I believe parents should be held responsible if they use their child’s handicap/disorder/disability to excuse bad parenting.
For instance, attempting to defend a 5 year old child running around with a ping pong ball in his mouth by saying “he has an oral fixation”. or defending a mentally disturbed child who attacks other children with “he was frustrated because [insert child’s name] must have provoked him”.
Children with mental handicaps need discipline just as much as “normal” children—and unfortunately, there are plenty of parents who will use their child’s disorder to excuse their lax discipline.
Well, sometimes a kid needs a good slap on the mouth. But recently I was in Macy’s and a poor woman had a very sick child with her. She had no control over this child - no one could. Everyone in the store seemed to understand that and no one reproached her. I’m not into this Doc Savage thing that there are no autistic children, lol!