That's not autism! -_-

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Autism is more complex and diverse than many of us can imagine.

I know artists, dancers, poets, teachers, philosophers, counsellors, and yes actors who have autism. Autism is not a one size fits all.

TOM is just a theory of mind.

When Einstein said:

"I didn't arrive at my understanding of the fundermental laws of the universe through my rational mind."

he could, I am quite sure, say exactly the same about the inner workings of our minds.

Let's not get to attached to this latest theory of mind, as soon there will be just another one coming along which we will all be working up a sweat about.

This is the article I was referring to:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/ar ... uggle.html

This is an interview that elaborates on the condition, showing she didn't just have social anxiety:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUuoq8CWeeU[/youtube]

Anyway, the point of the thread is not to discuss the validity of Daryl Hannah's diagnosis, but to discuss similar situations.



Adam Lanza, yes, but it's unlikely Elliot Rodger had it because despite continually getting psychiatric help he was never diagnosed.

I just caught that!

I was diagnosed with autism in the 1960s.

I don't know Daryl Hannah personally--so I can't judge whether she's autistic or not.

I don't get the impression that she's one of those who think it's a "cool" disorder.

It's quite possible that she's somewhere on the Spectrum, yet with relatively mild symptoms.

Perhaps like Jerry Seinfeld?

Yes, I have seen this.

I think you can see it, as kraftiekortie suggests, in the reactions to Jerry Seinfeld's comments.

I am trying to understand what drives such behavior. In some cases, it seems to be parents of severely autistic kids who think that acknowledging a more functional end of the spectrum somehow detracts from their status as caregivers to uniquely needy people. In other cases, it seems to be fairly high functioning people who feel their disability isn't visible enough and that acknowledging the existence of successful people like Seinfeld or Hannah on the spectrum will somehow diminish or trivialize their situation.

There is a lot of fear there, so strong and irrational responses would be expected.

That was an interesting interview with Hannah. I can recall a thread about this a couple of years ago which showed an English talk show host being very aggressive in an interview with her and causing her to shut down, despite being a guest on the show. I think these revelations go to show how little people know the human beings behind celebrity personas. Having watched Seinfeld doesn't put anyone in a position to diagnose him. He is many things, but he is not stupid and he has been studying this. He may be deluded in seeing himself on the spectrum, or he may recognize that he belongs in ways that none of us can imagine.

The first psychologist I was sent to, when I said I suspected I had Aspergers, asked me one question and decided based on my answer that I could not possibly have it. The question was, whether I wanted friends as a child. I replied that I had wanted friends but did not seem to know how to make them. According to this psych, people with Aspergers do not want friends, lol.

Of course, I tried to argue based on the many topics I have read here and books but the idiot did not want to listen. When I mentioned this to the specialist who diagnosed me last week, he was pretty incredulous and thought that psych sounded as if he knew nothing.

I think celebrities tend to jump on all kinds of bandwagons to get media attention. They also have loads of $, which gives them access to loads of doctors, some of whom are unscrupulous and will agree with them about almost anything. I'm not saying some (or even any) of these celebrities don't really have ASD, I'm just giving some reasons why people doubt them.

BTW, I rarely make eye contact when speaking with someone, and I probably look a lot like Daryl Hannah does in that interview. Except that she smiles more. I tend to frown in concentration, which gives the impression that I hate the person with whom I'm speaking. Fun times.

If one reads Tony Attwood, and one gets to know Aspies, one KNOWS how ignorant Graelwyn's psychologist is concerning Asperger's.

As Attwood points out (in essence): it's not that Aspergians do not WANT friends (they want them very badly, actually), it just that they are "awkward" in how they "go about" making friends.

Just like this thing about autistic people and "theory of mind." A whole lot of absurdity!

My son's pediatrician told me only geniuses and idiots have autism. When I asked for a referral for an evaluation, he sent us to a Christian counseling center that didn't even have a child psychologist on its staff.
So yeah, nothing is too stupid for a doctor to say.

How so? I always thought there was something to that.

It's absurd to think that autistic people, inherently, lack "theory of mind."

This basically means being aware of yourself , how you react to situations, how other people react to situations, and how people react to what you do.

Now...perhaps there is some kind of "disorder" when it comes to "theory of mind" within some people on the Spectrum. Then again, as I think about it, I've known a few NT's who have "deficits" in that area.

But to say that autistic people "lack" it is absurd.

Well, I'll have to go and find some sources but my understanding is that TOM refers to being aware of the other as a separate and unknowable quantity. People who lack this tend to think only in terms of their own experience. Which leads to confusion when others act unexpectedly.
I think this is a characteristic of autism. Though its absence (or presence) wouldn't preclude autism.

I'm guilty of the "this is not autism thing". Just read my signature but to be fair, I never impose it on anyone. I just ask people to be careful, many times they jump to conclusions way too quickly and without proper evidence and/or research.
Two common phenomenons. It's so common to read people diagnosing others like: "celebrity x has y, because they were socially awkward when younger and knows everything about b" I mean... Human beings are so diverse and our experience is so rich. We have to be aware of all kinds of people there are, and that many of us have things in common.
Second one- people diagnosing themselves, not to find answers or support, but to be named as different. Human beings tend to be eager to think they are special (another interesting discussion is if this is related to the society we live in or is somehow "intrinsec"), but not in a good way like: "everyone is unique and can contribute to the community", more like "look at how speeeecial I am, you normal human beings". Very trending "disorders" are like asperges, bipolar, sociopath. Come on..

Thanks, androbot, for that succinct explanation of theory of mind. I have struggled to understand what is meant by theory of mind.

As I read your post, I could feel myself as I have been with other people that my sense of them as separate and unknowable is always in flux. Like I am just about to grasp it, then it slips away and I'm back to being confused and wondering why I don't get them and they don't get me. Frustration builds and then I get stressed, Repeat. I once was "shy" now I have social anxiety.

Last edited by grbiker on 12 Nov 2014, 1:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I personally have not experienced that, but that is ridiculous....Plenty of people with autism have social anxiety, it can happen when you try to interact with people, have negative experiences and thus are anxious about interacting, doesn't get rid of the difficulties autism causes in interacting. Also though being 'just shy' and social anxiety are also not the same thing, Social Anxiety is its own disorder and it can be quite serious, being shy isn't really a disorder as far as I know...though shy people could certainly have it but its not a requirement.

Seems like lots of myths have been spread around in the incident you describe.