Autism Spectrum Megathread

[The Alexanderians]

I'd like to point out that I did that very thing (going to start conversations) people hate me for it. They can always tell that "something's off with that guy" so you have to ask yourself: do you want to be hated and looked down on or ignored?

Well then, I would suggest finding a "niche" group instead. Part of the reason I had a somewhat better social life was because I was with the same people in class for years, and we all had similar interests. Its easiest to have a conversation when its something you are interested in.

Oh don't get me wrong my social life in middle/high school was perfectly fine, it's my college social life that's suffering. Even at a school dedicated to students with LDs understanding is a rare commodity and even when it does appear it only goes so far before someone thinks "ick". The Uncanny valley is a powerful thing and any perception of a deviation, consciously seen or not, usually ends with a rationalization to avoid individuals on the spectrum

[Confederate Ramenia]

Gonna try to prevent this from being a regular one-sided topic megathread by being a huge douchebag and possibly breaking multiple site rules.

Humans are complex beings, who can be said to contain a certain mental duality. This mental duality is the duality of the logical and illogical, the rational and the emotional, rationality and intuition. If we accept a definition of autism to include the breakdown of emotional, intuitionistic wisdom, the removal of a part from a duality essential to humanity, can we say that autism removes humanity from its sufferers?

Yes, I know this is rude, douchebaggish, and horrid. I'll post it anyway, and I won't post stuff like this again.

Could you say that again but then in uderstandable english? (i don't understand all those fancy words like intuitionistic)

Are autists human beings? Can autists be full humans despite an apparent "incompleteness". (This is rude, I know, but I must post it). I copied the earlier post from a certain website many here especially despise.

I'll abstain from further posting for a while.

[Glorious KASSRD]

Could you say that again but then in uderstandable english? (i don't understand all those fancy words like intuitionistic)

Are autists human beings? Can autists be full humans despite an apparent "incompleteness". (This is rude, I know, but I must post it). I copied the earlier post from a certain website many here especially despise.

I'll abstain from further posting for a while.

Yes, without a doubt. My argument is that were not incomplete in the first place. Being different doesn't mean we are a different species. Plus, Autism doesn't-at least always-result in a breakdown of wisdom.
Unless of course, your going for the Neanderthal argument, but I don't think you are.

[The Alexanderians]

Could you say that again but then in uderstandable english? (i don't understand all those fancy words like intuitionistic)

Are autists human beings? Can autists be full humans despite an apparent "incompleteness". (This is rude, I know, but I must post it). I copied the earlier post from a certain website many here especially despise.

I'll abstain from further posting for a while.

That's the thing though, we understand that we're the same but our "difference" or to others our "brokenness" isn't on the surface or even right below it. It's not a skin color, it's not a religion, it's not a sexuality, and it's not an ideology. It goes deeper than that. It is a difference that is fundamental to our very being, what makes us well us. A difference in what some might call the "soul". Our minds literally work differently. People seem to be inherently geared to hating those they perceive (consciously or not...a lot of hate/misunderstanding seems to be on a subconscious level) as different and if it's what on the inside that counts what then if our "inside" is broken? There is no big "Autism oppression" or liberation movement because it's so subtle a difference that's it's not evident at one glance, but it's still there.

[Dain II Ironfoot]

Could you say that again but then in uderstandable english? (i don't understand all those fancy words like intuitionistic)

Are autists human beings? Can autists be full humans despite an apparent "incompleteness". (This is rude, I know, but I must post it). I copied the earlier post from a certain website many here especially despise.

I'll abstain from further posting for a while.

Ofcourse Autists are human beings as explained by wikipedia.
Sure we may think in other ways then "normal" people do but that's really the only difference.

[Glorious KASSRD]

Are autists human beings? Can autists be full humans despite an apparent "incompleteness". (This is rude, I know, but I must post it). I copied the earlier post from a certain website many here especially despise.

I'll abstain from further posting for a while.

Ofcourse Autists are human beings as explained by wikipedia.
Sure we may think in other ways then "normal" people do but that's really the only difference.

Well, there are some physical symptoms that often occur (different way of sensing and eating disorders are the most prominent).

[The Alexanderians]

Ofcourse Autists are human beings as explained by wikipedia.
Sure we may think in other ways then "normal" people do but that's really the only difference.

Well, there are some physical symptoms that often occur (different way of sensing and eating disorders are the most prominent).

Alternative sensations can be tied to "thinking differently" as it's a neurological issue and eating disorders are usually co-morbid

[Kingdom of the Polar Bear]

I have High-Functioning Aspergers as well as ADHD. As a kid in Elementary and Middle School I was bullied a lot for being myself. But things improved when I got through High School. In High School, I discovered the glory of Heavy Metal music, mostly the band Metallica. I swear my 10th-12th grade years would have been Hell without the guitar solos of Kirk Hammett and the vocals of James Hetfield coming though my earbuds.

One of my many Asperger interests has been not just music. Polar Bears (well...cant you tell? ) and, in my childhood, Sharks. And a whole bunch of other things. I have my support systems and medications, but for the longest time I felt like no one but my family loved me. I mean, what girl would go out with a guy who collects Stuffed Animals who considers the Stuffed Polar Bear named Orion to be his "Son" in a way? Well all that changed back last October, when I met my first girlfriend. Her name is Rachael and like me she also has Aspergers and ADHD. We get a long like two peas in a pod. She has a thing for Horses and has a mini collection of Horse figurines, and she even introduced me to a great movie, "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimerron" She has a mini figurine of the character Rain from the movie (We call her our "Daughter" Deal with it Normal People! )

While me and her get along well, we have our moments. I am better at telling the difference between Reality and Fantasy. Whereas she can sometimes have the setting stuck on "Fantasy" mode nearly 99% of the time. She has these "Brothers" named Corey and Jessie (which are really her imaginary friends) and with how overactive her Imagination can be, you could swear she had Schizophrenia. She may have the body of a 20 year old, but her mind is that of a 10 year old at times. Like I was with her and we went to McDonald's and we had one of the Rain figurines with us. Now this is my Personal Protocol for being in Public with my Polar Bear Orion:

1. Turn knob to "Reality" position
2. Do not take Orion out into Public settings.
3. If he must be seen by the public for whatever reason, place out of sight of People.
4. Carry on with whatever process needs to be done until it's safe for "Father/Son time"
5. Take Orion out, Turn knob back to "Fantasy" position
6. Enjoy

With Rachael, she had Rain visible and "Rain was complaining of the cold weather". Now here I am like, "Thats cute and all babe, but people will look at us weird" And with me being a Bulling victim for weird interests like that, I fear Persecution. With all these things however, I still love her. She may have moments that either cause me to go up the f***ing wall or cause me to worry about her well being. But I love her none the less.

So sorry for boring you all to death, I just had to share that.

[Zakuvia]

So that it's clear, I have a degree in Psychology, and a few years experience in mental health counseling, so if my views seem strange, it's simply experience talking. In my opinion, Autism has largely been misdiagnosed. I've spoken with people through referalls who have been diagnosed as being Autistic-Asperger's. I cringe every. Single. Time. When we went from the DSM-III to the DSM IV/(TR), I was rather upset when Asperger's arrived. Every time I experienced it, I noticed a number of similar trends when it came to socialization, or a lack thereof during youth or adolescence, and a general pattern of dishonesty and shame about the fact. These people who were otherwise perfectly fine, had been duped into neurosis to believe that their poor socializing skills were actually a mental defect.

What do I mean by all this? Simple: Asperger's Does Not Exist. Now please, put down your pitchforks and torches and hear me out. Asperger's doesn't exist. Autism does. The two aren't mutually exclusive. What Asperger's actually is is basic poor socializing skills. When I speak with clients, I find out that they're actually just fervent in their interests, not pathological. A lot of them aren't even aware that droning on endlessly about workouts, or video games, or their job isn't pleasant conversation for most people who aren't interested. A bit of CBT and self-realization helps immenseley, not some quack diagnosis that leaves a person feeling like damaged goods.

As for actual Autism Spectrum? That's an entirely different story. It's not a matter of just bein poor conversations, Autistic people have genuine issues conversing in manners that seem logical. And working with them is admittedly very stressful for me, and I try to refer them out whenever possible (in my old practice anyway, pardon the poor use of tense).

[Edgy Opinions]

So that it's clear, I have a degree in Psychology, and a few years experience in mental health counseling, so if my views seem strange, it's simply experience talking. In my opinion, Autism has largely been misdiagnosed. I've spoken with people through referalls who have been diagnosed as being Autistic-Asperger's. I cringe every. Single. Time. When we went from the DSM-III to the DSM IV/(TR), I was rather upset when Asperger's arrived. Every time I experienced it, I noticed a number of similar trends when it came to socialization, or a lack thereof during youth or adolescence, and a general pattern of dishonesty and shame about the fact. These people who were otherwise perfectly fine, had been duped into neurosis to believe that their poor socializing skills were actually a mental defect.

What do I mean by all this? Simple: Asperger's Does Not Exist. Now please, put down your pitchforks and torches and hear me out. Asperger's doesn't exist. Autism does. The two aren't mutually exclusive. What Asperger's actually is is basic poor socializing skills. When I speak with clients, I find out that they're actually just fervent in their interests, not pathological. A lot of them aren't even aware that droning on endlessly about workouts, or video games, or their job isn't pleasant conversation for most people who aren't interested. A bit of CBT and self-realization helps immenseley, not some quack diagnosis that leaves a person feeling like damaged goods.

As for actual Autism Spectrum? That's an entirely different story. It's not a matter of just bein poor conversations, Autistic people have genuine issues conversing in manners that seem logical. And working with them is admittedly very stressful for me, and I try to refer them out whenever possible (in my old practice anyway, pardon the poor use of tense).

I'm sorry, but (sorry for it being in Portuguese, but it's a really complete dissection of what both mean) evidence argues against your input: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-44462006000500002

The early understanding of Asperger's in an underdeveloped country where autism is a much less "hyped" condition than in 2006 (much before the explosion of internet awareness movements reached us) was already compatible with the narrative that it is a legitimate neurological-developmental phenotype with its own particular needs, with people exhibiting similar traits likely because of congenital background, rather than just something created by socialization.

No, it's not just being socially awkward. It's its own set of disability, and by disability I don't mean that we're incapacitated, we're weak, we're disadvantaged, nothing of that. I mean that we have special needs and special considerations, and an understanding about the diversity in human types will help people interact with us in manners that are positive, rather than the traditional societal regard with diversity that is often focused in suppression. This suppression visibly causes terrible consequences for our quality of life, and denying that is very foolish.

Yes, I know that people with Asperger's syndrome can be very neurotypical-passing. Passing. We're not sick, we're not ill, because being different, because having an unusual phenotype, is not a strict abnormality, it's not a negative trait. Still, it would be a lie to say that we aren't a valid diagnosis and that it can't help us, because the fact is that being recognized as disabled people helps us a lot, and makes people who are around us have expectations and attitudes that aren't so frustrating and so denying to all involved.

And I know it might surprise many people that disabled people can, in fact, be smart, rational, lead organized lives, develop on their own their skills and social circles, without stopping to be different, without being better or worse, without needing medication and without having an uniting set of negative characteristics that we can essentialize as people who are a bad influence in society or to themselves, but the fact is that disabled people can indeed be very individual just like neurotypical individuals, and be just as intelligent, talented and/or eloquent as all others, because the fact is that several people who are understood to be broken actually aren't, and that actually it's the way our culture understands human diversity is what is severely lacking.

Which is another reason why I hate that people divide autism in "high" and "low" according to what they perceive to make sense of what people ought to be. It's pretentious and it's patronizing. We're people who might often need help and have issues, because disabilities are complicated. We aren't on a spectrum of people who are more normal or less normal, just of people who are more valued and less valued, and we don't need to turn this limited understanding official to make further harm from what people already ignorantly imagine what it's like to not think and function like they do.

I think that all of these conclusions need people listening to what we actually think about ourselves more.

/rant

[Zakuvia]

Well written, and I do appreciate the good translation, but I've seen it before. The biggest problem I have with Hans diagnoses, along with the Middlesex study, was the small sample size and location invariance. Also, I question their findings as they essentially pathologize children who take longer coming to understand social cues, as many psychologically healthy children and later adults do. Normal variance is viewed as an illness. Also, there's an uncomfortable area I can't find the proper word for when it comes to telling misdiagnosed individuals that they're simply socializing incorrectly instead of suffering from a disease. They were sent to me expecting further affirmation of their illness and became noticeably upset when I challenged their earlier diagnosis. Sometimes, strangely, it's easier to be incurable rather than curable. Maybe there's a thesis paper in that for me...

[United Russian Soviet States]

Why does my Asperger's sometimes get me in trouble here?

Please specify "here". Do you mean this site? or do you mean where you live?

I mean on this site.

[Edgy Opinions]

Well written, and I do appreciate the good translation, but I've seen it before. The biggest problem I have with Hans diagnoses, along with the Middlesex study, was the small sample size and location invariance. Also, I question their findings as they essentially pathologize children who take longer coming to understand social cues, as many psychologically healthy children and later adults do. Normal variance is viewed as an illness. Also, there's an uncomfortable area I can't find the proper word for when it comes to telling misdiagnosed individuals that they're simply socializing incorrectly instead of suffering from a disease. They were sent to me expecting further affirmation of their illness and became noticeably upset when I challenged their earlier diagnosis. Sometimes, strangely, it's easier to be incurable rather than curable. Maybe there's a thesis paper in that for me...

I do agree that we're a healthy variance and that it shouldn't be treated like an illness, but, just like being trans, it often is convenient to receive adequate services related to it - not all people with Asperger's need it, but to argue that none of us have autism-related disability and it needs professional/trained attention is also not compatible with facts.

There are likely many other functional people who exhibit a pathologized healthy variance, I think psychiatry in the wider term is the one supposed to find a way to distinguish it in the future, without at the same time erasing our wider status as a disability (not an illness).

[Dain II Ironfoot]

Well, there are some physical symptoms that often occur (different way of sensing and eating disorders are the most prominent).

Alternative sensations can be tied to "thinking differently" as it's a neurological issue and eating disorders are usually co-morbid

This^
All these "physical symptoms" are there becouse of the austists "think".

[Kingdom of the Polar Bear]

Please specify "here". Do you mean this site? or do you mean where you live?

I mean on this site.

Because people are rude and such.

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

Autism is very real. Whoever says otherwise clearly is living in an alternate universe. As for fairness in treatment of autistic people, I think it's like everything else. You will have good people who are accommodating, and then you'll have douche bags who make jokes at their expense.

[Saints Empire of Stilwater and Steelport]

I'm not autistic, so I guess I'll answer the latter questions. No, I don't think autism is an illusion. It is as real as any mental state would be. As for how they are treated, I have seen them getting teased and bullied. When I was younger, I used to be weirded out by people with autism. People with Asperger's syndrome are treated better to my observations. I have a buddy who is Christian and has Asperger's. He's a fun guy. We used to volunteer as group leaders in a confirmation camp. Autism is a concept that is frequently joked about on and off the internet. People who make those kinda jokes likely don't even know what autism is. It is just a funny thing to joke about to them.

[Edgy Opinions]

I'm not autistic, so I guess I'll answer the latter questions. No, I don't think autism is an illusion. It is as real as any mental state would be. As for how they are treated, I have seen them getting teased and bullied. When I was younger, I used to be weirded out by people with autism. People with Asperger's syndrome are treated better to my observations. I have a buddy who is Christian and has Asperger's. He's a fun guy. We used to volunteer as group leaders in a confirmation camp. Autism is a concept that is frequently joked about on and off the internet. People who make those kinda jokes likely don't even know what autism is. It is just a funny thing to joke about to them.

A lot of it is rationalized, though.

My best friend put it like this: "humor is a safe vessel for [prejudice] because it is immune to most criticism and because it acts as effective indoctrination. It's basically groupthink times 1000".

[Kurohime]

I don't have autism, but I have ADD, and am ADHD/impulsive. For some wierd reason my younger sisters can't tell the difference...

[Bandwagon]

I don't have any thing on the Autism Spectrum but I have Dyspraxia.

[Joelyria]

I have a form of autism known as atypical autism. It's similar to Asperger's Syndrome in terms of being a mild form of the condition but people with atypical autism display some inconsistent traits that doen't meet up with the criteria with classical autism or Asperger's, hence why it's called that.

[-The Unified Earth Governments-]

Please specify "here". Do you mean this site? or do you mean where you live?

I mean on this site.

I don't know much about you, I can only assume improper early support in social skills maybe.

[Herargon]

So that it's clear, I have a degree in Psychology, and a few years experience in mental health counseling, so if my views seem strange, it's simply experience talking. In my opinion, Autism has largely been misdiagnosed. I've spoken with people through referalls who have been diagnosed as being Autistic-Asperger's. I cringe every. Single. Time. When we went from the DSM-III to the DSM IV/(TR), I was rather upset when Asperger's arrived. Every time I experienced it, I noticed a number of similar trends when it came to socialization, or a lack thereof during youth or adolescence, and a general pattern of dishonesty and shame about the fact. These people who were otherwise perfectly fine, had been duped into neurosis to believe that their poor socializing skills were actually a mental defect.

What do I mean by all this? Simple: Asperger's Does Not Exist. Now please, put down your pitchforks and torches and hear me out. Asperger's doesn't exist. Autism does. The two aren't mutually exclusive. What Asperger's actually is is basic poor socializing skills. When I speak with clients, I find out that they're actually just fervent in their interests, not pathological. A lot of them aren't even aware that droning on endlessly about workouts, or video games, or their job isn't pleasant conversation for most people who aren't interested. A bit of CBT and self-realization helps immenseley, not some quack diagnosis that leaves a person feeling like damaged goods.

As for actual Autism Spectrum? That's an entirely different story. It's not a matter of just bein poor conversations, Autistic people have genuine issues conversing in manners that seem logical. And working with them is admittedly very stressful for me, and I try to refer them out whenever possible (in my old practice anyway, pardon the poor use of tense).

Thanks for telling Asperger doesn't exist, because I would only be too happy to not to be classified as someone having a disorder.
I am trying to become as much as integrated in any society possible, but also be a remarkable person.

[The Alexanderians]

Ok this needs a bump, this is a megathread after all, it needs more action!

[New Waterford]

Diagnosed with Asperger's when I was 10.

I'm surprised at the number of other people here on the spectrum, actually.