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I haven't come across that but If that's the case I would take offence because my child had Asperger's and I don't want it being degraded. Aspergers does have its downside, like emotional sensitivity and vulnerability. But then I know some Aspies who are downright tough! They have to be to survive abuse while being hypersensitive. Physical strength can go with it too. And fast reactions! Some of us have amazing powers of self preservation when the **** hits the fan. I've had people look at in amazement when I've done a trip and fall and landed back up on my feet! I'm like a cat.
Because America is a 'labelistic' society.
Anything that strays away from the 'norm' has a description attached to it. This in turn allows one to disassociate the person from the behavior, which leads to the condition being blamed for the behavior, but not the person.
Location: where you sip the tea of the breasts of the spinsters of Utica
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Quote:
Originally Posted by L210
Autism has been linked to a number of things besides vaccines that are recent phenomena in human history: antibiotics, birth control, and inducing labor.
It's also been correlated to the rise in obesity, the rise in the use of food processors, the use of computers, and the prevalence of purple-painted homes. Correlation does not indicate causation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gcs15
I don't think its vaccines. Labor. Anything. When I was in grade school in the 90s there was no autism. There were below average kids however. Out of a class of 50, about five were gifted, 10 had difficulty with the material and were constantly failing, and the rest were average. Nobody went to the nurse for "their medicine" (except the girl with diabetes). It was accepted that not everyone is on the 90+ percentile. That is why there is percentiles in the first place. Now though if a child scores average or below average than there MUST be something wrong With them, take em to the doctor! Not everyone is gifted.
We went years without these diagnoses and they aren't on the rise because of vaccines or anything else. It's because the criteria is a joke and anyone who has a child who isn't doing perfect decides there must be something wrong because it's not *their* fault. I could bring my three year old to the doctor and guess what? She would fit the ADHD criteria. But she obviously isn't ADHD SHE IS A Regular typical child!
Well, the pharm companies have pushed the envelope on diagnosis, but it's still a real problem for many people. You didn't go to school with any of them because they went to special ed classes. Back when I was growing up in the 60s, if they couldn't maintain in the usual class, they rode the short bus and were segregated into their own classrooms. They were all considered to be "retarded" and there was no medication available.
Before my time they were sent to asylums or simply kept at home. Many times in the asylums, if their behavior was uncontrollable they were physically restrained, tied down or in straitjackets.
In more primitive cultures and times, they were often simply tied to a tree or whatever and food was tossed to them. Remember the "demoniac" in the Bible who was kept chained? Jesus himself was thought by his family to have gone insane, and they came to bring him home: Mark 3:Then he went home; and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.â€
Anyone who has actually worked with kids who have severe behavioral problems with a diagnosis, knows that modern meds do actually help many (but not all) of them. Take them off the meds, and they soon resort to their previous ways. It's not the fault of chemicals or vaccines, these problems were around long before chemicals and vaccines were widespread.
As the mother of a child with ASPERGER'S (it's not spelled with a B), this thread is mindblowingly ignorant and frightening.
Originally I didn't want to read it, but curiosity got the better of me. Big mistake. Let me see if I can help all of you genius experts understand a few things:
1. Elliot Rodgers did NOT have Asperger's. That was incorrectly reported by all those geniuses in the media who no longer bother to check facts about the story they are reporting on. His parents issued a correction to the media saying he had never been diagnosed with it.
2. Asperger's is a real developmental disorder that has a wide range of symptoms. The saying is: "If you've met one person with Asperger's, you've met ONE person with Asperger's."
3. Ah yes, all of you folks who just say they are bratty kids who need the crap kicked out of them, you're also the same compassionate group who would tell a clinically depressed person to "snap out of it". God help you if anyone in your life is ever affected by a mental disorder or developmental issue.
4. Jumping on this thread and criticizing parents/people/children with a true Autism Spectrum Disorder is a bit like me jumping on the Cancer Forums and telling them they all should just stop being wimps and get over their disease, even though I've never had cancer. Do any of you have any experience with it? Is your background in medicine or health? Have you walked a mile in our shoes? Oh that's right, the answer is NO.
5. Our family would love to NOT have this struggle. We would love to be so fantastic and normal like all of you people are. Wait, on second thought........I'll take my Aspie any day over this kind of ignorance.
6. Do some research. Read about fMRI's and how they show the difference between neurotypical brains and Autism Spectrum Brains. The evidence is quite clear, this is a neurobiological brain based difference.
Having a child with Asperger's gave me an understanding and a compassion for other people that I did not have prior. I'm so grateful for that. Someday I hope those of you who are so sure you have the answers find some. You're going to need it.
THANK YOU! I am a bit bummed that you brought up the saying about Aspergers before I could. I had struggled to figure out how to explain that saying so NT people would "get it" and the best I could come up with is that it goes along with "when you seen one you've seen 'em all". When it comes to Aspergers no two people are alike unlike other disorders like Downs syndrome or severe low functioning Autism.
Think of it this way, that kid you think is a total PIA wild child who says/does things that defy explanation or that adult/child that you think is a liar because he won't look you in the eye (what a ridiculous notion), doesn't have a "normal" sense of humor and is someone you consider a complete azzwipe jerk may just be someone with Aspergers. It truly isn't that evident unless one has Aspergers or has spent time around someone who is. Most people just don't want to spend the time for whatever reason to figure out why that person they think is a complete azzhole is that way, no, they just blow 'em off and steer clear. For someone in my position as both a person with Aspergers AND a child with Aspergers how do you think we feel being isolated in a world full of people or seeing our child isolated,berated,bullied,beaten and shunned by all that meet him/her? The pain of THAT is something nobody should have to endure.
She's been responsible for the greatest changes in how livestock (especially cows) are treated and raised to the cows benefit and humans as well.
Oh, by the way she was born/raised prior to those vaccinations that are now being blamed as the cause of Autism.
To those that want to place blame on something for their child having Autism? I blame my parents! The reason? Had they not HAD me I'd not be in this position!!!
As for my child? I blame me because had I controlled my genetics he'd be NT and probably be President by now...
Hi jimj, your post was great! I'd be happy to wager that 90% of these armchair psychologists on this thread have NO idea who the amazing Dr. Temple Grandin is. That would require doing a little research and understanding the condition. No such luck there.
If you haven't already seen it, check out Dr. Frank Gaskill's youtube videos on the World of Aspie's:
He has a great way of explaining how people with Asperger's fall on the "Lemon Continuum"....there's lemon on the side of your water, lemon in your water, lemonade and a lemon tree. Most Aspies fall somewhere along that. He seems like he really gets the diagnosis and is trying to help educate the ignorance and prejudice that people on the spectrum suffer from.
As I previously stated, the best part about being the parent of a child on the spectrum is that it gives me the opportunity to teach my children compassion for other people. Don't assume you know what's going on with someone just by what you see in two seconds. I am the flag bearer for personal responsibility for sure, but it doesn't mean I cannot show some kindness to someone going through a rough time. There's a difference between a whiny victim who always finds an excuse for their pathetic behavior and someone with a true issue who struggles regardless of the efforts they make. If only the world could understand that, we'd be so much better off. Sigh.
Seriously. Every time on this board or anywhere it seems someone had trouble in their life they say they must have Aspergers. You can't make friends? Aspergers. Can't find a job? Aspergers. Kid failing or not doing well in school? Aspergers, of course. When I was growing up (not *that* long ago) nobody even heard of it. It seems to have become a catch all diagnoses for anyone with a less than perfect life.
I personally know someone who has an autistic son and to even compare what some people "claim" is autism to him is absurd. You could tell he was different from the second he was born. He can't verbalized his feelings, doesn't really speak at all, gets fixated on a single thing. He is 12 but has the mind and behaves almost like a toddler. It makes me angry people have almost glamorized the whole thing. Billionaires writing books about them "being on the spectrum". NASCAR races.
When doctors broadened the criteria in the mid 1900s, the numbers rose obviously. Since there is no physical test or scan, it is purely subjective and everyone started seeing it everywhere. It is based on things such as lack of eye contact, poor language skills, etc. That can apply to many people, not just a true ASD diagnoses. The CDC has said ASDs rose to what was originally 1 in 2000, to 1 in 88. In the latest DSM, since many have been diagnosed wrongly, they tightened the criteria to try and clear things up. Now, up to 40% of people who have been diagnosed as having an ASD are supposed to no longer qualify.
It bugs me because the people who really have the disorder are being watered down.. Example?
How about the person claiming to have cured their vaccine induced autistic kid with vitamins. People are going to stop taking it seriously if everyone claims to have it, when they don't. It will harm the people who actually do suffer from it and I am sure they feel the same way when they hear people making light of it when they have suffered for years.
Aspergers and Autism are the new clubs to replace the ADD/ADHD club.
You can't win; if you get easily distracted you have ADD, if you fixate you have autism. I'm glad I don't have kids.
If you have a kid with autism or Aspergers (I do differentiate) there is no mistaking it and failing to understand it and handle it correctly can be disastrous for the kid and family. Dr Temple Grandin is a very good example of an autistic child handled correctly (or at least sufficiently correctly) for her to become a prominent and successful member of society. One can only speculate what would have become of her without adequate handling.
I know of one example of an Asperger's child being inappropriately handled (heavy handed discipline and effectively psychological abuse) and that example suffered throughout his short life. Another example had his abuse stopped in time and more appropriate handing introduced and so far he is doing well and is a happy child.
Asperger's is definitely the flavor of the month when it comes to mental-health diagnoses. But no, not everyone has it!!! We do have a society now that tends to underline, rather than undermine, people's Aspergery traits -- they spend so much less time interacting with each other, learning and practicing social skills, that everyone tends to lack social skills on a level they never did before TV and video games and other passive entertainment.
But using it as an excuse is total crap, I agree. If you really have it, you can easily find out what you have to work on and how. Get to work, people.
Asperger's is definitely the flavor of the month when it comes to mental-health diagnoses. But no, not everyone has it!!! We do have a society now that tends to underline, rather than undermine, people's Aspergery traits -- they spend so much less time interacting with each other, learning and practicing social skills, that everyone tends to lack social skills on a level they never did before TV and video games and other passive entertainment.
But using it as an excuse is total crap, I agree. If you really have it, you can easily find out what you have to work on and how. Get to work, people.
Ahh, but that is where you are wrong <bold>. It's NOT easy at all to A.Find out if you are a person with Aspergers. B.Once diagnosed it's not at all easy to figure out the route to successful coexistence with the NT world. C.Behavior mods (once you identify where the problems actually lie) take time,money and resources. Two of those three are in short supply.
This isn't easy like treating the flu or even something as serious as a Paranoia disorder as those are pretty much single issues. There are many nuances and twists that have to first be identified and then dealt with.
I wish it were as easy as you make it out to be.
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The reason? Had they not HAD me I'd not be in this position!!!
