All Humans have Autistic traits

David said:

Why does everyone disagree with Simon Baron Cohen.?

I have told the NAS that one can have severe communication problems without beng

Autistic.  For example being deaf or blind can affect communication.  That is in connection with the Leaflet What is Asperger Syndrome.   That leaflet makes it out to be them and us.  There really is not that much difference between someone with Asperger Syndrome and a so called NT.

The NAS believe that by exagerating the difference they explain Asperger Syndrome to those who have not got it.

David

David

they dont, i think the man knows what hes talking about

but i disagree with you on your view theres really no difference, thats not what he is saying either, hes saying there is a difference but its not a new difference, as i said before, its heightened

if you feel nas are exagerating a difference maybe you need to explain why, because autism itself kinda disagrees as the symptoms are there, they arent exagerated, and those are what we all have to live with

nas are not saying there is no non autistic problems, they are saying that autistic problems have specific issues, you cant lump all problems together just because they have somilar symptoms

Why does everyone disagree with Simon Baron Cohen.?

I have told the NAS that one can have severe communication problems without beng

Autistic.  For example being deaf or blind can affect communication.  That is in connection with the Leaflet What is Asperger Syndrome.   That leaflet makes it out to be them and us.  There really is not that much difference between someone with Asperger Syndrome and a so called NT.

The NAS believe that by exagerating the difference they explain Asperger Syndrome to those who have not got it.

David

David

David said:

It is good enough to say that Autistic people tend to love routines and be over persistent without meaning to be more often than people who are not on the Autistic spectrum.

Is that not exactly what Simon Baron Cohen was saying, only in different words?

Yes we all really know that people who are not Autistic also love routines can be over persistent and insesetive to other peoples feellings without meaning to be.

It is that Autistic people are more likely to do that.

I think it is wrong in order to explain Autism to Non Autistic people to exagerate the differences between Autisitc people and so called NTS.

Exagerating the differences distorts the truth.

It is good enough to say that Autistic people tend to love routines and be over persistent without meaning to be more often than people who are not on the Autistic spectrum.

David.

i think what simon baron cohen might have meant is that autism isnt so much this new thing, its a biological adaptation of something that exists

i think its not that he means autism is less what it is , or nts are more autistic than they are, its that its like a heightned version of 'normal' 

that most people do show some similar signs, ie need for routines, we all have that, the difference is in autism it can really affect the person to a life changing degree

funnily enough his comment issomething my partner, our family and me have all said

im only a bit way through his book on empathy but its fascianting 

One is not supposed to be diagnosed with Autism if one did not have symptoms from the age of three but really from birth.

I think the word suffer is a figure of speach.

David

Hope said:

People without AS might 'suffer' from time to time too, but we don't define them as 'suffering'!!!

Hehe. Maybe we should!

All those poor people, suffering from NeuroTypical Disorders.

:P

This is exactly how I feel Muckworm. I also detest with all my heart the assumption that people with AS  'suffer from' the condition. If someone with AS says 'I suffer from AS', then this to my mind is rather different because they are referring to themselves, and they might have a very hard life and define themselves as 'suffering' (even though I would disagree with the need to categorise yourself in such a negative manner). But what I think is offensive and unacceptable is when people say 'sufferers of AS' or 'people who suffer from AS'. This stereotypes and tars with one brush ALL people with AS. Personally, despite my problems, disabilities and anxieties (and far from optimal mental health), I do not 'suffer', I 'experience'. I experience mental distress from time to time, but all in all my life is not a bad one, and I enjoy life - I just wish I could enjoy it more, but I am battling my anxieties and I don't want to be defeatist. We change all the time. I had a great childhood, and was blithely ignorant of my differences until around the age of 14 - I did not 'suffer' at all up until this time. It is true that after the age of 14 my anxieties and OCD symptoms got worse, and eventually I had to seek help. But I am now gradually overcoming my anxieties. I don't think I will ever be anxiety free, and of course my AS will always be with me, but I don't 'suffer' on a continual basis. People without AS might 'suffer' from time to time too, but we don't define them as 'suffering'!!!

Yes I wrote that in Asperger United that we should not Sterotype Autistic people and NTS.

I think Simon Baron Cohen would agree that we are all unique.

I do not think we have mnd blindness in the same way that blind people cannot see.

Your point about employment.

The thing which  held me back when I was younger was not having English O Level as well as having Asperger Syndrome.  I have 6 O Levels and 2 A Levels. but I was turned down for many jobs because of English.

Asperger Syndrome held me back as well.

The Tax Office dismissed me for being too slow and the  unofficial reason was that I had odd habits.

I remember watching a film when it was the father of the girl friend who landed in jail for fraud and the Autistic person did not land in jail although he had many out bursts.

The Father was an accountant and so called NT.

I wish we could do a film of a badly behaved person and say that person is so called NT.  We could also have a film of a well behaved person who is Autistic.

David

I heard this, it was on Radio 4 - they always wheel him out when they want views on autism and he always spiels the same NT crap!

I don't like him, I think he stereotypes autistic people and I think he has very little understanding what it is like to live with this condition.

I turned it off because I was getting too wound up so missed the end of it.

But it underlines to me the way people, like me, are treated when we are autisitic - others (I mean most NT's by this) have this inane desire to have to box everybody in a way they can understand and make massive assumptions about someone with a diagnosis of an ASD. Each and every person on this planet is different in some way, no two of us are exactly the same and those of us with ASD are just the same in that we are all individual and our autism will present itself in unique ways.

Although there are times I struggle with some of my traits, I am actually proud be be autistic and what I have achieved in my life and am now learning to ignore the ignorants of this world who think they know stuff they don't.

Someone came into the shop where I work last week and I over heard her say to her son that if he didn't work hard at school this was the sort of job he would end up with. I took the courage to say to the lady that I have a Masters degree and 2 post graduate certificates but I work in this job because I have autism and cannot get a job anywhere else so it isn't fair to judge someone based on their employment.  She apologised and and said she had no idea, she just assumed... and therein lies the problem with society and the likes of the BBC (who I dislike intesnsely) and even some Dr's - they all assume too much.

Just because I am autistic, it doesn't make me less of a person or citizen, it makes me different and actually massively talented in some ways (I am gifted with loads of numbers stuff and mathematics).

Well I've gone on a bit but you get what I mean - let's stop listening to the so called experts and educate the NT's ourselves about the reality of living with autism (the hard bits and the good bits).  And one more thing, being autisitc IS NOT an illness, it is who I am and I get fed up of people telling me I need curing. I wouldn't be me if I wasn't autistic, it makes me who I am so stop telling mke I have a problem and accept me as I am!

If you do not see a Psychiatrist or Psychologist how can one be diagnosed.

Most people only see them if they have a crisis.

I was expelled from one school and the other private school did not want me so I was sent to the Maudsley.

They recommended an Autistic School.

A Psychiatrist visited us when I was nineteen about my stomach and he thought I had an obsession which caused me to go to the toilet.

It was good it saved me the exams.

He also put a note on my records that I had mild Autism in 1976.

If one does not have a crisis but just finds it difficult to make friends it will be difficult to see a Psychiatrist or Psychologist on the NHS.

I expect that is the case with many girls but although they are miserable they do not have a crisis.

David

I agree with KeanoLulu. In any case, more girls are coming forward for diagnosis all the time!. Psychiatry is biased and conditions are falsly 'gendered', causing much suffering for both women AND men, depending on what condition they have.

It might be true that Autism is an extreme Male Gene.

I do not think it is true that all Autistics lack empathy and all me lack empathy.

That is sterotyping men and Autistic people.

David

Simon Baron Cohen has made a good living as an autism expert and unfortunately everything he says is taken as gospel because of his reputation.  For example, extreme male brain and 'autistics lack empathy' are total rubbish and perpetuate a myth that cause us problems with people in our everyday lives.

The book was 'ok', but that's it.  The author is NT and not autistic.