This is the worst article ever!

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Some parents want their specific children's behaviors to represent all of autism spectrum and consider poop-smearing to be fundamental trait of autism.
Some autistic people want their own specific behaviors to represent all of autism spectrum and consider being bullied to be fundamental trait of autism.
Both are wrong and doing the same kind of wrong thing.
As currently defined, autism is just set of clinically observed behaviors with few solid links to cognition and brain function.
In future, autistic behaviors will be quantified without major bias of subjective observation, and there be more links between behavior and brain.
Autism will fragment into subtypes that are different from each other when you combine behavioral + brain measures.

With the U.S. government admitting the kinds of "crazy s***" that it has done and (usually) still does (like the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, 1932-1972; the Business Plot, 1933; the OSS Operation Paperclip, 1945; the Guatemala syphilis experiment, 1946-1948; the NATO Operation Gladio, late 1940s to 1950s; the CIA Operation Ajax, 1951; the CIA Project MK-ULTRA, 1950s to 1970s; the CIA Operation Mockingbird, 1950s to 1970s; the Joint Chiefs of Staff Operation Northwoods, 1962; the DOD Gulf of Tonkin incident, 1964; the FBI COINTELPRO programs, late 1960s; the Watergate scandal, 1972-1974; the FBI and CIA assassinations, disclosed in 1975; the CIA and DEA Drug Running in Los Angeles, early 1980s; the Reagan Iran-Contra Affair, 1985-1986; the CIA Drug Smuggling in Arkansas, 1987; the first Gulf War Testimony of Nayirah, 1990 ... and my personal favorite: "Wikipedia.org: Unethical human experimentation in the United States" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unethical ... ted_States which include numerous experiments performed on human test subjects in the United States that have been considered unethical, and were often performed illegally, without the knowledge, consent, or informed consent of the test subjects), there is very little about that I doubt.

Was aware of those, but not sure what that has to do with the subject article.

Some might consider those facts "crazy s***," too.

No, crazy is when you believe something that has been disproven, such as vaccines causing autism. Crazy is believing all autism is caused by some undetermined environmental factor. That has never been true, since we have long known other causes. Environmental causes might cause a certain percentage. Crazy is denying scientific evidence in favor of your own pet theories. Its staying on the bandwagon after the horses pulling it long died.

Still don't see what your government stuff has to do with original article. Unless you are saying that the Website that wrote the article isn't crazy and vaccines really do cause autism, while somehow it is also all caused by environmental factors? Oh, and that it is curable in children too.

A bit off topic but since when did poop smearing become pathologized? I did it a few times when very young not because I am autistic because it was kind of naughty. Kids are fascinated with farts, poops etc. Have these esteemed psychs ever been a boys or even a men's locker room?

May I return to the OP's original titular question...

Earlier in the thread, I wrote that if this was the worst article ever, we would be much further along the road to acceptance than we are.
I have since read John Robison's comments, (posted at the top of the forums here) and I agree with him.


There seem to me two ways, broadly speaking, to respond to articles like the Seinfeld one:

1) Declaim it as wrong, terrible, worst ever, how dare they, I am outraged etc

or

2) Consider how such an article can be used to our advantage eg to get accurate information out there using Seinfeld as a stepping stone..

The first option tends to widen the gap between the misunderstanding ones and us and stops communication.
The second option necessitates utilising a political strategy. Do we want to build walls or bridges? Or nothing at all?

Yeah, you should probably watch it.

Yes! This gets me so angry all the time because it kind of dismisses the people that are able to function in society, but still have problems. This article kind of puts us all into one big "weird" category and then when we (or at least I) tell people what we are, they don't believe us because "Wow! You can talk????"

The thing I keep thinking when I read stuff like this is:
How is this supposed to make your kid feel?
Can you be certain that they will never be aware of what you have said about the hell of living with them? And Are you certain you are ready to hear what their response is going to be, if they should have the ability to communicate with you later?

I've read a lot of thoughts expressed by people who supposedly had no language.

I will keep that in mind for a future day when I am feeling masochistic

If you support neurodiversity, autistic pride or the positive, geeky, quirky and intellectually pragmatic aspects of autism, you will not like the Age of Autism blog one bit.

To get some perspective on the "worst article ever!" - just try reading this.

NB: Vomit warning, have your bucket ready...

https://encyclopediadramatica.se/Asperger's_Syndrome