Another startling story of a teacher "disciplining" an autistic child through abuse has surfaced. Even with so many of these flooding the news, it's still unbelievable. Lillian Gomez, a special education teacher in Florida, put hot sauce on crayons to keep her autistic students from chewing on them. Because you know, when someone has a way of dealing with stress in a non-traditional manner, it can be fixed right up if you simply administer pain. Jeez, Louise. Where do they get these people?

More importantly, why do so many people who are in charge of special needs children think abuse is okay? And you know what? There are a lot who believe just that.

We expect bullies to target the weak and the small. That kind of cowardice is what makes them bullies in the first place, hence the classic refrain: "Why don't you pick on somebody your own size?" But bullies who go after kids with autism ... that's the lowest form of cowardice I can think of.

The Elkton Middle School student who viciously beat 11-year-old Kaleb Kula at his Maryland bus stop falls into this category. So do the kids who stood around cheering for Kula's attacker, yelling things like "Yo, beat the sh**t out of him!" Disgusting.

What they did next, however, was just plain stupid.

RileyWhen my friend Jennifer Lister was expecting her third child, I was so happy. She's an amazing person, a fantastic mother. Jennifer and I don't live near each other anymore so we keep up on Facebook and I was so excited to virtually be there as her pregnancy progressed. Then she had a miscarriage. Everyone was naturally upset. But it was almost like Jen was the one to make us all get through it, even though it was she who was hurting and affected the most. She is a nurturer. So when she became pregnant again, we all rejoiced and prayed.

When she told us they wanted to rush her to c-section, we worried. When she told us her baby girl, beautiful Riley, had Down Syndrome, we worried for her health. But we learned quickly about the power of positivity, and we know Riley is here to do great things. Jennifer is allowing me to share her birth story, and how she sees Riley as a gift. On Down Syndrome, she says, "There's nothing down about it."

It's a fear for every parent of a special needs child: what happens if you aren't there to speak for your child in an emergency situation? Will emergency responders understand your kid has a condition that requires special attention? Prepare for a surprisingly simple answer.

What if there was a registry you could add your child to, so emergency responders would know who they were dealing with? It's just what parents in one area of Canada have done for children on the autism spectrum. They voluntarily sign their child up to be on the list, and they say they're relieved that their kid's name is flagged if police are called out to respond to a situation.

I'm a sucker for cute kids. Who isn't, right? But a little girl named Maddox McClintic is more than just your everyday adorable toddler. The 2-year-old with Down syndrome is quickly becoming the best reminder to the world that special needs kids are more than their diagnosis.

A clever (and now viral) video made by Maddox's mom, Jamie, specifically to teach a lesson to people who call her little girl a mongoloid or retard is striking a nerve with the special needs community. Through the now popular YouTube trick of flashing cards at the screen, Jamie McClintic explains that everything people assume about her daughter is wrong.

My first-born son, who is now 10, is also autistic. I don't generally lead with that explanation, because I figure people should meet the kid before they make any decisions about that. I've found the minute I say something about autism, people ask me about his "tricks." Like every kid with autism can count cards or something.

Newsflash, autism is a spectrum, not a disorder that makes every person diagnosed with it "Rain Man."

My son's a great kid, no doubt, but I can't help but notice how different our challenges are now that he's older. A tween with autism is far different than a two-year old with autism.

Especially when it comes to bullying.

When something horrible happens to a child – regardless of whether that child is your own or a stranger's – it affects all of us parents. When we hear about a child who has been abused or hurt, we parents feel that child's pain deep in our bones. We feel upset. We feel outraged. We want to rise up to right terrible wrongs and to protect other children from similar pain and abuse.

Well, in the case of Christopher Baker, a 9-year-old from Kentucky with a sweet smile and a diagnosis of autism and ADHD, we parents may be able to take a stand for what is right and prevent future wrongs.

Sigh. As if we needed further proof that life is tough for parents raising special needs children, the outrageous treatment of a Missouri teen with Down syndrome falls under the infuriating category. Aleczander Fujimoto has been suspended from his school for sexual harassment of a school bus aide.

Or, in his mind, giving his school bus aide a hug. And it's Alec's mind that matters here, right? He's the one being punished, but it doesn't seem like anyone cares about why Alec's hug crossed the line. This is the problem parents of special needs kids are facing every day, and the number-one issue school districts need to address.