Poll: Autism. Bad or Good?

[Something Amyss]

I absolutely love having the crippling social anxiety, the constant self-checking nervousness and massive loneliness that autism brings. I, like most autistics, am NOT a savant and even if I were, I still don't think that the so-called "trade off" that many of you keep banging on about would be worth it. Seriously, do some of you think life is like an RPG, where everything has an upside and a downside that balances out?

While I love your RPG comparison, I think it's more the "everyone is good at something" mentality that's been around since before I was born. People desperately want to believe it, so they do.

 

[DaMullet]

Wow... My son has Asperger's and you really hit a nerve asking whether its good or bad, so as a disclaimer I may be more aggressive with this reply then what's approperate.

Please tell me what's good about the following
- Having a child in grade 1 assault his teacher to the point of being suppended for 5 days
- Not being unable to deal with crowds to the point where he throws ice skates around in a gym of 200 kids
- Not being able to get humor or sarcasm leading to daily embrassing moments
- Not being able to gradually learn things that isn't his project for the next few months. It turns into repeating the same everyday with no end or improvement in sight until he just 'gets it' one day. I compare it to Chinese Water Tourture.
- Being banned, city wide, from before and afterschool programs because of his inablility to read peer interactions.

I think we all take the ability to interact with other people for granted. His doctor put it the best I think. Imagine you have to make first contact with a tribe of people that have been cut off from the world for 1,000s of years. How do you know that a hand shake isn't the signal to them for 'I'm going to kill you'? This is what a kid with asperger's goes through. How is that a good thing?

 

[DSK-]

He wasn't born with it he was given a vaccine when he was 2 years old to help him from receiving the flu, but all of the vaccines in that year had expired and had mercury inside of all of the expired bottles and effected hundreds of kids within those years.

They have disproved this SO MANY TIMES.

Drives me mad to hear it.

You get more mercury eating a single piece of tuna.

You may say that, but my brother changed dramaticall when he had his MMR injection. Before he had it he would babble away and was able to say "Kelly good girl" (we would say that to our dog when she was around him as a baby) "dada" "mmmm" and "ssss" for my parents and myself and generally acted like a 'typical' baby.

After he had his MMR jab all of this stopped. He was hyperactive. He actually learned to walk before he crawled, and later would spend most of his time running around in circles in the living room, fall down asleep and within 2 hours be up and he would do it all over again.

He was diagnosed with ADHD and learning difficulties and is currently happy (although it took a lot for him to get there) at a special school where he will be playing catch-up for the rest of his life.



tl;dr - I honestly am not sure what caused it, but I honestly believe it has something to do with the injection.

OT: Why the fuck would something like Autism be good or bad? are you seriously trying to annoy/upset people? I would never wish for something like that on anyone.

 

[Fumbleumble]

Your post makes you sound really ignorant and stupid... you do realise that NOT all autists are Rain men, don't you?

:< :< :<

 

[Rekrul]

This whole increase intelligence / damage charisma thing is rubbish, autism comes on a spectrum (hence autism spectrum disorder (dun dun dun)). I work at a school for autistic kids, and each is very different on their levels of learning ability and social skills*. Is it good or bad? Most of the kids at school are happy, or have their happy moments, but at the same time most of the kids would struggle at having an independent lifestyle.

* on top of the triad of impairment, many of the kids have other learning difficulties and disabilities, and academically many are on P levels, which are for kids who lack the ability for the normal national curriculum levels (I'm British, hi).

 

[someonehairy-ish]

Your little brother had asperger's when he was born and the symptoms didn't become obvious until he was 2? Regulations on vaccines tend to be very strict and besides, getting autism from a 'bad vaccine' is impossible. A vaccine is just a bunch of dead bacteria that allow your body to make antibodies if and when living bacteria of that type invade. The amount of mercury it could conceivably contain would be tiny or nonexistent.

OT: I know someone with asperger's who is social enough but sucks at academic things.People with it arent necessary reclusive geniuses. Buut.. from my point of view, social skills seem more important. If you have a brain but can't talk to strangers, how do you cope with a job interview or interact with co-workers? If you're dim but you get on with people, at least you can get by.

 

[Brutal Peanut]

My brother-in-law has Aspergers Syndrome.

He's highly intelligent in the areas of study he finds most appealing. He can also drive, cook, read, and do everything else any 'normal' person could do. He is what he calls, 'Socially retarded'. He doesn't understand people, their social cues, lacks tact, and would rather study people like zoo animals. Social situations and change scare him.

My husband was also told that he had 'hints' of autism, but he's very successful, intelligent, and does well socially; social interactions just exhaust him, rather then him not understanding them. Autism isn't all one diagnosis. There are varying degrees of autism and how it effects the person who has it.

However, Autism is probably one of the most flippantly diagnosed and self-diagnosed conditions out there today. (Why people would do that,..who knows. People are messed up and want a lot of attention. Doctors willy-nilly diagnoses, and peoples blatant self-diagnoses causes public ignorance and causes others to not take those who may actually have it, seriously. If you think your child may be autistic, make sure to find a real specialist to help you and your child.)

Autism is neither good or bad. It's a genetic condition that's not contracted through vaccines. It's just there, and that person and their family has to deal with it the best way they can so he/she and everyone else involved can lead a happy 'normal' life.

 

[TaboriHK]

Good for who? A brain wired to be exclusionary of social behavior is not really going to miss it. If you think of an autistic in terms of what they're missing as compared to us, then it's going to be bad. But that's not their reality, so it's hard to say.

 

[Sleepingzombie]

as a personal speculative theory:
Most drawbacks that is gained from a disability are compensated by being forced to learn other things. For example I am half-blind and therefore do not have deapth perception but have gotten good reflexes. There are other examples but my point is that drawbacks are generally compensated in some form but does not make you a genius.

 

[astrav1]

(Oh, also, because you came to a video game site, be prepared for a mega-malillion self-diagnosed "Asperger's" cases to tell you all about how it is.)

Who the heck would do something like that?

seriously when did it become something people title themselves with?

I just don't get when that started, it's sick and wrong...

Are you really so surprised? It happens with a host of mental disorders. It's almost never intentional, but people subconsciously assign themselves these disorders and stand by it firmly. People use them for two "benefits":

1) Surrendering Responsibility. The selected disorder comes with a particular behavior, or set of behaviors, for which the person can now claim they are not responsible.

2) Entitlement. The selected disorder also entitles the person to additional attention, or some side-effect label that is favorable.

Similarly, these disorders themselves are usually selected for two reasons:

1) They are hard to verify (or disprove). You can't fake a missing limb, but you can fake certain mental disorders, and no one can definitively tell you you're lying. They have no choice but to take what you say at face value.

2) They often come with a "trap door" built right into the disorder. Many disorders also come with a different or "milder" form that allows the person to claim the aforementioned "benefits" without having to accept the associated drawbacks.

In the case of Asperger's Syndrome, the benefits are that a person is no longer responsible for rude, abrasive, socially-unacceptable behavior (It's the disorder!), but they also can artificially label themselves as highly intelligent. Even if they're genuinely highly intelligent, this label gives their claim more weight than a possibly equally-intelligent person with no such label.

Asperger's is a candidate for this fakery because it is (#1) hard to verify or disprove. A person can simply claim to have "very high functioning Asperger's," meaning that they don't have to demonstrate much in the way of symptoms, except those they find favorable at a given moment. It's a "buffet disorder." Take what you like, leave the rest, and who's to say otherwise?

OTHER EXAMPLES:

"Clinical" Depression - These people are always keen to use the word "clinical" as a way of saying, "You may not argue this point or assign any responsibility to me." This is despite there having been no medical tests to prove there is any sort of chemical imbalance. You can't disprove them, and they have a license to get free attention from anyone by having the saddest sob story at any given moment.

Bipolar or Manic-Depressive - All of the benefits of claiming depression, but without the burden of having to be depressed all the time. You can be impulsive and rash, as well. But the bottom line is that if people are negatively impacted by your mood, that's just tough--it's not your responsibility, you have a disorder.

ADD/ADHD - I don't have to do anything I don't like, or pay attention to you, because I have a chemical imbalance for which I have had no chemical testing. You can't prove I don't have it, and it doesn't mean I'm dumb or have any sort of drawbacks. I can selectively choose when to pay attention or when not to, with complete freedom--it's the disorder!

SPECIAL NOTES:

- I know these are actual conditions that actual people have. I also know that diagnostic techniques are spotty at best, so plenty of people are able (and willing) to get a rushed diagnosis in order to excuse behavior by using the misfortune of others. There are real examples, and there are many, many fakers. This does not detract from the reality of the disorder itself.

- The fact that a medication "works" is not proof that there was a disorder, and is not an acceptable diagnostic methods. That's like me saying that, because I feel better after having a Twinkie and a glass of scotch, I must have depression that is linked to a Twinkie-scotch deficiency in my brain. Diagnosis comes before treatment, and it takes a long time and a lot of observation. Phony, armchair diagnosis is the only kind you can get on short notice.

- I'll repeat: In the majority of cases, I don't think people do this intentionally. I don't think they know that they're doing it for attention or excuses, but that doesn't make it any less true. The subconscious is powerful, especially in the sort of people already willing to surrender responsibility for their own behavior to a hollow label--these are the sort that were already predisposed to letting the subconscious "take over."

Finally, someone else who gets it.

 

[Grigori361]

Your little brother had asperger's when he was born and the symptoms didn't become obvious until he was 2? Regulations on vaccines tend to be very strict and besides, getting autism from a 'bad vaccine' is impossible. A vaccine is just a bunch of dead bacteria that allow your body to make antibodies if and when living bacteria of that type invade. The amount of mercury it could conceivably contain would be tiny or nonexistent.

OT: I know someone with asperger's who is social enough but sucks at academic things.People with it arent necessary reclusive geniuses. Buut.. from my point of view, social skills seem more important. If you have a brain but can't talk to strangers, how do you cope with a job interview or interact with co-workers? If you're dim but you get on with people, at least you can get by.

while I would agree that I've not seen anything to make me think that autism comes from vaccines, I will say that your view of vaccines in my understanding it rather, limited.

Firstly they're not exactly dead, due to two reasons A: in order to make them economically they're often grow in host animals, and without knowing exactly what is in that host animal down to the last molecule (more or less impossible) you don't know what's in it, and if you don't know that then you can't sterilize it.

Secondarily, you also can't completely sterilize vaccines, if you do then you utterly annihilate the bacterial matter you're trying to expose the body's systems to and it won't register as a threat, which means you won't get that immune response.

I myself don't support getting most of them, because I get sick more when I have them, and I don't mean I get the flu when I get the flu shot. Before someone starts up that tired of piece of ass. I get sick with other things, the thing about vaccines is that while they do offer virtual immunity to a given disease, they also weaken the immune system as a whole sometimes for years, because of the resources it has to put into creating the infrastructure for immunity to a given disease, I get all of the one time vaccines, but I doubt touch anything that's repeated.

 

[Macgyvercas]

He wasn't born with it he was given a vaccine when he was 2 years old to help him from receiving the flu, but all of the vaccines in that year had expired and had mercury inside of all of the expired bottles and effected hundreds of kids within those years.

They have disproved this SO MANY TIMES.

Drives me mad to hear it.

You get more mercury eating a single piece of tuna.

THANK YOU!

Seriously, I too am sick of that theory. I'd have thought that would have been shot in the head by now.

 

[Spy_Guy]

"Bad or Good"?

Good lord! You make me want to punch a baby. Who are we to label something with such a wide spectrum "good or bad"? Especially those of you who aren't actually autistic. In fact, the very idea of generalizing autism disgusts me beyond belief.

Personally, I have a very high-functioning (or however you translate that) version of Aspergers, and I have had that since birth. Ever since it was discovered I have been stuffed together with people with far, far worse autism, and that is not funny.

Whenever you see some autistic adult speaking about their past experiences they make people with autism sound like freaks. The psychologists are the worst of this bunch:
"I met a child once, he refused to eat..."
...
"...as it turns out he was autistic and would only eat food shaped like a traffic light."

They give people like me a bad name.

Oh, and bad. Autism is bad, as it alienates an individual from the rest of society. People with autism perceive the world differently, meaning their life experience, decision making structures, and social guidelines are different. It unfortunately makes it very difficult for an affected individual to operate within our picture of a "normal" society, forcing the autistic to not be who they are.

Are you, yourself autistic, or is this something you've read/heard/been told somewhere?
If not, this is exactly what I'm talking about.

Yes, I may think differently, I may have different guidelines, but don't think for a second this keeps me from interacting with people in a proper manner.

I talk to people, and I make friends like everyone else... however, due to my condition, if we can call it that I analyze everything in order to get better at it. While "neurotypical" (another word for "normal") people may have it pre-programmed that you're supposed to act a certain way towards people, I have learned that by experience, and it's now gone so far that it's automatic for me as well.

Most, if not all people I've met have no idea I'm autistic, to such a point that they toss around insults directed at people with autism in my presence (and I have no reason to believe they'd intentionally do it just to get at me).

Just to make it clear, just because someone decided to slap a "handicapped" label on people with autism does not mean that everyone is a crippled mess incapable of social interaction, and that it necessarily affects them adversely.
I can also assure you that, based on my own, as well as stuff I'm told and stuff I notice about other autistics is that while neurotypicals think of us as socially handicapped, and that this somehow reduces our chances of happiness, this is not really the case (based on what I have seen).

Most people with more noticeable autism than me that I've met seem perfectly content with the friends they have, and as for myself... I think friends are really nice to have, but I don't need lots of them, and if necessary I can go a long time without talking to people or hanging out with them. I can do it, but I don't have to.

[hr]
Now that was quite the wall of text there... I must say that it's a subject I'm personally involved in, and I find the question to be offensive in its simplicity.
Ah well, good opportunity to vent.

EDIT: "High-functioning autism: Autism unaccompanied by mental retardation" I did make an arse of myself after all.

 

[A Pious Cultist]

"Bad or Good"?

Good lord! You make me want to punch a baby. Who are we to label something with such a wide spectrum "good or bad"? Especially those of you who aren't actually autistic. In fact, the very idea of generalizing autism disgusts me beyond belief.

Personally, I have a very low-functioning (or however you translate that) version of Aspergers, and I have had that since birth. Ever since it was discovered I have been stuffed together with people with far, far more high-functioning autism, and that is not funny.

High-functioning refers to social skills, emotional stablility and general mental age so you'd be high-functioning and they'd be low-functioning.

 

[Spy_Guy]

"Bad or Good"?

Good lord! You make me want to punch a baby. Who are we to label something with such a wide spectrum "good or bad"? Especially those of you who aren't actually autistic. In fact, the very idea of generalizing autism disgusts me beyond belief.

Personally, I have a very low-functioning (or however you translate that) version of Aspergers, and I have had that since birth. Ever since it was discovered I have been stuffed together with people with far, far more high-functioning autism, and that is not funny.

High-functioning refers to social skills, emotional stablility and general mental age so you'd be high-functioning and they'd be low-functioning.

Are you sure?
I was told that, paradoxically enough, high-functioning autism means "extra autistic", not "works well".
I'll have to look that one up before I make an arse of myself (even more)

EDIT: Thank you so, so much for pointing that out to me. I was dead wrong.

 

[bobknowsall]

He wasn't born with it he was given a vaccine when he was 2 years old to help him from receiving the flu, but all of the vaccines in that year had expired and had mercury inside of all of the expired bottles and effected hundreds of kids within those years.

They have disproved this SO MANY TIMES.

Drives me mad to hear it.

You get more mercury eating a single piece of tuna.

Good to see some sense being spoken.

OT: Autism isn't really what I'd call a good thing, because those who have it are often crippled socially, and it's not like they're markedly more intelligent than the rest of us. You'll find that there are smart autistic kids, middle-of-the-range autistic kids, and autistic kids who are dumber than a sack of hammers with no hammers in it.

It's not some unholy aberration or anything, but does it actually improve the lives of those who have it?

And don't get me started on the people who don't actually have it, but say they are. They're socially retarded, and they have no right to co-opt an actual disorder to cover up their indequacies.

Phew, that's my rant for today.

 

[archvile93]

And people don't get it from the flu jabs etc, the top scientists reckon it is caused by a kind of selective virus, a bit like cancers, and only some are born with a DNA capable of supporting the autism 'virus'.. I'm not a scientist so I might be wrong..

Neither cancer nor autism is caused by any kind of virus. It's genetic.

That's not entirely true. Genetics can give you a predisposition to an abnormality, but that doesn't always mean you'll get it as tests on identical twins have shown. A good example is ulcers which have been shown to be caused by a common stomach bacteria. However, these bacteria only ever manage to cause ulcers when the immune system is weakened, such as during consistent high levels of stress.

 

[Hashime]

"Bad or Good"?

Good lord! You make me want to punch a baby. Who are we to label something with such a wide spectrum "good or bad"? Especially those of you who aren't actually autistic. In fact, the very idea of generalizing autism disgusts me beyond belief.

Personally, I have a very low-functioning (or however you translate that) version of Aspergers, and I have had that since birth. Ever since it was discovered I have been stuffed together with people with far, far more high-functioning autism, and that is not funny.

Whenever you see some autistic adult speaking about their past experiences they make people with autism sound like freaks. The psychologists are the worst of this bunch:
"I met a child once, he refused to eat..."
...
"...as it turns out he was autistic and would only eat food shaped like a traffic light."

They give people like me a bad name.

Oh, and bad. Autism is bad, as it alienates an individual from the rest of society. People with autism perceive the world differently, meaning their life experience, decision making structures, and social guidelines are different. It unfortunately makes it very difficult for an affected individual to operate within our picture of a "normal" society, forcing the autistic to not be who they are.

Are you, yourself autistic, or is this something you've read/heard/been told somewhere?
If not, this is exactly what I'm talking about.

Yes, I may think differently, I may have different guidelines, but don't think for a second this keeps me from interacting with people in a proper manner.

I talk to people, and I make friends like everyone else... however, due to my condition, if we can call it that I analyze everything in order to get better at it. While "neurotypical" (another word for "normal") people may have it pre-programmed that you're supposed to act a certain way towards people, I have learned that by experience, and it's now gone so far that it's automatic for me as well.

Most, if not all people I've met have no idea I'm autistic, to such a point that they toss around insults directed at people with autism in my presence (and I have no reason to believe they'd intentionally do it just to get at me).

Just to make it clear, just because someone decided to slap a "handicapped" label on people with autism does not mean that everyone is a crippled mess incapable of social interaction, and that it necessarily affects them adversely.
I can also assure you that, based on my own, as well as stuff I'm told and stuff I notice about other autistics is that while neurotypicals think of us as socially handicapped, and that this somehow reduces our chances of happiness, this is not really the case (based on what I have seen).

Most people with higher-functioning autism than me that I've met seem perfectly content with the friends they have, and as for myself... I think friends are really nice to have, but I don't need lots of them, and if necessary I can go a long time without talking to people or hanging out with them. I can do it, but I don't have to.

[hr]
Now that was quite the wall of text there... I must say that it's a subject I'm personally involved in, and I find the question to be offensive in its simplicity.
Ah well, good opportunity to vent.

I am not autistic, but find the disorder fascinating. I also have a friend with asbergers (sp?), and he alluded to this when I asked him about it. It is sad that people do not take the time to understand what autism really is.

 

[weker]

I have a form of autism with SPD and I would trade much to get rid of its drawbacks.
its bad because I have to think hard about everything I say or do to fit with the norm and who is to say that whoever wouldn't be smart without it?

 

[SCRuler]

Lots of people do it on the internet. It's one of the most self-diagnosed disorders in history, especially with the advent of the internet.