Inner Universe

Some people might see it as bad thing, a sad thing, for a child who can't express a response. They might even pity the poor little baby, oh, how the parents must've felt.

They really should stop thinking like that. Autism is not a fatal disease. While incurable, it is generally manageable with a proper education and training for both the child and the parents.

It has become common knowledge that autistic children are unresponsive towards external stimulations, and that they live in their own little world they create inside their own little head.
Not really. Physical contact can be an alternative means of communication with the child.
The key is not to give up trying to coax a response.

The road will, perhaps, be filled with obstacles the size of a mountain. But the result is worth the effort. There are people who will readily lend a helping hand if you know where to look.
So, for parents whose child has autism, you are not alone. Ask for help. It can either be from hospitals or institutions devoted to help managing the disorder.
The child is worth the effort.

Break This, Break That

I don't remember the second part because of the cliched reason about being too preoccupied with the first part. The expression is quite true, so don't even think of trying it just for fun. Sticks and stones can indeed break bones. Let's imagine about the pain ..., or not. And the length of time you need to recover? It's no doubt a waking nightmare, ...or a living hell, take your pick.

Some people might not know that a broken bone needs a lot of time to repair whatever damage it gets. The average is about 4 to 6 weeks, with 2 weeks at best and 12 or so weeks if you're unlucky. Depends on the severity and perhaps the location of said fracture, I guess. The therapy procedures, such as traction and fixation, take a lot of time and cause a lot of suffering. Nothing too dramatic, I hope.

A fractured bone may heal completely without any deformity or complication if it only sustains minor damage of a simple fracture. Well, that is one thing, infection is another thing. The miniscule problem called infection has vexed medical practitioners for ages, especially with the rise of the so-called multiple drug resistent microorganisms. The mildest thing the infection can do is delaying recovery. The worst thing ...You may not want to know.

If said fractured bone is moderately or even severely damaged, it usually recovers slowly or with complications. It might even not recover at all.

Such hard consequense for something as simple as sticks and stones.

The Hippocratic Oath

Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, once wrote a statement that has become a traditional oath taken by practitioners of medicine.

The ancient version of the oath runs as follows:

"I swear by Apollo Physician and Asclepius and Hygieia and Panaceia and all the gods and goddesses, making them my witnesses, that I will fulfil according to my ability and judgment this oath and this covenant:

To hold him who has taught me this art as equal to my parents and to live my life in partnership with him, and if he is in need of money to give him a share of mine, and to regard his offspring as equal to my brothers in male lineage and to teach them this art - if they desire to learn it - without fee and covenant; to give a share of precepts and oral instruction and all the other learning to my sons and to the sons of him who has instructed me and to pupils who have signed the covenant and have taken an oath according to the medical law, but no one else.

I will apply dietetic measures for the benefit of the sick according to my ability and judgment; I will keep them from harm and injustice.

I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect. Similarly I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy. In purity and holiness I will guard my life and my art.

I will not use the knife, not even on sufferers from stone, but will withdraw in favor of such men as are engaged in this work.

Whatever houses I may visit, I will come for the benefit of the sick, remaining free of all intentional injustice, of all mischief and in particular of sexual relations with both female and male persons, be they free or slaves.

What I may see or hear in the course of the treatment or even outside of the treatment in regard to the life of men, which on no account one must spread abroad, I will keep to myself, holding such things shameful to be spoken about.

If I fulfil this oath and do not violate it, may it be granted to me to enjoy life and art, being honored with fame among all men for all time to come; if I transgress it and swear falsely, may the opposite of all this be my lot."

Nowadays, the new version of this oath updated by the Declaration of Geneva, has become a guidance of ideal conduct for medical practitioners worldwide.