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Lukeda420
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22 Apr 2019, 3:09 pm

Not necessarily. I think it depends on which part of the spectrum a person falls. It also depends on how the person defines disability. For me it's not a disability, but I can't speak for others.



Lukeda420
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22 Apr 2019, 3:13 pm

ASPartOfMe wrote:
IMHO the difficulties of autistics are caused by a combination of misunderstandings/discrimination causing or Autistic strengths not to be realized and autism caused weaknesses. If it is a pure disability or pure difference it would be a lot more manageable and the community would not be nearly as split.

A lot of people blame the spectrum but a lot of conditions in life have a wide variety of severities without nearly the angry debates.


I think there may be the possibility that some people are misattributing the source of their difficulties to autism when there may be other causes.



firemonkey
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22 Apr 2019, 6:02 pm

I think even with the high functioning people it can still be a disability in terms of a certain degree of social deficits .



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22 Apr 2019, 9:27 pm

Benjamin the Donkey wrote:
naturalplastic wrote:
Dumb question.

Of course its a disability. It is a handicap. Doesn't mean that it cant be overcome. But it is something to overcome.


No, it's not a dumb question. Autusm can bring difficultis but also benefits. In my opinion, it's the way society is set up that makes autism a disability, not anything intrinsic to the condition. Many psychiatric professionals are of a similar opinion.




1) saying that it is "the way society is set up that makes it a disability, and not anything intrinsic to the condition itself" is like saying "if my grandmother had testicles she would be my grandfather". It's a tautology. You could say that about ANY thing considered a handicap. If the Sun were to stop putting out visible light, but continued to give off infrared (so it would still be warm, but it would be dark all of the time) blindness would no longer be "a disability" because we would all be blind. And no one in the human race was ever handicapped by dyslexia until 150 years ago when the nations of the West began to impose universal literacy via compulsory education. A dyslexic would not have stood out in any society in human history (stone age, bronze age, iron age, Antiquity, Middle Ages, etc) until the late 19th Century. But that doesn't change the fact that dyslexia, and blindness, are both problems for folks who have those conditions today in the way society exists in the here and now. And the here and now is what matters. And though I am optimistic that society will become more accommodating to HFAs in the coming years, things are not likely to EVER change SO much that autism would stop being considered a disability.

2)I call BS. Researchers may demand reforms in society in how it accommodates autistics, but no mental health professional has EVER said that "austism is not disability". I dare you to find anyone in the psychiatric community who ever said that.

3) Autism does NOT bring "benefits". That is pure BS. You are confusing "skills" with "benefits".
Yes SOME, but not all, autistics do have talents and strengths alongside the deficits they have in things
like social skills. Sometimes even considerable savant skills in areas that NTs are weak in. But skills can only become "benefits" to you if they benefit you! And autistics rarely ever derive any benefit from their own talents (largely because their autistic weaknesses hobble their ability to market themselves and the like) unless they get guidance and help. If you need special help then...you are handicapped, even if you are savant.

So obviously it IS a disability. To suggest otherwise is indeed "dumb".



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22 Apr 2019, 9:29 pm

It can be



DemophobicKlingon
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26 Jul 2019, 5:13 am

I would say that it makes us differently abled. The fact that we may struggle in certain areas that others may not, some ways that are lifelong, I think disability would describe it. But people on the spectrum are also often very intelligent, and look at things in different ways that others don't.

We may also have certain talents, have a certain focus that non-Autistic people lack. It's not all bad, so in some ways, comes with strengths, but the struggles would fall under disability territory. It doesn't mean we are lesser or inferior people, just that we may struggle in different areas but excel in areas that other people don't.


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26 Jul 2019, 5:36 am

Yes... And no... Yes in that when I am nurvous, I need the loo a lot! I drink a lot of water and I have to plan my life around the availability of toilets!
Also, in other ways. Filling out important forms... I avoid unless I really have to. I have avoided putting out job applications in the past because I could not cope with the forms due to nurves. It took me aroud two years to ask to be assessed for asperges because i was too nurvous to talk. Yet, when I talked about other things I was ok. My mind would shut off if I tried to ask directly for an assessment, but talking about other issues with the doctor like throat closing up, my mind would switch back on... So for certin circumstances like this where I would be meeting official people in an important setting, yes, I would call it a dissability.
If I had to be in a group of people I would not be able to communicate in a social way like I could if I was on a one to one with a friend, as I would need to mask, and masking is extremely limiting, especially if like me, I have to put on a "Being thick" mask to function.
Also, when I am nurvous, I strughle with energy, and I also get partial shutdowns, which most people are not aware I am having them unless I am on the floor if I have had them to a deeper effect. If I have a partial shutdown in a more minor way, everything I do is a big effort. It feels like my body is over 100 years old! Every movement I have to "Drag" my body to get things done.

In other ways I don't have any dissabilities. When I am feeling relaxed and energetic I can walk and cycle miles. (These days I seem to get less of these moments). I function normally... I am intelligent... I have great ability to focus if I latch onto a subject and can (Given time) go into depths that others can't touch.



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26 Jul 2019, 6:34 am

At the severe level, and sometimes even at the level of Asperger's syndrome, it can be accompanied by medical and mental health problems such as anxiety, depression and seizures. It is, at the very least, socially disabling.



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26 Jul 2019, 10:22 am

DemophobicKlingon wrote:
I would say that it makes us differently abled. The fact that we may struggle in certain areas that others may not, some ways that are lifelong, I think disability would describe it. But people on the spectrum are also often very intelligent, and look at things in different ways that others don't.


Yes! A major positive in classifying autism as a disability, such as the ability to gain support from those with other, more "classic" disabilities in our effort for equality (and being more physically abled than many of them, we can offer our support to them as well). A major negative in classifying us as "disabled" would be us being treated even more differently than we already are.

IstominFan wrote:
At the severe level, and sometimes even at the level of Asperger's syndrome, it can be accompanied by medical and mental health problems such as anxiety, depression and seizures. It is, at the very least, socially disabling.


Those of us who are "classically" autistic may need more assistance than their "higher-functioning" counterparts, but that doesn't mean they're any less intelligent. You are spot on with the whole "most of our issues come from anxiety, depression, etc." thing. "Social Disability" is one of my favorite ways of describing ASD.


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26 Jul 2019, 10:42 am

Autism is a developmental disability -- only this, and nothing more.


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26 Jul 2019, 11:15 am

I’ve been on my job almost 39 years with no promotion.

I know people who sucked in school who are doing better than me now.

My autism probably prevented me from achieving things most 58 year olds have achieved.

On the other hand, at least I’ve had a steady job for all these years and will get a pension in 3 1/2 years.

In me, it’s somewhat “disabling”



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26 Jul 2019, 1:32 pm

Autism is totally a disability for me; that doesn't make it a bad thing and I want no cure.
I would like certain aspects of it to have ways to better manage, especially sensory wise, but I would never want a cure.


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jngyslate
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26 Jul 2019, 2:32 pm

I have always loved what I love, and I dont want it to be any other way. I feel like i would be bored and unhappy if I didnt get so into the things that I liked. But i am only speaking for myself. I think the autistic people that are less verbal could be having just as much fun as I am, but sometimes they dont have a way to communicate that to people.



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26 Jul 2019, 2:34 pm

Autism for me is definitely a social disability model disability. I would not want to be anything but Autistic because it is who and what I am and always have been. And the best parts of me exist because I am Autistic. But, because I live in a society that is created to suit nts, I am very disabled in that society. When I spend time with groups of Autistics, I do not feel disabled because my needs are more easily met as I am also more easily able to meet the needs of others. When I am not with other Autistics, I am neurologically assaulted all the time and my needs are not even considered or acknowledged so that cripples me. So yes, in an nt based society, I am definitely disabled.


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26 Jul 2019, 3:26 pm

For me it is. I have challenges with everyday tasks and people can tell that I am unusual. I act differently I guess. I have challenges with talking, Its not really my thing unless its a special interest. Even then its not the best. I still need a little bit of supervision because of impulse and decision making issues. I honestly don't always pay attention to my surroundings. I try though. I tend to wander off. People get annoyed by that. Most caretakers or teachers I have had, have had to know about that. Its a thing I am known for. I have usually been in special education classes because I have a hard time learning things in bigger classes. If I am in a regular class, I usually sit in the back at a different table. I don't mind that. Its probably easier for my teacher that way. People in regular classes are generally really nice to me. A lot of them will take the time to talk to me because I like to wear band shirts and I have worn interesting shoes before. I also like to laugh at their jokes. I do not do some of the stuff they do though such as driving. I have dated a bit though. Its harder for me to join in conversations though and I tend to get overwhelmed or I seem like I am not interested. I usually am interested, I just like to look at my surroundings more. Field Trips are weird for me because when I was in a general class once, we went on a lot of field trips to the university and I had an aide along with me. People thought that was weird and I got embarrassed. I also have issues with following instructions, they usually have to be written out. I guess life would be easier if I could listen better. I also have what my parents consider developmental delays. I do not know how I feel about that though. I was late with a lot of milestones though such as walking and talking. I also still do not talk in an appropriate way for my age. People can be really weird, because they do not think I can understand them and they will ask people around me about me. I do not really like that. I am thinking about getting a card I can give to people that explains a little bit about my challenges and lets them know they can talk to me. I do not mind being talked to, its unexpected touch or being approached from where I cant see people, that I do not like. Yeah, I am considered "special needs" by a lot of people. I try not to let it define me and I always try to work on what is challenging for me. Right now I am working on saving my money better, I get paid for doing chores such as washing the dishes, watering my neighbours plants when they are away, hanging the laundry up and doing other things that people want me to do. I am also working on counting change better so that I can be more efficient when I pay with coins. It takes me a while because I struggle with math.



jngyslate
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26 Jul 2019, 4:13 pm

ConverseFan wrote:
For me it is. I have challenges with everyday tasks and people can tell that I am unusual. I act differently I guess. I have challenges with talking, Its not really my thing unless its a special interest. Even then its not the best. I still need a little bit of supervision because of impulse and decision making issues. I honestly don't always pay attention to my surroundings. I try though. I tend to wander off. People get annoyed by that. Most caretakers or teachers I have had, have had to know about that. Its a thing I am known for. I have usually been in special education classes because I have a hard time learning things in bigger classes. If I am in a regular class, I usually sit in the back at a different table. I don't mind that. Its probably easier for my teacher that way. People in regular classes are generally really nice to me. A lot of them will take the time to talk to me because I like to wear band shirts and I have worn interesting shoes before. I also like to laugh at their jokes. I do not do some of the stuff they do though such as driving. I have dated a bit though. Its harder for me to join in conversations though and I tend to get overwhelmed or I seem like I am not interested. I usually am interested, I just like to look at my surroundings more. Field Trips are weird for me because when I was in a general class once, we went on a lot of field trips to the university and I had an aide along with me. People thought that was weird and I got embarrassed. I also have issues with following instructions, they usually have to be written out. I guess life would be easier if I could listen better. I also have what my parents consider developmental delays. I do not know how I feel about that though. I was late with a lot of milestones though such as walking and talking. I also still do not talk in an appropriate way for my age. People can be really weird, because they do not think I can understand them and they will ask people around me about me. I do not really like that. I am thinking about getting a card I can give to people that explains a little bit about my challenges and lets them know they can talk to me. I do not mind being talked to, its unexpected touch or being approached from where I cant see people, that I do not like. Yeah, I am considered "special needs" by a lot of people. I try not to let it define me and I always try to work on what is challenging for me. Right now I am working on saving my money better, I get paid for doing chores such as washing the dishes, watering my neighbours plants when they are away, hanging the laundry up and doing other things that people want me to do. I am also working on counting change better so that I can be more efficient when I pay with coins. It takes me a while because I struggle with math.



you sound like a lot of fun tho id love for us to wander off and find fun stuff to do LOL