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Autism is a real disability to some,,,,,,, are you such a person ?

aidie

sayings like , "autism is a superpower" or "autism isn't a disability, it is a different ability" worry me sometimes

I feel like this invalidates people who aren't quite comfortable with being Autistic or Autistic people who feel as though their ASD has more negative than positive impacts or those who feel as though their diagnosis has an equal amount of positive and negative effects. 

I understand these sayings have positive intentions and are meant to empower Autistic people, but it just kinda comes off as inspirational stuff to me. Again this is good. 

But two thirds of autistic people are in the mid and severe ends of the spectrum and so will probably never/rarely be in this forum or have their voice/opinions heard.

I am lucky to be the way I am.  But there are days I wish I could swallow a pill and my autism would be gone.

I am equal amounts of positive and negative with shrinking negatives.

But I always think about those who are really suffering on the spectrum.

Do you feel Autism is a real downer for you  ?  how bad is it ? and most importantly ,,,,,,,,,What can be done to help or change things for you?

Parents

  • I guess it is a disability because of the context in which it exists. Like many here I have a high IQ, higher than the average neurotypical by a significant margin. I tend to think of the social impediments and the intellectual impediment of autism as quite separate. If I lost my intelligence some how, became non verbal, lost my powers of memory, perception, abstraction etc. Well I'd want them back, I'd want a pill to restore them to cure that impediment. The social side not so much. Neurotypicals are as incapable of thinking like autistic people as we are of thinking like them. They can't choose to switch on autistic mode any more than we can choose to switch it off. In a hypothetical world with a majority population of high functioning autistic people the neurotypicals would be as lost and out of their depth as we are now. Actually I think in the long term they'd probably do rather better because autistic people are so diverse as a group that we have to be more accommodating of each others differences than neurotypicals.

    But just suppose I could press a button to temporarily enable neurotypical mode would I ever use it? Probably, on rare occasions, to navigate the odd awkward conversation, but what is the cost of using that button? If I use it too often are my thoughts really my thoughts? Or are they the thoughts and opinions of others I've been subconsciously internalising they way neurotypical people do with such ease? Its difficult to separate the conscious and subconscious so it's difficult to imagine giving an autistic person the ability to consciously exercise innate social abilities neurotypicals have with out affecting the way they mind works on a subconscious level and I for one wouldn't want that.

    Ok well suppose it wasn't a hypothetical button for my brain, suppose it was external. Suppose I had google glass, some kind of heads up display giving me all the information neurotypical brains give them but on a conscious level in the form of diagrams and text. Line a mini AI Daren brown in a pair of glasses. Yes I'd use that. But would it really make my life easier? To an extent. Those awkward conversations with neurotypicals would go a bit more smoothly. But for those awkward people It would help me find anything to say to them they'd want to hear? My internal monolog would still be at odds with the people around me a lot of the time although it would help me know when to keep quiet and back out of situations. I've developed my social life by seeking out places where people share my interests and are generally really open minded and where ever posable thick skinned.

    Right now my social life sucks because those places are disappearing. We are becoming a less tolerant more conformist society ... improving my social skills won't change that. I can't help but feel as autistic people we either need to start finding better ways to carve out niches on our own terms or start boosting our influence on the direction society as a whole is going in. From my personal experience neither is very easy.

Reply

  • I guess it is a disability because of the context in which it exists. Like many here I have a high IQ, higher than the average neurotypical by a significant margin. I tend to think of the social impediments and the intellectual impediment of autism as quite separate. If I lost my intelligence some how, became non verbal, lost my powers of memory, perception, abstraction etc. Well I'd want them back, I'd want a pill to restore them to cure that impediment. The social side not so much. Neurotypicals are as incapable of thinking like autistic people as we are of thinking like them. They can't choose to switch on autistic mode any more than we can choose to switch it off. In a hypothetical world with a majority population of high functioning autistic people the neurotypicals would be as lost and out of their depth as we are now. Actually I think in the long term they'd probably do rather better because autistic people are so diverse as a group that we have to be more accommodating of each others differences than neurotypicals.

    But just suppose I could press a button to temporarily enable neurotypical mode would I ever use it? Probably, on rare occasions, to navigate the odd awkward conversation, but what is the cost of using that button? If I use it too often are my thoughts really my thoughts? Or are they the thoughts and opinions of others I've been subconsciously internalising they way neurotypical people do with such ease? Its difficult to separate the conscious and subconscious so it's difficult to imagine giving an autistic person the ability to consciously exercise innate social abilities neurotypicals have with out affecting the way they mind works on a subconscious level and I for one wouldn't want that.

    Ok well suppose it wasn't a hypothetical button for my brain, suppose it was external. Suppose I had google glass, some kind of heads up display giving me all the information neurotypical brains give them but on a conscious level in the form of diagrams and text. Line a mini AI Daren brown in a pair of glasses. Yes I'd use that. But would it really make my life easier? To an extent. Those awkward conversations with neurotypicals would go a bit more smoothly. But for those awkward people It would help me find anything to say to them they'd want to hear? My internal monolog would still be at odds with the people around me a lot of the time although it would help me know when to keep quiet and back out of situations. I've developed my social life by seeking out places where people share my interests and are generally really open minded and where ever posable thick skinned.

    Right now my social life sucks because those places are disappearing. We are becoming a less tolerant more conformist society ... improving my social skills won't change that. I can't help but feel as autistic people we either need to start finding better ways to carve out niches on our own terms or start boosting our influence on the direction society as a whole is going in. From my personal experience neither is very easy.

Children
  • in reply to Peter

    If there was a pill,  I wouldn't want to take it. Despite my foibles and difficulties (which are mostly very internal so doesn't show outwardly)  I wouldn't want a different brain. Yes there are days when my mind is going ten to the dozen, or I get anxiety etc or think why cant i just get on with life like others, but I'd rather keep that if it means seeing the world in the way that I do. It's a trade off I'm happy to keep.