Sia - the diagnosis

Me too.  I cannot abide the intrusion of ads.  I'm ad-blocked to the back teeth...it makes my life more complicated...and some sites I chose not to visit (even if I want to) if the "permissions" are too onerous for my taste!

Annoyingly I cannot read the article as I refuse to turn off my adblocker, it is there partly to protect me from the assault to my ears of noisy intrusive ads and I cannot tolerate moving pictures in the corner of my eye. Since one cannot be nuanced in just blocking moving ads or ads with sound I just block everything. 

JuniperFromGallifrey said:

In the US, companies might diagnose anyone as "On the Spectrum" who doesn't fit the Extrovert 'Typical' American profile along with random DSM criteria

.....so I presume this means that the US simply use the term "autism" or "on the spectrum" as a catch-all term akin to saying Neuro-diverse......and then they just contextualise that terms with specific "sprinkles" of specific elements that are fully defined within the DSM can can be applied to the individual.

Assuming that I have interpreted this correctly from Juniper, then irrespective of whether it is right or wrong to do it that way, the confusion that can be generated because of this US / Australian approach -v- our more robust definition/diagnostic levers used in the UK = confusion will reign.

Yes when clinical professionals talk about autistic people lacking imagination it seems to be specifically in the context of role play and the use of the more general term imagination can be misleading and unhelpful in my view.

For example. How good are you at imaging n dimensional regular polyhedrons?

JuniperFromGallifrey said:

Deing diagnosed Autism Spectrum isn't necessarily Autistic. She could be dyslexic or ADHD

I mean that's just technically wrong. Autistic spectrum condition is the new standard terminology for autism. If some people are referring to dyslexia or ADHD as being conditions 'on the spectrum' then they are doing so incorrectly. It's not the kind of mistake in terminology I'd expect someone with clinical training to make.

Well I know most people thought of it as an ill informed cash grab, and now I imagine most people will reassess it as an ill informed attempt to explore her own autism. I guess it does go to show that you shouldn't jump to conclusions about peoples motivations.

I'm sorry to jump in off topic. I personally feel like I'm so undereducated when it comes to autism when I read stuff like "lack of imagination". I went online to read more about it and of course it's not accurate. It's an imagination expressed differently. In my therapy there was a part of "play" where we would imagine that we are kids playing I guess? Still not sure. Like at the lake side for example or so on. I found it sort of silly because I'm not a kid and there's no lake here!!. Now after many months when I read this, I wonder if things are connected.

I didn't know who Sia was either untilnI started seeing about it on twitter and googled as well.  From the reactions I've seen there though, it sounds like a fair chunk of people aren't going to forgive for the film.

Really interested to read the article though - fab. I never knew the ball catching was a thing, I always used to hate that and games involving catching or throwing a ball.  Just figured it was because I was no good at it!

I agree the American pump the ABA for cash is frightening. To be fair, we don't seem to know too much about what this lady did or didn't do by way of consultation though.

Lol. No clue on that. I'd never heard of her before yesterday. But then I'm old.

Oh you matter.

Personally, I think it depends on the celeb. When they've processed their experience and thought it through, they can dig into the important stuff not their own egos. This can then reach a wide audience none of us could because we're not TV presenters or models, etc. Chris Packham and Chritine McGuiness have produced useful documentaries. 

I hope Sia can turn things around and do the same eventually. 

Mercury Rising. Not seen that. Another for me to watch and assess perhaps

Sadly it's not surprising, and the older we are I think the worse it is because, even though not all autistic representation in tv and movies is great, there is at least more variety now, even if it is not as wide a variety as it could be, a bit of the spectrum element actually shines through now. Back in my day the immediate point of reference on autism in pop culture was a re-showing of Rain Man and  Mercury Rising. So if you don't/didn't relate to Raymond or Simon then I understand because that's the disconnect I had.

Yeah. It's personally frustrating.

Even today, the ADHD Foundation put an article on Twitter which was really ableist against Autistics, as if our kids don't engage in imaginative play. It's absolutely mind-blowing that the NT brain cannot recognise play pretending as an adult isn't just about social exploration but one of colours, shapes, and physics. 

I've got a mind to change it, and send emails when it's important but am largely ignored. Which won't stop me. This misperception needs correction. The major problem is for the Freudian-Neurotic form of communication to take a hard look at itself. sigh.

I actually auditioned for the first ever series of Britain's Got Talent, as an impersonator. Back then, I just lost a job and booked a ferry-and-coach trip to Manchester; I couldn't even afford a flight. But I made a pig's ear of the audition. Thank God I didn't end up on TV.

All I did, as a young man, was chase rainbows.

oh flipping heck, its all so complicated !  arggghhhh!

[Disambiguation - I mean the topic is so complicated, not what you have specifically written about it which I can see as all perfectly valid and important considerations to bear in mind = thus the complication.]

Impressive knowledge on instant recall....Nice.

Deing diagnosed Autism Spectrum isn't necessarily Autistic. She could be dyslexic or ADHD - doubtful she has the added bonus of the Autistic communication difference from what I've heard about her from those who actually know her in the film/music industry. I've worked behind the scenes in editing roles.

In the US, companies might diagnose anyone as "On the Spectrum" who doesn't fit the Extrovert 'Typical' American profile along with random DSM criteria. Australia has adopted the DSM. 

Understanding what is and isn't Autism is vital. Resources allocated to companies like ABA with malpractice who have 'success' stories for kids "on the spectrum" do more harm than good to Autistics who have added communication barriers and deal with being accused of being immoral simply for having a loss in translation. 

Indeed.  I think a good lady called Holly would agree with that at the moment.....and I also wholly agree with you.  With great power (aka influence), comes great responsibility.  Another reason why it might be best if celebrities kept more quite about matters they are struggling into (just like the rest of us.)  I'm not sure that trying to share a personal "enlightenment" translates well through the broadcast mouth of a celebrity type - especially without sufficient time for them to reflect and feel some misdirection and unsuredness without the complication of outside people peering and pawing all over then.  I would wish to hear from types who don't particularly want to be "heard" from !!

Then again Dawn - I'm "Number" for God's sake.....what does that even mean !

I really don't think my opinion matters.  The celebrity supertanker sailed a long time ago - I wasn't on it.

Thanks for raising Dawn = interesting.

All I know about her is that she's Australian, worked with Zero 7 and sang David Guetta's Titanium.

I no longer deep dive into Celebrity lives. More important things to do.