What is Autism exactly?

I'll try to clarify:

I was suggesting that AS minds and NT minds are like computers running different operating systems...the specialist, quirky Linux and the everyday Windows...either works fine in isolation, doing its own thing, but problems arise when they have to interact or otherwise share "space"...a Network Engineer would no doubt patch in "handshaking" software to better facilitate communication...

Is the E Mail from Out rage spam.?

I have seen it twice from Outrage and does not make sense to me.

David.

I do not know what the above E Mail means in this context

Could you please tell us?

David

It is a Social Communication Disorder.

They said on Educating East Enders that people with Autism also lack life skills.

It was an intersting programme as it showed a boy in a comprehensive school getting extra support but in the end he managed without it.

Many people with Autism have Co Existing Conditions so that complicates it further.

It is not true that all Autistic people have an eye for detail as they might have co-existing conditions such as Dyslexia or Dyspraxia which stops them having an eye for detail.

It is wrong to make out that only Autistic people lack empathy as you can certainly lack empathy without being Autistic.

David.

outraged said:

Autism = running Linux in a network configured for Windows...

Autism = running Linux in a network configured for Windows...

David said:

I do not know where the best place to put it and I am not sure how to start a new discussion.

If you want to start a new discussion thread then you have to start to the top level discussion page

community.autism.org.uk/discussions

then follow a link to a forum area like General Chat

community.autism.org.uk/.../general-chat

and then click the "Start new discussion" link

I hope this helps. The website is a bit difficult to navigate sometimes!

Also, the submit button can be very slow to respond so be patient and try not to click it twice as you will end up with duplicate posts.

I will just have to educate myself more about it I think.  It is more the HFA/Aspergers end I am interested in.  I don't dispute the LFA end - that is evident.

I have not been diagnosed, but suspect I have some of the spectrum "disorders" - though to be frank a lot of NT people manifest the same quirks sometimes!  .....I guess though a venn diagram of NT and ND people would show areas where they overlap.

My social isolation is the biggest key for me - I am not totally socally inadequate and can relate to people, but I've never been "one of the crowd" or ever had any close friends.  

There are also other key areas I identify with (such as for females with ASD a strong "animus") and also looking back I can see how I often put my foot in it with inapppropriate conversation or social rules.  I can also be rather intense about what ever thing is a special interest to me.

Church (which I have given up) was a nightmare for me - way too social.  and painful when I was left out of social things (though happily included when I was useful to them).

However I am perfecly happy at a pianists lunch where we talk about nothing but pianos and piano playing - but a girls night out talking about this and that I woudl find difficult and depleting.

Just recognising, then acknowledging that I have these weaknesses is liberating - I don't have to try and be different to what I am.

I always thought it was because I was an introvert, but actually I have quite an extrovert side - I can happily stand up infront of a crowd of people and deliver a speech.  So I don't think it's that.  I'm not shy.

I guess if it's a "spectrum" then it's multi-coloured and not black and white - also I guess as people we can be sometimes quite fluid and maybe slide around on the spectrum - sometimes manifesting more or less of the ASD traits depending on our circumstances.

Thank you all for your replies :) 

I only discovered that Lorna Wing died as I got papers about the NAS AGM.

I do not know where the best place to put it and I am not sure how to start a new discussion.

Lorna Wing helped to get High Functioning Autism and Asperger Syndrome recognised.

It is good to get Asperger Syndrome  recognised or High Functioning Autism so people know that there are many intellegent Adults who sometimes need extra support in certain situations.

People means especially Employers and College Lecturers and as many people as possible.

Such as at Work or at College and even going on holiday sometimes.

Gosh - I only just realised there have been replies to this thread via an email notifying me,  and I haven't read them all yet - but thank you for them whether on topic or not.  I will read them shortly.

Do you all know that Doctor Lorna Wing has died.

She was born in 1928 and died recently.

Doctor Lorna Wing was famous in the Autism field but I cannot remember meeting her.

David.

Apologies for contributing to the thread drift, but I'd like to respond to TreacleSandwich's posts.

I'm a software developer and am almost certainly somewhere on the spectrum. I spent 10 years working for an organisation where even quite junior developers were expected to manage other staff, which I found very difficult. In the end I moved to another organisation where it was accepted that some staff were good at being hardcore techies, while others were naturally good at managing people.

My strategy now is to keep my technical skills up to date and seek out employers who need people with strong technical skills, and understand that not everybody is cut out to manage other staff.

Autism= being confused and frightened most of the time because things don't make sense

Dear Treaclesandwich,

have you talked to your occupational health dept in the trust? Perhaps you would like to start a new thread as we have gone off topic from the original question?

Ok, i just wondered if you were non tech admin type person or techie geek person Like me.

so, if you work for a trust then they will have a proper HR department. Have you got a contact there who you can talk to about this? your managers are way out of line and need to be introduced to the legal framework that protects people like you and me.

i'm assuming that you have disclosed your diagnosis to the trust.

Working in IT, as I do, should not require the verbal communication skills that, for example, a nurse or salesman would need. A reasonable adjustment would be to communicate more by email and to have your work defined in a written form. I would say that the other IT director is on the ball here. If they downgrade you to a grade 3 if you have the technical skills then that would be constructive dismissal.

What do you actually do in IT? What is your job title?

Autism doesn't automatically qualify for benefits like PIP. It does, however, entitle you to be treated by your work according to the Equality Act (assuming you are not in NI). This means that you are entitled to get "reasonable adjustments" from your employer. Could you do your normal job if your employer made some adjustments? Does your work know that you are covered by the equality act (assuming your autism was severe enough to qualify for this - it normally is if you have a diagnosis)

What do you do at work?

Have you told your HR department about the bullying - this is what is happening if your managers let you see that they enjoy watching you struggle. This should be taken very seriously as it leads them open to employment tribunal actions.

NAS15974 said:

Damaged amygdala = Asperger or psychopathy

Damaged hippocampus = ASD

The injury can occur during or after development.

i don't understand why Asperger and Psychopathy would be bracketed together. Asperger is a type of ASD so they should be related to the same area in the brain. There is no connection between Asperger and pschopathy that i am aware of. I expect there are some people who suffer from both but then people with ASD get all sorts of other conditions like flu and broken arms.

Do you have any references to support your statements about which area of the brain is linked to each condition?

i don't agree with your use of the words injury and damage. To me, injury suggests an accident or damage whereas i think of it that we have an under developed area of the brain. This development is compared to the normal or average person. This doesn't borher me as i know i am better than the average person at maths etc. Overall i am quite content with my unique mix of differences.

Hi

I would like to say thank you for the book reference in your post.  I have been reading various posts to try and find out more about the traits in females.  I read a couple of books following your post and am now confident to push forward for an assessment for our daughter who met at least 75-80% of the traits.

Thank you again.

How you experience problems and wish to describe yourself is a very subjective thing, and difficulties are experienced on a qualitative, experiential level - it is hard to categorise and objectivise them.

Most people do not score in an 'Autistic manner' in all questions, yet they might be severely affected by the traits that they do have. For example, I can hold conversations with people (albeit a skill that has only been learnt comparatively recently); can engage with people; do not display obviouslly socially inappropriate behaviour (most of the time); am very self-aware; and have attained a University Degree. An observer who does not experience my condition, may well think that I only have 'mild' Asperger's. And yet I score quite severely in the ritualistic, repetitive and obsessive part of the Asperger diagnosis. Consequently, although I have never been depressed, I endure a lot of anxiety. This anxiety is not psychological; it is part of my Asperger condition - it is a biological product of the way my brain is wired. This does not mean it can't be ameliorated - with the right support and environment, this is very possible. But I will always be anxious and prone to obsessive thinking, and this is what disables me.

Socially, although I appear quite 'high-functioning', I am easily overloaded by social events, and this prevents me from making friends -I have not had any real friends since I was 13 years old. Becauuse social demands have increased, in some ways my Asperger's has got more severe over the years, while I have improved in other  areas - notably, better empathy and self-awareness.