Cyberbullying

On Facebook on a post about autism and how it doesn't need to be cured and it makes autistic individuals who they are, which I believe is very true and 74 people liked my comment. So I commented and stated saying I need to be cured makes me a second class citizen and that aspergers makes who I am and has helped me throughout life and that we should end discrimination. This guy replied and said I was wrong it doesn't make me who I am and that it is just a deficit on social interaction that needs to be cured, dunno where he got that information from because it's different from what I was told by every professional I've met; he also said that saying it makes me who I am makes me egotistical. So I disagreed reasonably and said that I had therapy and am at uni and why do I need a pill when I have strategies and that it's more complex than he thinks, then another women agreed with me. Then he stated that unless you wanna be homeless and not speak then anyone would want a pill, then he said maybe I had that to the woman, talking about me like a science experiment. Because I hate language like that I blocked him (I wasn't friends with him anyway) and I didn't want to get in a bottomless debate as I was working and those sorts of things are too much for me. Then he commented again as he wasn't completely blocked and said "right" to start with, then he said he was starting to take my side but then after he found I blocked him said I was egotistical and socially stupid yada yada yada (bullying language), so I reported him for harassing me, then I typed out a message saying I was scared, he's egotistical too and it wasn't typed properly but I tried to say he was saying something different from most professionals I know said, it wasn't gramatically correct as I was literally shaking. This was in a uni library too, so I sobbed and a kind guy offered (still have some faith in humanity), then I retreated for a bit not reading his following comments, but I read his last comment saying block this account if it makes you feel better, I wouldn't want to get in the way of your therapy (despite the fact that was doing a dissertation, not therapy at the time). But I wonder where he pulled this simple deficit idea from. I'm glad I blocked him and I can no longer see his comments and I'm glad I put myself out there as my comment got the most likes, I dunno what the reply where it all happened looks like now for those who haven't blocked him and a nice looking girl replied later who was on the mildly on spectrum said she agreed and told me about herself and how she's loves learning and is highly logical, which made me feel better. I respect everybody has an opinion, but bottomless facebook debates can get too much at times and go no where and freedom of speech doesn't permit people to bully, especially vunerable people. I don't know if I shouldn't had replied or had blocked him later, but I just have so much anger the way people on the spectrum are seen and spoken about, I hate people that talk about us who don't get the social model of disability, that I emotionally blocked him at that point. What should I do next time, was he just an attention seeking troll? 

Parents
  • It also occurs to me that your cyberbully was confusing autism with schizophrenia. For some schizophrenics the only resolution is a pill, and not taking the medication leads to erratic behaviour and often to loss of accommodation if causing too much trouble, and thus homelessness.

    Public confusion of autism with schizophrenia remains. In the 60s (and possibly 70s)people diagnosed with autism were sometimes given the same medications as schizophrenics, as the conditions were perceived to be related. That sort of similarity may be passed on to younger generations by parents and grandparents.

    As you say alleged increases in public awareness are nothing remotely relevant to improved public understanding.

    Public awareness of autism has probably always been quite high, thanks to Rain Man, The curious incident of the dog in the night-time and various television representations.

    Statistically for a sample survey of about 2000 people in relation to actual population, the chances that a shift from 91% to 99% are down to different samples rather than a real change are considerable. I don't think NAS should have given it so much attention.

Reply
  • It also occurs to me that your cyberbully was confusing autism with schizophrenia. For some schizophrenics the only resolution is a pill, and not taking the medication leads to erratic behaviour and often to loss of accommodation if causing too much trouble, and thus homelessness.

    Public confusion of autism with schizophrenia remains. In the 60s (and possibly 70s)people diagnosed with autism were sometimes given the same medications as schizophrenics, as the conditions were perceived to be related. That sort of similarity may be passed on to younger generations by parents and grandparents.

    As you say alleged increases in public awareness are nothing remotely relevant to improved public understanding.

    Public awareness of autism has probably always been quite high, thanks to Rain Man, The curious incident of the dog in the night-time and various television representations.

    Statistically for a sample survey of about 2000 people in relation to actual population, the chances that a shift from 91% to 99% are down to different samples rather than a real change are considerable. I don't think NAS should have given it so much attention.

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