Poll 7: The most accurate way to describe autism

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Which option do you think is the most accurate way to describe autistic people in order to educate the public?


Option A
Someone who is autistic is affected by a serious and disabling condition. All autistics suffer from problems to varying degrees of intensity because of their condition and autism is often so debilitating that they are left dependent on specialist care for the rest of their life which is often of much lower quality.


Option B
Someone who is autistic is different because they are missing many parts of a normal human mind, for example they have no sense of humour, never laugh, they have no imagination and don't understand fantasy, they have little or no emotions and have no concept of how other people think or feel. Instead however the logical part of their mind is much larger and so they are good at things like math/s and chess. They are basically more like a computer.


Option C
Someone who is autistic has a different neurological layout, often meaning many things are different such as; thoughts, views, sensitivity of their physical senses, desires, likes, dislikes, interpretation of the world around them and relative "emotional" and "intellectual" age (the latter often wrongfully professed to be a (brain) development disorder, with quoted words for want of a more accurate and in-depth sub-categorisation of consciousness). Every autistic person is different and how autistics cope in the world, and in a generally neurotypical society, varies tremendously; there are many autistic people who are happy with their lives and with who they are. There are many autistic people who are "successful" (relative to what society views as success) and completely independent; the average neurotypical person often may not realise that these people are autistic and in fact some autistics like this may not even realise that they are autistic themselves. Many autistic people do not have any learning difficulties whatsoever and in fact many are actually much more intelligent, especially due to things such as a faster brain development whilst growing up, a much better memory, improved logical reasoning and constant deep thinking. There are also many autistic people who have a hard time, Some autistics do have learning difficulties and some are very dependent on others to care for them. These things should not necessarily be seen as something which lowers their quality of life however as with the right environment and the right people in it they should have a good chance at living a life they can enjoy. Some autistics with "severe learning difficulties" (quoted for want of a more accurate term) are also not able to speak for themselves effectively and are not as in control of their own actions, some can become very self-destructive when under a lot of stress; it is important to get rid of the causes of stress (e.g. noise (sensitive hearing!!)/being around other people/other sensory offences and things that distract from being able to zone out (very important!!)) rather than to simply blame autism and to constantly crowd and restrain this type of person otherwise they will suffer a very unhappy existence. Some autistics may find themselves isolated and depressed because there is no one in their life they can relate to or interact with effectively, it is important to realise that this may not be an inherently negative aspect of autism but rather caused by having a much rarer neurology and a lack of compatible people to interact with, finding a way to meet likeminded autistics may help with this problem as someone with similar interests and communication style may be more approachable, It is also important to remember that to be happy most autistics usually need much more alone time than a comparable neurotypical to focus on their thoughts and/or interests and this is not the same as being isolated and depressed. The incorrect environment can cause much suffering to an autistic person however autism in general can't be classed as an innately negative or positive neurological layout, simply as a different one and tolerance and understanding is called for because of this.


Option D
I think that all are grossly inaccurate/misleading and have written my own feelings down below

WTF is B doing there?

0% have answered A and B. What a shock!

"C" is about right. An additional few words about using and developing coping mechanisms (for emulating or faking NT behavior) would have been nice, but overall, it's correct.

Redacted

The style in which, A and B were presented were very biased and gave one no choice other then to choose Cor D. I do think that these opinions are unfortunately expressed and worst of all they are expressed in a much more subtle way. I have often heard these view presented in such a convincing way that I have momentarily thought that there was some merit to them before I woke up and realized what was actually being said! Sadly enough these types of ideas are spread by people who are gifted in persuasion and don't understand the damage it does.

Redacted

D: Ask 200 people with autism, each with different nationalities, aged 6-60, a balance in the opposite genders, different environments and life experiences (working class/middle/etc) and spread across all areas of the spectrum, and you have an almost accurate definition.
Comorbidities are not excluded.

D. They all start "Someone who is autistic...", and right there that's wrong. It's like all people with autism are alike. There's just too much diversity on the spectrum for that. Better, "People with autism tend to..." Talk about the various characteristics people on the spectrum tend to have, and talk about what qualifies qualify one for a diagnosis. And include the idea of a spectrum.

TL:DR version of Option C - People on the Autistic Spectrum are wired differently and often have different needs according to environment; besides this, there is little difference between NTs and those on the Spectrum. We are different, not better, not worse, just different, and that is what needs to be understood.