Do you think most people are making a big deal out of autism

Post Reply New Topic

Uh.... Some of us function more highly...

There are many, many more who suffer greatly as do their families. I get really angry when "higher" functioning autistic people think they speak for all autistic people as if there is no other side. Many families have much to mourn...

Barack Obama approves of this topic!

I agree. Honestly higher functioning autistic people may have an easy road (I dont know, but from what I have seen here most of you enjoy being autistic and can find little fault with it), but I remember a boy in my 5th grade class who was low functioning and CONSTANTLY ran to the walls to bang his head, walked around aimlessly and babbled. I know people dont want to look as autism as a disability, and maybe for some it isnt, but any mother who has a baby and that is what she gets (a head banging, babbling, out of control child) is going to feel remorse and sadness.

The difficulty that I have as a high functioning autistic is because I am EXPECTED to function at the same level as a non autistic. But the playing field is skewed towards the NTs of the world. I constantly miss important cues in social situations and these cues are critical to things such as advancing your career or not getting cheated by your auto mechanic.

Because I don't bang my head against the wall and babble, nobody sees the effort that it takes for me to maintain lines of communication to the rest of the world. I have to actively work on understanding the human interactions of my reality instead of having a natural, fluid flow with socialization. I would often rather retreat into my inner world. But that is not an option unless I want to be alone and dependent on services.

And, as I said... which is odd because I'm already quoted in both of these comments... "By all means, provide support and tools to help parents of both high functioning and low functioning children; but these parents don't deserve a medal." You do what you have to do for your kids, and that's all there is to it. If anyone is mourning a child that isn't dead, they need to provide that child with a family who can handle having a child! Low-functioning autism is hardly a death sentence. Maybe for their social life it is a death sentence because they can't just dump off their child with a random family member to jet off to Europe for a week; but, you know, parenting is sacrifice and I have no tolerance for parents who want a parade for doing what parents are supposed to do.

I think people generally imply - by never mentioning similarities and other connections - that autistics are totally separate from both humanity and Reality. This can be supported by a scientific definition of the term 'person' as 'a set of reactions to social stimuli', but when we take our awe of science out of the picture, we're more likely to include things like human emotions (happiness, envy, etc.) in a definition of what makes someone human.

Nihil humani a me alienum puto
[Nothing human is alien to me] – Terence[/quote]

Last edited by undefineable on 11 Apr 2011, 12:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

That's a bit hard-hearted; aren't you grateful to your own parents for raising you despite any ups and downs? - Despite what I said above, don't forget that all autistics - as personalities - certainly appear different to how most people expect other human beings to act. My mother had an excuse for not noticing anything odd about me, as she was abandoned as a child and raised by nannies, but most other parents are bound to investigate further, and their concerns are worthwhile in this day and age in which services for autistic children are apparently available in wealthier countries.

Nihil humani a me alienum puto
[Nothing human is alien to me] – Terence[quote]

Last edited by undefineable on 11 Apr 2011, 1:07 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Soldiers get a parade for doing what they're suppoed to do; who'se to say which job is harder, particularly if you're parenting someone that (say if you were a normal person) may well not appear to be either human or fully alive.

Nihil humani a me alienum puto
[Nothing human is alien to me] – Terence[quote]

I didn't mean to make this thread sound like everyone on the spectrum will have it easier in life. I just want to show that some do function and are not low functioning, screaming their heads off, head banging autistics as most people think they are.

I get what you meant but the title of your thread is "Do you think MOST people..."

No. I don't think that at all. The people who are devistated because their children are autistic have every right to be that IMHO. It financially and emotionally wrecks a lot of families and is no picnic. People on this board do NOT represent the entire spectrum. So the answer is, "No." to the "MOST" people part.

The other side to the devistation is the part whereby we need to make people aware that there are many more higher functioning autisitc individuals out in the world who should be acknowledged and accepted even though many of us have invisible symptoms. Today that part is lacking and I think that part is where you are aiming your critisisms towards Autism Speaks...

But even those who are considered more highly functioning still need many services. The financial cost of autism is actually a pretty big deal as well so I don't think that enough people are making a big enough deal out of autism actually.

Whatever attention autism had most of it seems very misdirected. In many circles it's constantly being treated as a "bratty child" disease. Rarely does anyone ever talk about autistic adults in a realistic manner anyway. There's too much focus on the kids which is ok. But nobody seems to be bringing up the issue of what will happen to today's generation of autistic children once they become adult or how they are going to function. It has me very worried. I fear that with all the focus on today's autistic children are getting now, they're going to be abandoned and forgotten once they become adults and are expected to function like everyone else without any additional help or services in favor on focusing on the next generation of autistic kids. There's a grand misconception that autism is a childhood condition when it's really a lifetime one.

In my experience autism is treated at best with insincere good intentions to help usually classic "do-gooders" wanting to earn brownie points or professional healthcare workers trying to earn a crust at parents expense. At worst it's treated with indifference. In our politically correct society people tend to thumb their noses at things that are socially uncomfortable, alas ASD falls into this category.,

Even trying to keep a low profile at school is not easy - parents and teachers at my daughter's school often growl at us because my 5 yr old pushed somebody or crossed personal space and these parents politely ignore us at parent teacher gatherings.

So are ASD kids looked at as monsters ...not really.....but I think the ASD kids are certainly being swept under the proverbial carpet,.

Do you really want to go there? You don't know my answer, how I was raised or what kind of people my parents were. Are you sure you want to ask that question? Think carefully.

I will tell you that I am the mother of four children, step-mother of two. Would you really like to lecture me on how harsh I am being on parents who have to *sniff* raise a child with autism?



Gay people also get a parade, just for being gay. Everybody gets a parade in March, even if they really aren't irish. Santa gets a parade on Thanksgiving. You know who shouldn't get a parade? Parents... unless they're gay, pretending to be irish or Santa.

Being a soldier is harder than being a parent. I've got four kids. Being shot at is harder. Showing up for PT 3 days a week at 5am is harder. Being deployed for 18 months to the Middle East is harder. You know what I do? I spend my life catering to five awesome people. I get to look like a genius because I know Algebra II and complain when the AC goes out.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgJ-vsLKNDA[/youtube]

Gay people also get a parade, just for being gay. Everybody gets a parade in March, even if they really aren't irish. Santa gets a parade on Thanksgiving. You know who shouldn't get a parade? Parents... unless they're gay, pretending to be irish or Santa.

Being a soldier is harder than being a parent. I've got four kids. Being shot at is harder. Showing up for PT 3 days a week at 5am is harder. Being deployed for 18 months to the Middle East is harder.[quote]

I was referring to parents of autistic kids who are not themselves autistic, and therefore have no reference points to work from, hence my comment: 'particularly if you're parenting someone that (say if you were a normal person) may well not appear to be either human or fully alive'. All due consolations for whatever you may have experienced while you were growing up, but in truth, the majority of parents put in a good effort, and I think other posters have pointed out that this deserves to be respected.

Your video was still funny tho, lol_

I think the problem with PC is that it hives off certain people - who were probably seen as full members of society already in any case - as 'The Special Ones' in need of 'Special Treatment'. 'Do as you would be done by' seems a fairer motto, and one less likely to rile the majority.



Autism IS the ULTIMATE disorder because we know of no other that cuts to the core of our culture's scientific (or pseudo-scientific) understanding of what it is to be human. And in the past, people did seriously believe that autists were senile fairies (because of the way in which those of us with asperger's often speak like old folk) that the 'little people' had swapped with human children to provide themselves with both 'Old People's Homes' and a wider gene pool. - Who's to say this isn't true, albeit clearly unlikely-? After all, the sentient beings we know of are all pretty similar at root - We all want to preserve ourselves in the world in one way or another. What's to stop auties from just being creatures of a slightly different class?

I think H.G. Wells said it best - 'The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one (he said) - YET STILL THEY COME'.