Let me get this straight: A Nephi resident cannot control her autistic son and repeatedly fails to prevent him from entering neighbors' houses, rifling through their belongings, and eating their food. Said neighbors become increasingly frustrated with the young man. Rather than simply locking their doors, like normal people do in the year 2006, these charmers erect a derogatory sign in their yard (Tribune, July 22).

The autistic teen is said to operate at the mental level of a 5-year-old, but it's starting to sound as though the adults around him might not be much further ahead. Perhaps warning signs (worded, perhaps, more sensitively) are in order for the whole neighborhood.

Erin Krug

Salt Lake City