Does media coverage of ASDs make you uncomfortable?

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Seems to me like there's Autism or related stories in the mainstream media almost once a week these days. I am petrified that one day there's going to be a story on the news with some sensational headline like "Hidden Aliens Among Us! How to spot someone with AS!" and we'll all be 'outed', or the net effect of all these stories will be such a hightened public awareness of AS and its symptoms, that people will just be able to pick us out from a crowd with ease. As akward as I sometimes feel now, I can't even imagine what that would be like.

On the other hand, I guess all the coverage might be good thing, in the sense that maybe increased attention might lead to more research money, which might one day lead to better treatments or a cure (though I'm not entirely convinced that better treatments or a cure would necessarily be good things for me personally).

When there are other people around who don't know I have it, yeah.

No, because that would require actually partaking of the media.

I don't care if people know.

What annoys me about media coverage is that virtually all I see is so grossly oversimplified that I don't think most people are getting any sense at all of exactly what autism or AS means. I hear the word tossed around on 30-second Public Service Announcements all the time, but they make no effort to depict what it's like or how it affects us as a handicap.

My perception is that most of the public is under the impression that Autism is pretty much synonymous with Downs syndrome retardation. And if that's the impression the media are conveying, I'd rather they just shut the hell up.

There was once an assembly about AS at school in year 7/8 because there are a few in my year and one of the english teachers was giving the assembly, she mentioned two boys in my year but didn't mention me thankfully. but I still felt really uncomfortable and fidgety.
The are other times that it's been mentioned around people that don't know about me, I do a "health and social care course" part time in college and once the teacher was talking about communication barriers and how to nget round them, and as an example she said "the person you're caring for could be autistic and can't speak..." I felt quite uncomfortable then too.

i think media coverage on the disorder helps spread awareness and can help further diagnosis children so they can get the help they need. i just dont like it when they just show the horrible side of autism like the violence, or self multilating, or how autism can be cured the DAN method, as much as that both can happen, thats not all of autism, thats my only thing.

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Being Normal Is Vastly Overrated

Yes.

Lots of things I've seen have been overly negative portrayals.

Once, I watched a documentary that contained an AS man who was brilliant at Maths. He said that his life was like wading through an uphill swamp with concrete blocks stuck to his feet.

At that time my life was like someone had strapped a jet-pack to my back and I was accelerating past everyone else and leaving them behind. I was also average, but not that brilliant at Maths. I felt that my life was quite fun at times especially when I ran or did sports. I certainly didn't feel like I had concrete blocks strapped to my feet then!

No disrespect to any of the people in the documentary, but I felt confused and didn't really identify with them at all. They weren't like me and had completely different issues and interests. They were all male and had completely different lives and pressures.

I don't know why, but I felt really angry when some AS Mathematicians in their 30s and 40s went to a social skills class in the programme. The woman teaching them sadly reminded me of a "popular" schoolgirl who imposes her requests on other people. I was upset because the woman kept criticising the men and I honestly couldn't see what they were saying or doing wrong. This was because members of my family acted a bit like that. I don't get why other people get mad for no reason when others say harmless things and don't mean to be rude. It baffles me, because I was never really told about what subtle right things I should say. I would have listened and not criticised.

When people have talked about AS I've felt very awkward indeed because most people's discussions/talks advertised have centered around more non-verbal males. This kind of confirms the little voice in my head that says:
"See, only males can be AS. A mistake was made."

I don't know what to say. I feel a bottomless pit in my stomach because I can't talk about what happened to me, or I'll offend people or contradict any preconceived ideas they may have on the subject.

Recently this has become worse with friends and co-workers talking about people they know. I breathe a sigh of relief when they change the subject. I have lost some very good friends by telling the truth, so this time I'll try and keep my mouth shut.

As for feeling singled out and misunderstood, that's not a nice experience for anyone, whoever you are or whatever your issues.

Ya know... this is sort of weird, really.

I was diagnosed with adult AD/HD about nine years ago. There was a lot more stigma associated with that diagnosis at that time than there is now. I think a lot of it has to do with public awarness. I felt the same way as many of you do about the "retardation" thing. I think that 10-15 years ago when people thought of AD/HD they thought that you were somehow "messed up" and that everyone who had it was bouncing off the walls and getting into trouble. If folks didn't think that, they tend to think that it is a "non diagnosis" (ie. they don't think that it is a real disability). There is definately still a stereotyped image of the person with AD/HD, however. The one thing I will say is this.... 10 years ago..... I wouldn't tell people that I have been diagnosed with AD/HD. Today, I don't have any trouble talking about it because I find that "most people" get it. "Most people" understand that you are easily distracted, have excess energy, have trouble focusing, etc.... They seem to be aware now that it is a set of characteristics that cause you to have a hard time in certain situations and that doesn't make you "ret*d" or "brain damaged" in any way.

This brings me to autism awareness.... I imagine that they have to start someplace with educating the masses. Better have them familiar with the stereotype so that when they do meet someone on the spectrum who doesn't "fit the stereotype" they can go out and relay that information to all of the other people out there who are trying to wrap their heads around what it really means to be autistic. Does that make sense? I mean.... we have a stereotyped image of apples as being red and about the size of a baseball, but we all know that they come in many shapes and sizes and that they aren't all red.... some are even GREEN! We all started with the same "image" of an apple and then began to apply the concept of "apple" to other fruits that are still, in fact, apples.

And that is about all I have to say about that......

I think even the positive sides of Autism are all stereotypical. Pretty much all of them are to do with Maths. I'm only mediocre at Maths.
EMZ=]

Nobody outside my family knows I'm AS, and I've never been called on it. So when people talk about autism, I don't know how to respond to them without giving away all my secrets.

I've recently joined a group, of the sort that will accomplish a purpose and then disband. I suspect that one of the people in it is autistic, but I don't know how to ask without being offensive. Either way, earlier in the week I overheard someone else in the group saying something along the lines of "I know this guy, and he's autistic but he's a great piano player." I think this indicates a terribly skewed understanding of autism, but I wasn't part of that conversation and I really don't know the speaker and I didn't know whether or how to confront her about it.

Anyway, on the subject of the actual media... I occasionally see columns in the paper, and I read them to see what TPTB are trying to do now, and there's this strange sense of reading dispatches from the enemy. It's pretty awful, but scientists and politicians are out there trying to help us, or making laws that affect us, and who knows whether they've actually asked any autistics about it...

And that's another thing... when they talk about autism and people who CAN talk and dress themselves and function, they focus on people who are "special" in a different way and they go into savantism and Rainman type people.

So... they make it seem like you can only have it if you're one of two ways

1. Barely able to function
2. Some kind of a genius

Well I'm pretty much horrible at math (except probability/logic) so I guess I must not have it.

I am scared about it. they should stop. everytime I hear one I freeze up. and they never share the type that is like me. they always share the super genius musician or something like that. I'm tried of it. I'm always so afraid people will look at me and know I have it. Like the other day I when to the park with my best friend, who is a stuffed fennec fox. When we got there my friend wanted to swing, so i pushed her, and this woman kept watching us play. My friend and me got very uncomfortable, because the woman was staring, and all my friend wanted was to play on the play equipment with me!