Wisconsin gets it WRONG!

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I just read a "study" of "Aspergers", and it shows a FANTASTIC lack of understanding, etc.....


It starts off saying aspergers affects 1 in 300, and affects boys ten times as much as girls. The rest makes me question EVERYTHING though!

It says AS people can't really learn by hearing. WOW, then how come they can speak so well? Actually, next to doing, hearing might be one of the ways I learn best. And, after all, the average autistic that speaks does NOT have the unusal way of speaking that deaf people have, because they learned speach by HEARING it.

Under social reciprocity, it lists characteristics AS people MUST have to some degree. DUH? WHY? It is the DEFINITION of autism, and where it gets its name. Still, it may become a bit more normal, and AS people probably exhibit it less than other autistics.

Recognizing and interpreting social situations. YEP! Autistic trait! Has NOTHING to do with processing abstract information. Heck, I remember a lot of things in abstract terms.

Under social rules, she uses ONE person as an example, and seems to indicate it is stupidity, and forgetfulness on behalf of the "AS" child. Perhaps the OTHERS are at fault. I've been involved in similar problems.

Under understanding the concept of friendship, she indicates AS people have NO understanding of it. WOW, there must be a LOT of AS people(like 97%), etc.... MY definition of friendship is simply one you can communicate with without fear of backbiting, etc.... Cares about your needs/concerns. One RELUCTANT to take money/help, but always willing and eager to give it. So I actually have a STRICTER definition of friend than she indicated, and PROBABLY stricter than SHE has!

I won't bore you with the OTHER garbage. She DOES speak of things like "(e.g., A child with Asperger's Syndrome was having a birthday party at her home. When the other children arrived, she stayed in the living room with them for a short while. She then said, "good-night", and stayed in her room for the rest of the party.). " YEAH, she may have tried to force her comfort zone and failed, or her parents probably forced it. Frankly, I've been there and, at a time, might have acted the same way! Let me explain what probably happened! She PROBABLY hoped that she COULD interact, or that others would do so with her, and she FAILED! She saw no point to continue, and did what the OTHERS would have done if THEY no longer enjoyed it. So it wasn't stupidity, or really lack of manners, etc....

HECK, autistic people often don't know what to expect, and when posed with questions(like ANYONE) may present what they think the asker may want to hear. The writer of that dreck doesn't seem to understand THAT, OR aspergers, and probably doesn't understand kids in general!

A friend of mine called me yesterday, and told me that Germany has supposedly outlawed homeschooling. WOW, I hope THEIR "consultants" are better than the jerk that Wisconsin hired!

So why do I consider HIM a friend?

EAGER to help!
NO ulterior motive!
ALWAYS willing to help! He even offered to fly across the continent at his OWN expense when I was recovering from an operation.
He even went out of his way to pay me back when he DID borrow.

Am I the only one? I think people like that(That make value judgements, etc... and know NOTHING about what they are talking about) should be LOCKED UP or something. They cause more trouble than they are supposed to be helping to prevent.

Steve

I like this girl
I wish I could say "all right you NTs, you are boring me, would you please get out of my living room, I wanna have some fun! It's MY birthday dammit!"



Come on, if we asked aspies to describe NTs they would come up with worse missunderstandings than that.

This is one of the reasons I rather not tell anyone that I have aspergers, they'll apply a misled stereotype to me. Aspieness needs more research...

weird hey, I can listen to audio books and lectures and learn intimate things.

I am a new member of the forum...have been lurking for a while. I am an educator (Behavior Specialist) at a public High School. I am an individual with exceptionality who works with students with exceptionalities. I was a special education student when sped meant "separate pupil (from the mainstream) and educate in the dungeon." I am a strong advocate for self-advocacy and self-determination. We really aren’t lazy idiots.

Steve,
Working in special education…I see and hear commentary, remarks, comments and “expert” opinions on ASD by parents, psychologists, administrators, teachers and parents that would curl your hair. When it comes to ASD most people are clueless...when it comes to Asperger's...can u be less than clueless?? My personal pet peeve is the "research" that people enjoy misqouting/misrepresenting...an article someone "googled" does not constitute "research"!

I don't have much faith in the mainstream...they will continue to believe the 4 absolute authorities on all things - CNN, Local News, Oprah and Dr. Phil...I'm afraid we are doomed.

SLCounselor,

I KNOW. There HAVE to be intelligent people almost everywhere. I have seen DUMB people in jobs that required more intelligence, and smart guys at lower levels. Still, the US system, and many others, have rigged it to be like darwin in REVERSE! They have to AVOID hiring on merit to promote people from within, EVEN if proven idiots, and hire "protected class" people EVEN if a better person comes along. Why can't they just hire on merit and, if the "protected class" don't get hired, just say TOUGH!! !! !! !!

I have seen that behaviour ALL over, and believe it is a major cause. That dilutes the voice of the intelligent, and lessens the ability for more intelligent things to be carried out.

Anyway, I HOPE it changes but, short term, it doesn't look like it will.

HECK, I used to be depressed, and constantly heard people theorizing about what causes one to commit suicide. For ME, it was PAINFULLY obvious!

Anyway, please don't be insulted by anything I have said. If you are sincerely trying to help, you are one of the GOOD GUYS!

It IS funny though. With computers, ONE MINOR connection could get cut and make things appear to be WORTHLESS! IBM once changed the keyboards and, if you used the wrong one, keys would be all wrong, etc... Apple II+ had a switch that did something similar qwerty/dvorak. Why dp people spend LESS time on kids, ESPECIALLY when the cause is CLEARER!?!?!? I ASKED for harder work when I was little. I ASKED for "programmed instruction"! I made it KNOWN what problems I had, etc.... I had to muddle through. I could have been SMARTER, and had a BETTER life, with LESS trouble. Now that I know that there are people DIAGNOSED with a similar "disability", I really HATE seeing that they are INTENTIONALLY put through the garbage I was put through. Some may end up FAR worse than I have.

Steve

Try this gem:
"THE WORLD IN PIECES".
When healthy people watch a film of moving triangles and a circle, they often imagine that the objects have social relationships ("The big triangle is helping the little triangle out of the square."). When people with autism look at the same clip, they see independent objects. ("The small triangle and the large triangle are moving to the right. The square isn't moving."). "

from: http://whyfiles.org/209autism/3.html

Apart from the usage of the word "healthy", which is thought provoking enough, the assumption made concerning the two examples is amazing. Which observation is objectively more accurate?

And then, to make it more odd still:
while having my own viewpoint, I am still aware of, and can appreciate, that of the researcher. On the evidence here I'm not sure they could reciprocate.


Doomed indeed.

Most of them get it wrong. I am still trying to figure out if this is deliberate or if they are truly unable to understand the differences. The more and more I see the comments on various parent support/advocacy groups the more it seems like it is deliberate.

What study are you referring to?

When you mentioned wisconsin in the title I first thought you were referring to gay/common law marriage ban amendment that's on the ballot here in wisconsin.

Maaaaaaan oh man. These articles and whatever always crack me up.

This is the reason I strive to be a SpEd teacher someday... Only an Aspie can understand an Aspie. That will never change. And you can bet yer mom's wallet that the article you (SteveK) showed us was NOT written by an Aspie... XD They should leave the research on Asperger's and Autism to those affected, don'cha think?? *shrugs*

But seriously, I see these instances ALL the time, both on the Internet and in real life, both in the forms of some random bystander/peer's observation of me or a friend of mine, and the "knowledge" of an executive in the education department or wherever. Le sigh... It kinda doesn't bug me anymore, now that I'm so used to having my existance misinterpreted... Maybe I'm being a floormat by saying that. Maybe I'm just living whatever life I lead that I have no control over. Maybe I'm over-pessimistic. Maybe I better go now... *sidesteps over to door*

Meh. Nothing else I can add for now. See ya.

I think the next page after that one was more amusing to me.

They go on and on about how this part of the brain is deficient when looking at faces and this one too and this one blah blah.

But they dont turn it around and see how it compares when viewing 3d models.

Because then they would have to admit NTs are deficient here, here, here, etc

Typical focusing on the negative like we're generally inferior rather than simply less capable in very specific circumstances while more capable in others.

One piece of s**t doctor at the department of traffic at the county board wanted to revoke my driving license, because, in general AS people are poor drivers according to another doctor, an "expert" that he had consulted. Luckily, my own shrink made a good job for one time's sake and gave a second and different opinion.

SLCounselor, it is possible for people to be worse than clueless, to answer your question. Willful ignorance makes it possible.

"The only thing more dangerous that someone who knows nothing is someone who knows nothing and thinks they know everything"

The stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt, or something like that.

That is how my life was sabotaged, people who knew nothing and thought they knew everything.

I'm here because I seem to be compatible with the people here, but I am not at all sure that there is a real "diagnosis" like we're ill. I see a lot of signs of environmentally induced illnesses or problems, but not an inherently diseased type of person.

Of course we lack empathy with a lot of people, but those people don't have real empathy. What they have that they pass off as empathy is a kind of forced agreement to act the same, hate the same things, wear the same kinds of clothes, and so on. Any real "empathy" is so shallow as to be undetectable. With me the empathy can run quite deep, especially with animals who usually don't have a problem with it. Humans have a problem with it.

Higher intelligence is a sign of improved functioning, not a sign of illness, disease, pathology, or whatever sounds negative.

Talking funny when you don't know people is often because a person has been scarred by numerous people who would slap him across the face or worse for speaking his mind. I functioned a lot better in the respect when I was five years old, before I went to school.

And they seem so mystified as to why autistics *appear* to develop then regress in language development.

I wonder if they've ever even thought to consider it could be the result of external factors? Like perhaps their poking and prodding and the negative feedback we get when we are young for speaking our minds provokes us to not want to talk to stupid people anymore?

I think that's exactly it. Those people could never hold themselves responsible for the results of the habit of hitting people in the face for talking or holding an opinion.