Autistic Kid Labeled Cheater on Xbox Live

I love watching news anchors who have clearly never heard of something before try to read the prompter about it. No one has ever said "Microsoft Xbox Live" so very unnaturally.
 
Wow. I work with people with developmental disabilities. Been doing it for 5 years now, and i love my job!

If this happened to one of my clients, id be pretty pissed too.

The mother in the video does have a good point. Autistic and developmental disabled people do hold their accomplishments up high. To this kid, that is his world. To have it taken away would be pretty hard for him.

I wanna see where this story goes.

And please people, try to keep the "retard" and autistic jokes out the thread. :)
 
so he didn't actually cheat right?

and I would hope they would try to contact Microsoft or Xbox customer support, not Xbox Live. It's kind of difficult to talk to the Internet.
 
I wasn't even aware of the "Cheater" label, or that Microsoft took achievements away from accounts. Aren't most achievements disabled when cheats are enabled in games? Or are they supposing he used some sort of external cheating device?

Shame this had to happen to the kid, assuming he didn't actually cheat. The least Microsoft could do is address the issue instead of give them the run-around. Maybe they will not that it's seeing some media attention.
 
This may be in bad taste, but the mother should really be trying to get him to do something other than gaming so much. There are many other outlets for special needs children to keep them active and earning real accomplishments rather than being really upset over the gamerscore.

I am not saying MS was in the right to do this since I do not know if he actually cheated or not, but for the news to actually report on this and for the mother to take it that far over that just seems like she doesn't want to have to deal with him, so she just has him play video games.
 
This really has nothing to do with the boys condition. He was reset "for using other means then gaming" to gain achievements so he or a friend used saved files to unlock achievements. It had nothing to do with his autism.
MSFT could earn some nice publicity by giving him some swag.

In the end it seems like a waste of time to scan and ban people for getting virtual achievements but MSFT runs live as they see fit. Wait a few days and I bet we find out some of his "friends" or siblings game with him or taught him how to gamesave.
 
Msft is a private corporation , nuff said. The only thing you could do is complain. But in the end msft owes these people nothing. Couldn't he do something more constructive than video games? Like art.
 
They have ways to know if cheating was done. Have XBLPET BigBrother look at the case. He would always post exactly what happened, instead of the normal canned response.
 
video was removed by the user, lol. kids shouldn't be playing certain games unless of course, they meet the age limit requirement and anyways, they're achievements. why doesn't the mother have him participate in local city work volunteering and getting recognition instead? making a big deal over virtual things like achievements, what's this world coming to? smh
 
God not on here also. Kotaku is going nuts about this also. Stepto has already confirmed the kid 100% cheated and he already talked to his parents about the specifics. This is some stupid soccer mom trying to get sympathy for her son by exploiting his condition when he did something wrong.

It's sad he's autistic, but having a disability doesn't give you the right to misbehave.
 
Let me preface this by saying I research autism and have worked with many children with autism the past 4.5 years.

I don't know what's worse, how the mom is playing up her sons condition, or Kotaku and their audience once again acting like idiots.

One commented straight up said there is an extremely high co-morbidity with mental retardation. That was a fun one to read.

As for the mom, why is she under-estimating her son? I've seen kids with autism do much more than cheat for xbox live achievements. It's like the people who say kids with autism can't lie. I have no idea who is spreading this half assed info around.

He cheated and gets to suffer the consequence. This SHOULD be a good teachable moment for the mother, but instead, she'll play up her 15 minutes of fame. Hopefully this dies fast.
 
Wow, thats crazy to see how this story ended. haha.

People do exploit people with disabilities all the time, i see it more then id like to.


As for the "kids to young to play them games" shiiiiit, its a game. Let em play, did you see him playing 50 cent Blood in the sand. hahahaha. Where the fuck is my platinum skull! hahaha
 
Yeah Sean I tried to be a voice of reason there in the Kotaku comments but I got drowned out. That story has over 2200 comments on it!
 
[quote name='Big St3ph3n']As for the "kids to young to play them games" shiiiiit, its a game. Let em play, did you see him playing 50 cent Blood in the sand. hahahaha. Where the fuck is my platinum skull! hahaha[/QUOTE]

With this attitude, don't come crying to me when your kid is a delinquent with a foul mouth and a bad attitude...or blame a game/movie/song/etc when he brings a gun to school at age 13. Why even have ratings if idiot parents are too lazy to follow them? Let's just let him watch rated R movies, listen to explicit music, and buy cigarettes and alcohol too. Why not?

And I'm sorry, the "it's just a game" mentality lends to the belief that gaming is "just for kids". If you want the medium to be taken seriously as a legitimate form of entertainment, then you can't shrug off the influence it could have on developing minds. We're not talking about 8-bit sprites anymore. I don't want 11 year olds playing my M rated games because I'd like M rated games to still exist. Politicians are already trying to get them banned. I don't need my games taken away because you're a shitty parent.
 
[quote name='n8rockerasu']With this attitude, don't come crying to me when your kid is a delinquent with a foul mouth and a bad attitude...or blame a game/movie/song/etc when he brings a gun to school at age 13. Why even have ratings if idiot parents are too lazy to follow them? Let's just let him watch rated R movies, listen to explicit music, and buy cigarettes and alcohol too. Why not?

And I'm sorry, the "it's just a game" mentality lends to the belief that gaming is "just for kids". If you want the medium to be taken seriously as a legitimate form of entertainment, then you can't shrug off the influence it could have on developing minds. We're not talking about 8-bit sprites anymore. I don't want 11 year olds playing my M rated games because I'd like M rated games to still exist. Politicians are already trying to get them banned. I don't need my games taken away because you're a shitty parent.[/QUOTE]

At a young age kids learn the difference between right and wrong. when i become a parent, ill let them make the decision what they want to play/listen/read. Its their choice. If you raise your children with the right mind and know the difference between right and wrong and that videogames are a virtual world, not representing the choices in real life. Your child will be fine.

I grew up listening to gangsta rap in cali. A fat little white kid living in a mostly black and mexican little city. My parents raised me in the ways of knowing right and wrong. They let me have my freedoms of listening to rap music and playing whatever game i wanted to play. when i was younger i remember for my birthday i got PS1 with resident evil directors cut. and the Marshall mather LP by Eminem. Memorized both of them, and did i bring a gun to school? or smart off badly? nope and that even with going through a divorce between parents and my mom devolping a mental illness.

I was raised right and knew the difference between right and wrong and respect. To this day, i uphold myself in public, i have a good respectable job, and still play shit loads of games and listen to rap music. Im such a bad kid....that shit is bullshit.

Most of the kids that do badshit when they are young are the kids that are sheltered and looked at like they are so perfect. give your kid some space and let them know the real parts of life.

Im gonna go back to playing me some dead space. who knows, i might bring my plasma cutter to school one day. ;)
 
[quote name='Big St3ph3n']At a young age kids learn the difference between right and wrong. when i become a parent, ill let them make the decision what they want to play/listen/read. Its their choice. If you raise your children with the right mind and know the difference between right and wrong and that videogames are a virtual world, not representing the choices in real life. Your child will be fine.

I grew up listening to gangsta rap in cali. A fat little white kid living in a mostly black and mexican little city. My parents raised me in the ways of knowing right and wrong. They let me have my freedoms of listening to rap music and playing whatever game i wanted to play. when i was younger i remember for my birthday i got PS1 with resident evil directors cut. and the Marshall mather LP by Eminem. Memorized both of them, and did i bring a gun to school? or smart off badly? nope and that even with going through a divorce between parents and my mom devolping a mental illness.

I was raised right and knew the difference between right and wrong and respect. To this day, i uphold myself in public, i have a good respectable job, and still play shit loads of games and listen to rap music. Im such a bad kid....that shit is bullshit.

Most of the kids that do badshit when they are young are the kids that are sheltered and looked at like they are so perfect. give your kid some space and let them know the real parts of life.

Im gonna go back to playing me some dead space. who knows, i might bring my plasma cutter to school one day. ;)[/QUOTE]

Yes, judging by the intelligent manner in which you present your argument, you seem to be a model citizen. My point isn't a "video games are evil" Jack Thompson rant. But that many parents use them to babysit (or even raise) their children. In those cases, how can you be a proponent for kids playing M rated games, when they're not even being given attention, let alone a lesson in "right and wrong"? That's pretty much exactly what this situation is.

I'm generally a pretty liberal thinking person, but regardless of how "mature" or "responsible" the 11 year old is, I fail to see the need for he/she to be playing games with excessive violence/gore, explicit language, or depictions of sex. At 11 years old, it's not necessary. And I would apply that logic to all forms of their entertainment. It's not a matter of "sheltering" your child. It's a matter of LETTING them be a child.

You mention your own childhood of getting a PS1 with RE: DC (which released in 1997) and the Marshall Mathers LP (released in 2000). Now, of course, you may not have received the PS1 with RE right when it came out, but how old were you when your parents got those gifts for you? Surely, you had to be older than 11.
 
The one video listed his gamertag. If I remember it was some form of zombie with a bunch of numbers. As far as game ratings and kids I think you need to look at why the rating was given and the type of game. I think a game like a dead rising (Maybe not some of the more gruesome zombie killing methods but in general) or halo is much different than Grand Theft Auto or even Call of duty. As a parent you need to see what you kids are playing while they are playing. Heck even some Wii games like Raving Rabids (which are rated E) have some inappropriate items and underlying adult humor in them.

Edited to clarify I am talking about SP not MP. All the crap that goes on Live is inappropriate.
 
[quote name='Stoic Person Eater']Also, did anyone notice how much dead skin was on that controller? I wanted to vomit.[/QUOTE]

Glad I'm not the only one
 
Can anyone link me to something that confirms how/what he cheated on? Haven't seen that one.

[quote name='Stoic Person Eater']Also, did anyone notice how much dead skin was on that controller? I wanted to vomit.[/QUOTE]

I know. I was horrified. Why the eff would they have zoomed in that close to show that? :whistle2:&
 
Microsoft won't say exactly how he cheated, you can find videos of how to do it on YouTube. I think it was either Dead Rising 1, 50 Cent, or one of the CoD games he was caught cheating on (unlocking all achievements without actually playing the game enough to do it.)
 
Video is gone. Can anyone give me the gist? As an aunt of one child with Autism and one with Asperger's, I do know how hard kids with the condition take things. If he was truly cheating, he will have to deal with it though it will take him awhile.
 
[quote name='cin84_12']Video is gone. Can anyone give me the gist? As an aunt of one child with Autism and one with Asperger's, I do know how hard kids with the condition take things. If he was truly cheating, he will have to deal with it though it will take him awhile.[/QUOTE]

http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2011/01/xbox_live_labels_11-year-old_a.php

MS can monitor which achievements have been unlocked via hacking, tampering with the xbox hardware or your live account is against the terms of service for Xbox Live and can result in having your gamerscore reset, temporary or permanent bans. Usually the Xbox customer service reveals such details only to the user, in this case they claim they notified the parent directly, while publicly they will state the nature of the infraction using general terms only.
 
So, now she's saying that he gave his gamertag and password out to someone to get him the Recon armor and they boosted his account. I suppose that's plausible. Honestly, what Microsoft should probably do here is keep the glitched achievements wiped out, but remove the "cheater" label from his tag. That at least wouldn't compromise the integrity of the game. If it happens again, then just ban him. Although, honestly, after revealing his gamertag in the news story, he probably should get a new one anyway. Kid would probably just get harrassed to no end now. I lol'd at the part about receiving a code for one free month of Live but it not working though.
 
[quote name='n8rockerasu']So, now she's saying that he gave his gamertag and password out to someone to get him the Recon armor and they boosted his account. I suppose that's plausible. Honestly, what Microsoft should probably do here is keep the glitched achievements wiped out, but remove the "cheater" label from his tag. That at least wouldn't compromise the integrity of the game.[/QUOTE]

So simply because he has a social disorder you give him a pass?

To me this is all pretty simple, he cheated to get rewards for achievements. Instead of fighting a losing battle of ethics against MS with no ground to stand on the mother should be doing her best to tell her son that when you do something wrong, by whatever means, there are consequences for it.

The really sad part is in that last story the mom actually knew the kid was going to give out his live info and password and did not stop him. Those achievements were probably a big part his world. PLus the fact there was no doubt a credit card tied to said account and then there;s also the fact you should be trying to teach your kid not to give out ANY information (let alone password protected) to random strangers. Instead she deemed as seemingly unimportant. I'm not saying as a parent you can't make mistakes like that, but don't go into some rage and wage a media war for your mistakes...
 
[quote name='Duo_Maxwell']So simply because he has a social disorder you give him a pass?[/QUOTE]

I believe it's called a "warning". In a case like this, you have to draw from the facts. I have no doubt that the achievements were acquired through illegitimate means. What is now being called into question is whether or not the autistic kid was the actual perpetrator. Yes, if he gave his login info to someone, that's his own fault. But it does create a bit of a gray area. Considering the circumstances and the fact that simply removing the "cheater" tag from the boy's profile would not compromise the integrity of Xbox Live or Halo in any way, it would be a decent PR move on the side of Microsoft.

Sure, they could come down on him hard and say "tough shit", but I don't see what they stand to gain from it. Even as a gamer, I wouldn't object to letting him off with a warning as long as the achievements he glitched are taken away. I trust that if he does it again, they can catch him and really lay the ban hammer down. That's just my opinion though.
 
[quote name='n8rockerasu']With this attitude, don't come crying to me when your kid is a delinquent with a foul mouth and a bad attitude...or blame a game/movie/song/etc when he brings a gun to school at age 13. Why even have ratings if idiot parents are too lazy to follow them? Let's just let him watch rated R movies, listen to explicit music, and buy cigarettes and alcohol too. Why not?

And I'm sorry, the "it's just a game" mentality lends to the belief that gaming is "just for kids". If you want the medium to be taken seriously as a legitimate form of entertainment, then you can't shrug off the influence it could have on developing minds. We're not talking about 8-bit sprites anymore. I don't want 11 year olds playing my M rated games because I'd like M rated games to still exist. Politicians are already trying to get them banned. I don't need my games taken away because you're a shitty parent.[/QUOTE]
It kind of makes me sad that people think that games arethe bad influence on kids. Games don't influence children, other children influence children.
Kids don't smoke or curse because they saw it in a video game, they do it because their friends do it. Kids who
bring guns to school don't do it because they saw it in a game they do it because they get picked on every day and no one does anything about it.
I learned far worse then what I've heard or seen in M rated games before I even made it to high school. Parents automaticly try and shelter their children from the horrors of the world, from violence, from cursing, etc... when in reality you are sending them to a school where they learn cursing and violence.
If you trust your kid's let them play what they want. Honestly i respect my parents and avoid trouble just because they trust me.
 
[quote name='Dominator42']so he didn't actually cheat right?

and I would hope they would try to contact Microsoft or Xbox customer support, not Xbox Live. It's kind of difficult to talk to the Internet.[/QUOTE]
Far, far more difficult to talk to Xbox Support, actually.
 
[quote name='n8rockerasu']
Sure, they could come down on him hard and say "tough shit", but I don't see what they stand to gain from it. Even as a gamer, I wouldn't object to letting him off with a warning as long as the achievements he glitched are taken away. I trust that if he does it again, they can catch him and really lay the ban hammer down. That's just my opinion though.[/QUOTE]

I think it's a zero tolerance thing. Why give this kid a pass? Especially since mom came clean and knew he cheated and still tried to play dumb to MS. I especially love the call to the local news to broadcast how MS had wronged her son, using his disability to gain sympathy when she was in the wrong from day one.

Personally I think a 90 day label would suffice in most circumstances, along with the removal of achievements, however since she pulled the local news stunt I say fuck her. She got what she deserved.
 
[quote name='Corvin']

Personally I think a 90 day label would suffice in most circumstances, along with the removal of achievements, however since she pulled the local news stunt I say fuck her. She got what she deserved.[/QUOTE]

Why should the son suffers because the mother is trying to get attention? Rather he cheated or not, to an autism child the achievement might mean everything in the world to him
 
[quote name='62t']Why should the son suffers because the mother is trying to get attention? Rather he cheated or not, to an autism child the achievement might mean everything in the world to him[/QUOTE]

If there was only some way he could've avoided having his score reset...
 
[quote name='whiptcracker']If there was only some way he could've avoided having his score reset...[/QUOTE]

To be fair, he probably didn't know what he was doing was wrong. I wouldn't have an issue with them removing the cheater label and allow him to re-earn the points legit, but they would just have to keep an eye out for them to make sure he doesn't do it again.
 
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