Autism Speaks

Aliroz · 2014-01-28 13:33:45

I don't know much about it.

Apparently, a lot of people don't like it, and a lot of people like it.

Can anyone here explain it to me, and what it's all about?

criminalscum · 2014-01-28 13:45:18

Because they "market" autism as a debilitating mental illness when a large number of people with autism don't even want to be cured. They see Autism Speaks as unintentionally humiliating.

Or something.

Yarrun XIX · 2014-01-28 14:35:56

They also treat their autistic workers pretty poorly, using loopholes to pay them as little as possible.

Also, most of the good leadership spots (possibly all of them) are taken up by neurotypicals

Salix Babylonika · 2014-01-28 14:59:50

It's a false-front group. Essentially advocating the elimination of Autistics while pretending to speak for them in a helpful manner.

Miss Miko Mayonegg · 2014-01-28 15:18:07

Elimination like killing? This is the first I've heard of that... :o Unless you mean eugenics, so people aren't born with autism in the first place. I might be a happier person without autism. but really, my point is basically w/e

lee4hmz · 2014-01-28 16:01:30

It's pretty much "cure your gays" applied to autism, with all of the unfortunate implications that carries.

Miss Miko Mayonegg · 2014-01-28 16:06:48

oh :(

Salix Babylonika · 2014-01-28 16:15:43

lee4hmz said:
It's pretty much "cure your gays" applied to autism, with all of the unfortunate implications that carries.

Princess Alice · 2014-01-28 18:17:19

Even the name is kinda fucked up, when you think about it, because it implies that autistic people aren't able to speak for ourselves

Mr. Darcy · 2014-01-29 15:40:22

I for one find the new "autism spectrum disorder" extremely confusing. I learned psychology from the DSM-IV, and was under the impression that people with classic autism need care about as intense as people with Down Syndrome. It would be horrifically unkind to treat them the same as Aspies, who are bright people who find it hard to socialize.

Sredni Vashtar · 2014-01-29 15:59:41

Well, the point is that it's a continuum: Extreme cases of Asperger's syndrome can in fact be more debilitating than some mild forms of classic autism or other such disorders. This is rare, but it does happen; it is believed that this, rather than schizophrenia, is what got Louis Wain institutionalised.

Tachyon · 2014-01-29 16:06:17

might be worth noting that Asperger's isn't actually recognized in the DSM-V; it's just considered a form of autism spectrum disorder

not sure what the reasoning behind this is, or what the implications are

Sredni Vashtar · 2014-01-29 16:13:04

I guess because it's considered a given manifestation or presentation of a broader underlying disorder/syndrome? If I'm not mistaken, I have seen the same thing in ICD descriptions of things like personality disorders: There are different subtypes or symptom presentations, but it's basically the same thing—APD and Hare-criteria psychopathy, for instance.

Mr. Darcy · 2014-01-29 17:01:26

Sredni Vashtar said:
Well, the point is that it's a continuum: Extreme cases of Asperger's syndrome can in fact be more debilitating than some mild forms of classic autism or other such disorders. This is rare, but it does happen; it is believed that this, rather than schizophrenia, is what got Louis Wain institutionalised.

That's an interesting anecdote. But it still bothers me that "autism" is now officially a label for the entire continuum of people with disabilities socializing. It conflates people with high IQ and intellectual disability, people who can hold down jobs and those who will have to live as dependents, etc. Well-meaning people want to know to treat people with psychological problems, and having one label only equips laymen to treat Leigh and me like Tommy Westphall, or vice versa.

Tachyon · 2014-01-29 17:14:45

my brother (who has Asperger's) was very angry about it, for that reason

i don't think laypeople are incapable of understanding that it's a continuum, though i suppose there's a lot of ignorance about

Tre · 2014-01-29 17:35:18

I'm not a big fan of the change either TBH

It strikes me as generalization for generalization's sake, and I for one find it hard to label myself as outright autistic

Miss Miko Mayonegg · 2014-01-29 21:06:55

Laypeople? You mean the swarm of zombies that fill the streets and don't know their right hand from their left and reproduce like a hive and feed on the blood of the living? Laypeople can suck it. English wasn't invented for *them.* D:<

Previous Calica · 2014-01-29 21:59:32

The reason that the change was made was that it was basically already impossible to distinguish the diagnosis of "high-functioning autism"(not in DSM-IV either, but a commonly used phrase) and the diagnosis of "Asperger Syndrome".

Furthermore, even previously nonverbal autistics have often been able to communicate and communicate well through things like the Internet.

Mr. Darcy · 2014-01-29 23:14:11

spinor said:

Furthermore, even previously nonverbal autistics have often been able to communicate and communicate well through things like the Internet.

You just blew my mind. We're missing a step here: how do they learn to read and write if nonverbal?

Anonus · 2014-01-30 00:37:49

Nonverbal means nonspeaking.

Mr. Darcy · 2014-01-30 01:06:36

And how do you learn to read and write if you never speak? Think back to the ages you were taught these two skills and ponder the difficulties.

Salix Babylonika · 2014-01-30 01:07:37

Mr. Darcy said:
And how do you learn to read and write if you never speak? Think back to the ages you were taught these two skills and ponder the difficulties.

?????????

by that logic deaf-mutes can't write either.

Obā-san · 2014-01-30 01:10:43

Burgundy Queen said:

Mr. Darcy said:
And how do you learn to read and write if you never speak? Think back to the ages you were taught these two skills and ponder the difficulties.
?????????

by that logic deaf-mutes can't write either.

Mr. Darcy · 2014-01-30 01:41:12

The deaf communicate by sign language to the parents or teachers who try to teach them to read and write. How does the process work without communication by the learner?

Miss Miko Mayonegg · 2014-01-30 01:42:32

But, how do the deaf learn sign language?

Sredni Vashtar · 2014-01-30 07:12:42

^^ Try looking it up. The education of the severely autistic is by no means a small field. And lest we forget, being poor at communicating directly has nothing to do with intellect; many of these people, as socially impaired as they are, prove themselves to be extremely intelligent when given alternate means of communication.

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