how come you never see on the news, what exactly is Autism?

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I made this post on autismspeaks on another persons post but got no replies. So I'm going to post it again in autismspeaks and here, see both replies!


Alll I hear about in the news is vaccinations and autism, or how autism is genetic or how autism is the worst disorder Ever. How come we never hear about autism itself, and how each autistic individual is unique, how not all autistics are mentally ret*d, some are extremely smart. Allll I ever read is jenny mccartney, amanda peet, vaccinations, or how some celebs are now getting in on it, how each are trying to raise awareness and get money, But what about autism itself, what about how each child is affected differently or how people with autism do have emotions or how every individual with autism is not completely nonverbal? why isnt there more news on that? Maybe you wouldnt hear autistic kids getting kicked out of places, abused, or whatever, if the world knew more about "Autism" itself?

It bothers me though, because there are so many people that dont know what autism is, they've heard about it how it might be genetic or how it might be vaccinations, they've seen it in children and in adults, and thats a disability, but their age old question is "What Exactly Is Autism?" Now why isnt there more on the news about how autism is a spectrum, or how some kids with autism are even hyperlexic, or how some autistics dont even flap or rock and some actually give eye contact?

So my question is how come we only hear about whats going on, with celebs, vaccinations, raising awareness, about autistic kids drowning, how their dangerous or how they never give eye contact, or how their always in their own world ...And How come we never hear about the actual Autism, and what exactly is autism, and how it affects each person differently, and how autism can be mild, moderate, or severe, or how each person with autism stims differently, has different sensory problems, has different social problems or how big the spectrum is

am think its because the profound side of anything always attracts more viewers/listeners.
they wont do a show about a group of adults with BAP [broader autism phenotype] who have had good lives,because it wont get them the viewers,they'll do it about the things that will attract the most attention,eg,a kid [never an adult]
with profound autism who is screaming,weeing in their pants and head banging all day with their parents shown struggling to cope is more likely to get someone to stop channel flicking than a older adult who is doing things NTs are.

think there is a long way to go before mainstream tv starts equally accepting all autisms.
they dont even know what cdd is.

I completely agree, if a child falls down a well, all the newspapers have it as their headline, but very rarely do you see that same boy saved and doing fine. It just stinks though, because my bf had a guy ask him the other day what was autism, and the guy asked him if autism was mental retardation or a form of down syndrome!? The guy then said i heard about jenny mccartney getting money for it, and how she cured her son, and all this, but what is autism exactly? When my bf told me i was shocked, like wow.

propaganda to get pitty donations.

if you saw people doing well with autism i doubt you'd wanna help them out financially.

Not even doing well, just the differences between each child, because people all think autism, they gotta flap, rock, make no eye contact, and can't speak which is not true at all!

I've posted on Autism Speaks in order to try to educate some people. The newbies and even some of the people who have been on that site for years have liked my posts. However, I have had people accuse me of not being severely autistic or even autistic at all because I can compose a coherent, well thought out post. I invited one of these posters to come live with me for a week and observe me for 24 hours straight and then tell me I'm not autistic. So far, I have not had any takers.

I also have to comment on law enforcement and paramedic training manuals that teach these people to talk down to auties as if we lack intelligence. Usually but NOT always, so called low functioning auties and aspies have other conditions that inhibit ability to function without assistance. People think that being severely yet "high" functioning autistic as an oxymoron. It is not. I have a friend who is profoundly deaf (I mean ZERO hearing), yet because of his ability to read lips and faces as well as speak clearly, many people would not know that he was deaf at all. This is the same thing with me. I'm 40 years old, and have many years of experience on how to do social and act NT. I am an unpaid professional actor. In return for my performance, i get a chance to obtain employment, clients, or to be taken seriously.

I think the vast majority of people are 'indoctrinated' by society into following certain ways of thinking and simply block their minds to other possibilities.Maybe those of us on the spectrum are more inclined to continually think more deeply and seek answers.
I sense that since people stared questioning the 'war' in Iraq there are signs of a gradual move towards a more open-minded society in general,to look beyond the official view of events in all areas of life.

In Australia they had a news story a while ago about a kid with Aspergers syndrome, they have had instances where they have showed the more higher functioning. But otherwise they want a larger story, and what is bigger then an increase in a 'disorder' that everyone knows means they are realy delayed and can not have a bright future.

News items are in an implicit competition. The more sensational items get the coverage. The only reason autism is even in the news at all is because some celeb is yelling about it. Otherwise it wouldn't even rate a mention to the ratings counters.

It's what happened when news departments became revenue centers instead of a public service.

Yeah. The one time I saw an exception to that was when a child (I think her name on the news was "Baby Jessica") fell down a well, and when they rescued her, then all the TV shows interrupted what they were doing to cover her being saved.

As a 30 year veteran of broadcasting I have heard the same motto repeated in one television newsroom after another: IF IT BLEEDS, IT LEADS.

Everybody stops to rubberneck at a car wreck. Only a few will stop to ooh and aah over a box of kittens.

No reporter is going to take the time to explain to an audience what autism really is, because it would require the reporter AND the audience to THINK. It's not a simple explanation and it takes some effort to understand it's effects and no one who isn't affected personally by it on a daily basis cares enough to do that.

You want modern audiences to get what autism means? Design a video game in which the player's character is limited by autistic reactions. When he/she enters a crowded room, they suddenly have difficulty moving forward, have difficulty hearing what's being said to them by other characters, other characters seem to speak and interact in ways that make no sense, stuff like that. Base it on RAINMAN, the object is to go to Vegas against your will and overcome obstacles in order to help someone who is making your life miserable to get them to take you home. You can't go home by yourself. Get home, you win.

Only if it benefits them in some way (ie, entertains them for awhile), will any NT ever bother to make any effort towards understanding autism.

I believe it is because the only people who get to speak are celebs, doctors with lots of degrees, or other people who are already famous.

Doctors can describe symptoms or diagnosis but they can't really explain what autism is or how it affects thinking, feeling, etc because they simply don't know. Only someone on the spectrum can really explain autism. As a current social worker and a former special ed teacher, I take the time to explain how autism affects a person to both the parents and the person with the diagnosis.

The other problem is that most people focus on the symptoms not the cause. I once helped an autistic person get some medical procedures done. He was awkward in everything he does and a nurse as me in a whisper, "What's wrong with him". I explained that he is autistic. She responded with a shocked look on her face and said, "I didn't know they could talk". This was at a highly respected hospital!

I really want to write a book to help explain what autism is and how is affects a person. Saying that someone with autism does not make eye contact is like saying that the sky is blue. Ok, but why is the sky blue? Why does someone with autism have difficulty with eye contact. There are a lot of people, including myself and others on this forum that would be more than happy to explain autism. Unfortunately, most people are not willing to listen or even provide us the chance to share.

Just my 2 cents.

Interesting attitude by media people, considering that the rare shows that do treat audiences as if we're intelligent, often get higher ratings.

You mean CSI because of the occasional forensic factoid, House for rattling off exotic disease names, or the decades-long #1 reign of Jeopardy? I may have missed something, but I don't recall the last time Nova won a People's Choice award.

Don't get me wrong, I wish the public only responded to high-quality, intelligent programming, so all the crap would get canceled. But the fact is, We live in a world full of Big Brother, Flava of Love, Jackass, The Apprentice, The Bachelor, Queer Eye, Old Christine, Top Model, Dancing With the Stars, American Idol, Bill O'Reilly, Oprah, Samantha Who, Jerry Springer, Survivor, Rachel Rae, Amazing Race, Groomer Has It, Deal or No Deal, Hannity & Colmes, 48 Hours 'Mystery', Gray's Anatomy, Sex in the City, Shot at Love...I could go on, but I have places to be. And these are shows made popular by supposedly reasonably intelligent adults. Once in a decade we get something the caliber of The X Files. I wish Cosmos had been the most eagerly awaited DvD release of all time, but I can't even find it at Best Buy.

I spent a three decade career getting repeatedly fired because I argued that the radio listening public deserved to be exposed to variety and intelligent choices, but long after I'm gone they continue to settle for rigidly programmed formats consisting of 250 songs that rotate every 36 hours, playing the same songs over and over and over day in and day out...I'm still hoping that the options of multiple Satellite radio channels and self-programmable Ipods will yet prove me right. But my faith is weak. The intelligent public I believed was out there has turned out in fact, NOT to be smarter than a Fifth Grader.

I notice the thing about focusing solely on severely autistic kids. It’s to appeal to parents fear. That’s how they get parents to tune in. According to the media autistic adults don’t exist. They fall off the face of the earth when they reach the age of 14. Everyone is so obsessed about helping children but then once you become older its sink or swim. Nobody gives a rat’s ass about you anymore. You’re completely under the radar.

This is not just true with respect to autistic kids but kids in general. The media loves to use children and sensationalism to exploit people’s emotions so they can get money. Same goes for all the child abduction fear mongering malarkey. The media is so full of BS it’s beyond the pale.

Autism Speaks isn’t going to try and change this trend because they are an organization aimed at parents. That’s where they get their money from so they have to appeal to that audience.

Oh, god do I know all of this BS


I am tired of people thinking i am intelligent because I know the world capitals. Well I don't expect you to know all 195 of them know some of the basic ones like

Canada: Ottawa
America:Washington
Mexico:Mexico City
Japan: Tokyo
China: Beijing
Philippines:Manilla
Indonesia:Jakarta
Italy:Rome
France:Paris
United Kingdom:London
Kenya:Nairobi
Egypt:Cairo
South Africa: Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Pretoria (and not Johannesburg)

also know that Bloemfontein, Cape Town and Pretoria have different functions

Also when I say

Tu eres persona mas estupido por que tu no piensas mas critical y inteligente
or
Jy dombmense aan jy nie dinke baie verstandig nie

People look at me crazy.

Well, I am not expecting to know those particular foreign languages (Spanish and Afrikaans) please don't be a stereotypical American idiot who thinks America rules the world, but is instead on a castle of pilars of salt and sand

Of course people who don't fit the typical stereotype and cultural/social conventions are ostracized, and therein lies the reason for the whole "interracial/cultural relationship taboo"