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I have the pleasure of knowing several autistic adults, have known them since they were children actually and they are the most loving people I know.
They are super affectionate, many of them. My niece kisses everyone and really wants to bond with people.
My niece also remembers things no one else does, which is rather scary but beautiful. (One has to be on one's good behavior around her lol).
She recalls all the time when I first told her to start drawing more than 1 line per page, and began showing her how (I love art and would've gone into it if I thought I'd had enough talent). Anywho, it took me about 6 months to convince her that putting more than 1 line on each page was fine, ok, nothing bad would happen. It was hard for her emotionally to accept putting more than 1 line on each page, but she finally did. Then I introduced her to various shapes. Again, she couldn't bear it at first, but then accepted it was okay to use various shapes. Then I sat with her for a couple of weeks showing her the abstract art of various artists online. She marveled and wanted to move into colors immediately.
Now she's taken off on her own because the artistic flood gates have opened! Her artistic self is out and she has the confidence to have it out there. She now fills each page with the most fascinating, wondrous, colorful shapes I've ever seen, and I'm encouraging her because I think one day she will be somebody important in art. Her art is extraordinary! A bit like Kandinsky and Garrow. She has a lot of trouble with being organized, or being told what to do (this is a big one), so art classes might be out of the question, but I'm confident she can keep progressing.
Anyway, I think her constantly remembering my having done this for her is her own way of thanking me for helping her discover her talent. Before she discovered her art and gave it permission to come out, all her siblings had their own talents, and she didn't. Now she's the artist of the family. Although it's of course unnecessary for her to ever thank me, she keeps reminding me how I did this for her, and I have to pinch myself to stop myself from crying. I mean, she may not be good socially, but her feelings are A+!
I'm not being offensive in the least. I have an autistic niece and she cannot be left alone one second because she'll harm herself, and like her, I know many others with autism (not Aspergers) that cannot be left alone, ever. You can't simply make a blanket statement that autistic people are independent.You are independent and do well, but you have Aspergers, which seems to be slightly different. For every one of you, there are countless autistic folks that will never be able to function on their own and unaccompanied. Aspergers seems to be in a whole different category in the DSM-5, and there are issues with actually putting it into the autism disorders classification. They're attempting to classify it under autism disorder for convenience of rating, but right now it isn't being classified that way, and I suspect that is because it is associated with high intellectual functioning.
You as well can't make a blanket statement that they're not independent like you did in post #74 for example.
You as well can't make a blanket statement that they're not independent like you did in post #74 for example.
I'm not going to start giving classes in reading comprehension. I was a teacher once, but this is ridiculous. Read the posts carefully, read them twice if you must, stop reading things into them that aren't there, and stop ASSuming bs. Next topic.
I'm not going to start giving classes in reading comprehension. I was a teacher once, but this is ridiculous. Read the posts carefully, read them twice if you must, stop reading things into them that aren't there, and stop ASSuming bs. Next topic.
So, so sorry! Meant post #71 which in part reads "Folks with autism are not predictable. Through no fault of their own, many cannot make reasonable judgments. This can sometimes mean they can be a danger to themselves... and maybe to others as well".
You start the whole answer with a full inclusion of all "folks" with Autism so the tenor of the message is very clear.
No assumptions here.
So, so sorry! Meant post #71 which in part reads "Folks with autism are not predictable. Through no fault of their own, many cannot make reasonable judgments. This can sometimes mean they can be a danger to themselves... and maybe to others as well".
You start the whole answer with a full inclusion of all "folks" with Autism so the tenor of the message is very clear.
No assumptions here.
And they are not. We're not discussing Aspergers here. We're discussing autism. One of the issues of autism is that unpredictability. One moment they could be fine, and the next second, they could be feeling incredibly uncomfortable and who knows what will happen then.
I know that. Perhaps I should have rephrased to make my meaning clearer:
I was asked which euphemisms we should use, and I believe we should use whichever euphemism is preferred by Aspies, and whichever different euphemism is preferred by autistics. The point I was trying to make is to leave the choice to the people involved, not to say that Apsies are retarded.
Why should we use any? "Aspie" is not a euphemism anyway, it's a nickname.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Saritaschihuahua
They are super affectionate, many of them. My niece kisses everyone and really wants to bond with people.
Actually, affection in austistic children doesn't always mean what it means to a neurotypical. I was also a very affectionate child, but I hugged people because I thought I was required to do so...not because I wanted to hug them, or was particularly fond of them or attached to them. You may find that despite those hugs/kisses, there is still little to no eye contact, for example, or the child will react poorly to being approached for a hug, i.e. you have to let them come to you.
Even today, there is nobody in my family I am bonded to strongly. Many ASD children form a very strong attachment to one family member/caregiver. In my case, that family member is now deceased. I attend family celebrations out of a sense of obligation more than anything else. I hug my family members and tell them I'm happy to see them, but I do not miss them when we're apart. I went many years without seeing most of my family members and didn't miss them at all. It doesn't mean I dislike them. If you're neurotypical, I doubt you'll ever really understand what that's like for us.
Why should we use any? "Aspie" is not a euphemism anyway, it's a nickname.
Actually, affection in austistic children doesn't always mean what it means to a neurotypical. I was also a very affectionate child, but I hugged people because I thought I was required to do so...not because I wanted to hug them, or was particularly fond of them or attached to them. You may find that despite those hugs/kisses, there is still little to no eye contact, for example, or the child will react poorly to being approached for a hug, i.e. you have to let them come to you.
Even today, there is nobody in my family I am bonded to strongly. Many ASD children form a very strong attachment to one family member/caregiver. In my case, that family member is now deceased. I attend family celebrations out of a sense of obligation more than anything else. I hug my family members and tell them I'm happy to see them, but I do not miss them when we're apart. I went many years without seeing most of my family members and didn't miss them at all. It doesn't mean I dislike them. If you're neurotypical, I doubt you'll ever really understand what that's like for us.
Conversely, I don't understand neurotypicals.
Don't get me wrong, she likes to kiss, and hold, and touch. She doesn't like to BE kissed, or be held, or be touched unless she initiates it. There's a big difference. She has to initiate the contact, and it can be abrupt and sudden.
Don't get me wrong, she likes to kiss, and hold, and touch. She doesn't like to BE kissed, or be held, or be touched unless she initiates it. There's a big difference. She has to initiate the contact, and it can be abrupt and sudden.
Sounds about right. Let me guess...she screams and struggles if you try to hug her, or if you try to hold onto her.
I'm not being offensive in the least. I have an autistic niece and she cannot be left alone one second because she'll harm herself, and like her, I know many others with autism (not Aspergers) that cannot be left alone, ever. You can't simply make a blanket statement that autistic people are independent. You are independent and do well, but you have Aspergers, which seems to be slightly different. For every one of you, there are countless autistic folks that will never be able to function on their own and unaccompanied. Aspergers seems to be in a whole different category in the DSM-5, and there are issues with actually putting it into the autism disorders classification. They're attempting to classify it under autism disorder for convenience of rating, but right now it isn't being classified that way, and I suspect that is because it is associated with high intellectual functioning.
I believe that Asperger's should be put in the autism disorders classification.
I can only speak from my own experience here... My son showed signs of autism as a newborn. By age 4 I was seriously asking if he was. He had/has the classic 'stim' of autism... he flaps his arms and hands - especially when excited, and has done this since day one. It's cute watching a child do this, not so cute to witness your 30 year old still doing it.
However, it does go beyond stims. There are many quirks that go with autism and Asperger's, too many to discount Asperger's and say it is NOT on the autism spectrum.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigDGeek
Why should we use any? "Aspie" is not a euphemism anyway, it's a nickname.
Actually, affection in austistic children doesn't always mean what it means to a neurotypical. I was also a very affectionate child, but I hugged people because I thought I was required to do so...not because I wanted to hug them, or was particularly fond of them or attached to them. You may find that despite those hugs/kisses, there is still little to no eye contact, for example, or the child will react poorly to being approached for a hug, i.e. you have to let them come to you.
Even today, there is nobody in my family I am bonded to strongly. Many ASD children form a very strong attachment to one family member/caregiver. In my case, that family member is now deceased. I attend family celebrations out of a sense of obligation more than anything else. I hug my family members and tell them I'm happy to see them, but I do not miss them when we're apart. I went many years without seeing most of my family members and didn't miss them at all. It doesn't mean I dislike them. If you're neurotypical, I doubt you'll ever really understand what that's like for us.
Conversely, I don't understand neurotypicals.
My son doesn't mind being called an Aspie.
He totally agrees with you about NTs. He says as long as he lives he will never understand us.
And, even after 30 years of watching him grow, I do not understand the mind of an Aspie. I have wonderful, intellectual conversations with my son about this subject, so I am learning. I know, like him, I will never completely understand his different mind.
The journey has not always been pleasant, but it has been eye opening since the beginning. I would not change him for the world!
I'm not being offensive in the least. I have an autistic niece and she cannot be left alone one second because she'll harm herself, and like her, I know many others with autism (not Aspergers) that cannot be left alone, ever. You can't simply make a blanket statement that autistic people are independent. You are independent and do well, but you have Aspergers, which seems to be slightly different. For every one of you, there are countless autistic folks that will never be able to function on their own and unaccompanied. Aspergers seems to be in a whole different category in the DSM-5, and there are issues with actually putting it into the autism disorders classification. They're attempting to classify it under autism disorder for convenience of rating, but right now it isn't being classified that way, and I suspect that is because it is associated with high intellectual functioning.
The move to put Asperger's under the overall autism umbrella is not new.
"Since 1994, when the fourth edition of the DSM added the Asperger's category, health care professionals have struggled to find a way to separate Asperger's from autism, Carley says. "Every time they've tried to draw that line it's been proven false in practice," he says."
According to the NPR article that the above quote is taken from, it was recommended in 2010 to move Asperger's from a separate disorder to under the overall autism umbrella and list it as such in the DSM-5.
This was finalized last year.
"In the new "DSM-5" manual, "the criteria will incorporate several diagnoses from DSM-IV including autistic disorder, Asperger's disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder and pervasive developmental disorder (not otherwise specified) into the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder for DSM-5 to help more accurately and consistently diagnose children with autism," according to an APA statement Saturday."
With regard to the OP, no, I don't believe that people anywhere on the autism spectrum are any more dangerous than the general (whatever that really means) population.
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