thinking of right now. Any of those would presumably kick a person right out of the eligible pool. For example, all jokes about soldiers needing to be aggressive aside, you wouldn’t want someone in the army who had problems _controlling_ their aggression. I’m guessing Jared had no such obvious red flags (neither does my kid at present, except for therapy). A person with any/all of the issues above might be “stable” in that they could function pretty well in society. Even someone who was not currently receiving services / medication might be functioning well enough for everyday life, but my understanding of the military world is that there are whole lot of extra challenges you have to be able to deal with. Things like the willingness to go along with a superior’s orders when they don’t mesh with how you think things should be. Or the wisdom to use judgement when required rather than going along with the crowd (OK, neither of these is just an issue with the military, but the ramifications of screwing up could be more serious in the military). Not to say that there aren’t some very high-functioning people who could make a go of it - but my guess is many/most would have a lot of trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2006, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-battles-enlistment-shortfall-by-recruiting-autistic-teen/356494/29 "2006-05-12T20:48:27Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] What **exactly** \*is \* Autism? How is it Diagnosed, is there a proven test? Do all medical experts agree on the diagnostics? [http://web.indstate.edu/thcme/anderson/DBruk.html](http://web.indstate.edu/thcme/anderson/DBruk.html) > **[Diagnosis of autism](https://www.bmj.com/content/327/7413/488.full)** > > \* > > Parents want autism to be diagnosed as early as possible, and early intervention may improve long term outcomes. The authors of this review discuss the identification and assessment process for children with autism and autistic spectrum... "\*Secondly, despite the organic basis of the disorder, the diagnostic criteria have been derived through consensus, rather than being organically based; no biological “test” exists for autism. Diagnostic cut-offs have been hard to define, because the manifestation of the core impairments and behaviours of autism varies greatly from person to person, as shown in the table.9 10 Symptoms vary in any single person with autism, and as autism is a developmental disorder change occurs over time.10 \* " [http://www.autism.org/dsm.html](http://www.autism.org/dsm.html) [/QUOTE] Excellent sources of info on this developmental disability. Autistic spectrum disorder is such a multi-dimensional “gray area” that keeps getting redefined almost on an annual basis. My youngest son (4.5 y.o.) has had a few tests, and at first it seemed his mannerisms fell into the spectrum category, but now it seems like he is “growing out of it” in some areas, but not all…he still has speech and language issues, but we are having those issues addressed through a special pre-school program. His frustration and acting out is because he is very intelligent, but can’t communicate effectively his wants or needs and loses his temper unless we understand him the FIRST time. Fortuanately, we (as parents) can pick up on this most of the time and he is having less tantrums as his language and speech improves. There are other peculiar mannerisms that he does have, but even those are ever so slightly diminishing in occurrences too. Some clinicians see this more as ADD or ADHD, or an extension of the autism spectrum. Even someone diagnosed with autism 15 years ago may not be properly diagnosed and may need to be re-evaluated. I’m not dismissing the recruiters actions here, but if the kid passed the test and showed no peculiar outward behaviors, who are they to determine whether or not he’s fit to be a soldier even if the parents had medical documentation? The kid is 18 (majority), not 3. Maybe he overcame many of his disorders, or some of these disorders were simply outgrown when proper therapy is applied early in life? (Hence, our position). Just because the label of “Autism” got slapped on him early on in life, should not mean that he will not be a totally functioning human being as he/she matures. I do believe that if there are other tests that the military requires this kid to do, that they will eventually weed him out IF he has problems with focusing on tasks that require concentration that he may not be able pass because of his own personal disabilities that may limit it. I would suspect that this would have happened if the parents didn’t intervene in the first place. I don’t blame the parents either, they did what they thought was in his best interest, although he might be resentful of them because of it. The word “Spectrum” is the apt word to describe this disorder…not everyone who has this disorder is “disabled”…so please, read up on the advances. Unless he is clearly autistic (in the classic sense) and not under the spectrum, then I doubt he would have been able to pass any of the tests and his outward behavior would have been a red flag to the recruiters. He was more likely in the spectrum (or even ADD/ADHD) and therefore functioning well enough to pass the tests. Lately, this categorization is being used (along with ADD/ADHD) to pigeonhole a lot of kids who are not performing up to a school’s standards (and some schools welcome the extra cash from the state to fund the education of these kids). And some of these kids get mislabeled because of it. That is something my wife and I pay particular attention to because that label tends to stick to that individual until he reaches adulthood…which can be detrimental. ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-battles-enlistment-shortfall-by-recruiting-autistic-teen/356494/30 "2006-05-13T12:19:12Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] It is despicable when a government must rely on the naiveté of the mentally challenged to provide the unending stream of warm bodies to prosecute this ill-considered and fraudulently sold war. [/QUOTE] When I was in basic training the story was that one of the guys in another squad had an artificial leg. He wanted to be in the infantry. Needless to say once he took his first shower it was obvious that he wouldn’t be suitable and he was sent home. This was in Canada 26 years ago, btw (holy shit! it was that long ago? Damn, how old am I anyway? Well, \ there goes my dream of winning the Stanley Cup anytime soon). ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2006, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-battles-enlistment-shortfall-by-recruiting-autistic-teen/356494/31 "2006-05-13T22:48:03Z")
[QUOTE=Mama Zappa] This is reassuring and what I’d hope would happen with anyone like Jared, or **Dweezil** , who somehow got into the service. Obviously that would be upsetting to the kid in question, but it beats the hell out of some of the other possible outcomes. Would such a person be given something like a general discharge? It would be a shame if the boy were given a discharge which had some long-term ramifications e.g. Dishonorable. [/QUOTE] IIRC there is another category when you wash out like this. It’s basically a push. You haven’t been in long enough to be considered a veteran so you can’t get an honorable discharge. I think it’s called something like an Administrative Discharge. No long term problems for the person. Just like if something came up after the contract is signed but before you ship out, injury, pregnancy etc. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-battles-enlistment-shortfall-by-recruiting-autistic-teen/356494/32 "2006-05-14T08:57:34Z")
It’s called Entry-Level Separation. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-battles-enlistment-shortfall-by-recruiting-autistic-teen/356494/33 "2006-05-14T12:41:23Z")
[Looks like it’s more than just one autistic kid](http://www.courant.com/news/specials/hc-mental1a.artmay14,0,6150281.story?coll=hc-big-headlines-breaking): > [@](#): > > Despite a congressional order that the military assess the mental health of all deploying troops, fewer than 1 in 300 service members see a mental health professional before shipping out. > > Once at war, some unstable troops are kept on the front lines while on potent antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs, with little or no counseling or medical monitoring. > > ADVERTISEMENT > And some troops who developed post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in Iraq are being sent back to the war zone, increasing the risk to their mental health. > > These practices, which have received little public scrutiny and in some cases violate the military’s own policies, have helped to fuel an increase in the suicide rate among troops serving in Iraq, which reached an all-time high in 2005 when 22 soldiers killed themselves - accounting for nearly one in five of all Army non-combat deaths. > > The Courant’s investigation found that at least 11 service members who committed suicide in Iraq in 2004 and 2005 were kept on duty despite exhibiting signs of significant psychological distress. In at least seven of the cases, superiors were aware of the problems, military investigative records and interviews with families indicate. > [@](#): > > But The Courant’s review found that since 2003, the military has increasingly sent, kept and recycled troubled troops into combat - practices that undercut its assurances of improvements. Besides causing suicides, experts say, gaps in mental health care can cause violence between soldiers, accidents and critical mistakes in judgment during combat operations. > > Military experts and advocates point to recruiting shortfalls and intense wartime pressure to maintain troop levels as reasons more service members with psychiatric problems are being deployed to the war zone and kept there. > > “What you have is a military stretched so thin, they’ve resorted to keeping psychologically unfit soldiers at the front,” said Stephen Robinson, the former longtime director of the National Gulf War Resource Center. “It’s a policy that can do an awful lot of damage over time.” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-battles-enlistment-shortfall-by-recruiting-autistic-teen/356494/34 "2006-05-14T17:35:07Z")
[QUOTE=RTFirefly] Looks like it’s more than just one autistic kid: [/QUOTE] Umm, RTF? I didn’t see the word Autistic anywhere in your quotes. (And, and I wish dudes wouldn’t use Quote blocks for anything but quoting other posters posts. That’s what they Quote blocks are there for. For quoting outsides sources there are these things “”“”. 😛 ) ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-battles-enlistment-shortfall-by-recruiting-autistic-teen/356494/35 "2006-05-14T19:19:31Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] (And, and I wish dudes wouldn’t use Quote blocks for anything but quoting other posters posts. That’s what they Quote blocks are there for. For quoting outsides sources there are these things “”“”. 😛 ) [/QUOTE] This entire parenthetical is a joke, especially if it wasn’t meant as one. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-battles-enlistment-shortfall-by-recruiting-autistic-teen/356494/36 "2006-05-14T20:11:33Z")
As always, [Clinton did it first!](http://www.theonion.com/content/node/29257) 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Will\_Repair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a698b9/32.png) [@Will\_Repair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Will_Repair)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-battles-enlistment-shortfall-by-recruiting-autistic-teen/356494/37 "2006-05-14T21:15:34Z")
> [@](#): > > Guinther’s case first came to the attention of military officials after an Oregonian reporter contacted them with information that the recruiters refused to accept Guinther’s medical records, after the family complained to them about his recruitment 18 year old wants to join the army. Passes the tests, goes to boot camp and then is mustered out because his parents whined and got a reporter to complain to army brass. Note that Mr. Guinther didn’t wash out! I can just envision the sergeant consoling the young man about the discharge and that there is nothing either one can do about it. That reporter might want to consider how mad Mr. Guinther is and how much training he did receive. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2006, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-battles-enlistment-shortfall-by-recruiting-autistic-teen/356494/38 "2006-05-14T22:39:58Z")
[QUOTE=Will Repair] 18 year old wants to join the army. Passes the tests, goes to boot camp and then is mustered out because his parents whined and got a reporter to complain to army brass.. [/QUOTE] The article cited says nothing about going to boot camp. What is your point? The army should change its own rules and recruit autistic teenagers? There are other regulations about fitness for duty that do not hinge on the inductee’s performance. There have been many cases of underage enlistees who performed admirably, yet because they were only 15 or 16, they were mustered out when the truth was learned. Are you saying they should have been retained? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-battles-enlistment-shortfall-by-recruiting-autistic-teen/356494/39 "2006-05-15T17:49:46Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] Umm, RTF? I didn’t see the word Autistic anywhere in your quotes. [/quote] And your point is?? Mine is that in the way of taking advantage of persons who are physically able but whose brain chemistry might be a bit problematic, it’s not just one autistic kid we’re talking about. > [@](#): > > I wish dudes wouldn’t use Quote blocks for anything but quoting other posters posts. That’s what they Quote blocks are there for. For quoting outsides sources there are these things “”“”. 😛 ) I’ve been here seven years, and there’s never been any differentiation like that, no sense that quote blocks are there for one thing but not the other. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-battles-enlistment-shortfall-by-recruiting-autistic-teen/356494/40 "2006-05-15T18:34:22Z")
[QUOTE=RTFirefly] And your point is?? Mine is that in the way of taking advantage of persons who are physically able but whose brain chemistry might be a bit problematic, it’s not just one autistic kid we’re talking about. I’ve been here seven years, and there’s never been any differentiation like that, no sense that quote blocks are there for one thing but not the other. [/QUOTE] Well, if “it’s not just one autistic kid we’re talking about” where’s the other autistic kids mentioned? 😕 The use of Quote blocks to quote outside sources is a new thing. It’s not against the rules, nor is it required by the rules. It’s not nessesary, however, and it requires those who want to quote ALL of your post to do some extra work. Not to mention it requires a tiny bit of extra work on your part, for no benefit. Did anyone besides the very wise & obviously well informed **Yeticus Rex** bother to read my cites and quotes regarding autism and the significant difficulty in diagnosing it _in borderline cases_? Is it perhaps possible that the recruit’s personal physician is incorrect, or that maybe things have changed in the last 15 years? The recruit is an adult, seems able to function, seems to want an Army career, and didn’t seem to have any problem until his parents interferred. Does he not have the right to make his own decisions, unless he is _mentally Incompetent_? Is there ANYTHING which indicates he is _mentally incompetent_? Since there isn’t, why doesn’t he have the same rights that any of us do? Some dudes are a bit slow or a bit challenged sure. Not all of us can be above average- or even average. But those who are only a bit below average aren’t mentally incompetent and should be given full opportunity to make their own way in life and make their own decisions. In fact, I wouldn’t have it any other way- the interferring busybodies here, the ones that are wrong- are the parents who want to run the life of their ADULT, mentally competent son. Maybe the life of an Army scout isn’t for him. But maybe it is- why not give him a \*chance \* to live his own life? Sure, I’d hope the Amy would run a few mores tests given the evidence presented, but if he passes them all, let him run his own life, and even have a chance to fuck it up. Who the fuck are WE to tell him he can’t? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-battles-enlistment-shortfall-by-recruiting-autistic-teen/356494.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-battles-enlistment-shortfall-by-recruiting-autistic-teen/356494.md?page=3)