Poll: What Do you Know About Autism

[Saint of M]

There is something I have been saying for about five or six years and I want to know how close I am: More people know more about Dinosaurs then they do Autism, and most of that knowledge comes from 4 Jurassic Park Films and some 20 odd Land Before Time movies. All good things, but maybe not the best sources to write your thesis on.

So being on the spectrum, I was wondering if there is any validity in this or was I just constantly wondering how ignorant people were of a fairly common disorder...in the new millennium...

 

[McElroy]

That's a fairly tough question to answer. I mean, dinosaurs are just big reptiles and autistic people are still human beings so everyone answering has to draw a line around whatever they think is being asked. That is if they already know a bit about both. I don't personally know any autistic people, but since everyone has some traits commonly associated with autism, I "know" enough to answer that.

 

[Dornedas]

Buhuhu more people know about dinosaurs than about autism.

So what? Most people know more about dinosaurs than they know about technology that makes their daily life work.
Which has a far larger impact on their lives than autism.
And I'm not even talking about Smartphones or Computers and shit. Just go out there and ask someone how their microwave works.
If you are lucky you will get the answer that microwaves use microwaves to somehow magic foodstuffs hot.
If you are unlucky you get the answer that the light in the microwave makes foodstuffs hot.

 

[Saelune]

I know that it is very hard to identify through the internet, since typing words is different than speaking them verbally.

 

[maninahat]

The problem is a lot of what people know about dinosaurs is speculative, scant, based on movie depictions, or completely incorrect. So its actually a lot like people's understanding of autism. Take the brontosaurus: Smart Alecs will pedantically tell you they are an Apatosaurus by a different name. Smarter and even more pedantic Alecs are now saying that, actually, the dinosaurs are different enough to be distinct species.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

I know autism is a range of developmental disorders. Not much more beyond that.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I know it's a neurodevelopmental disorder and a lot of people claim to have it because they're antisocial.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

"More people know more about Dinosaurs then they do Autism"

Well, yeah. Nearly everyone I know went through a phase of being fascinated by dinosaurs as a kid, but I don't know that many people who sat at home at the age of seven researching mental disorders. As a general rule people only really learn to deal with a disability/disorder/handicap if it affects a member of their immediate family, and I think you're drawing an unfair parallel between a subject that intrigues a large spectrum of people and a condition that affects less than 1% of the population.

My knowledge of autism is fairly basic, it must be said. I know it is a mental disorder that affects social interaction, with suffers often reluctant to make eye contact. I know a couple of people with this disorder, and I know to let them dictate the pace of a social encounter and to look out for growing signs of agitation and/or nervousness. Outside of that, I know very little about it.

 

[Thaluikhain]

It's one way of being nueoratypical, it covers quite a spectrum, there's issues with diagnosis and people argue over whether Asperger's or "high functioning" are terms that should be used, society tends to be rather unsympathetic and Autism Speaks is considered a ahte group by many people it says it's helping.

 

[Quellist]

I have a 28 year old autistic sister, which is enough to teach me there is far more to autism than commonly known. In the way that too many people are informed about dinosaurs by Jurassic i think too many people see famous 'autisic' characters like Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man as being an accurate depiction of autism (I.E All Autistics are savants)

 

[the December King]

Dinosaurs ruled the world for millions of years.

Autistic people... will just need some more time, that's all.

They'll get there.

 

[sageoftruth]

Autism is like Metal.

If you pick any one characteristic to define the whole category, you'll find that either:

A) There are a number of examples that don't fit that description

or

B) There are also plenty of non-examples that fit that description

Writing this made me feel like I was back in my Discrete Math class.

 

[09philj]

I know more about dinosaurs, but I know quite a lot about dinosaurs.

 

[Reasonable Atheist]

I know a lot of people claim to be autistic because they think it makes them a special snowflake, without actually ever having a diagnosis.

Sort of the same way that my mother has had osteoporosis endometriosis and fucking SARS among other things over the years

 

[Lieju]

I'm autistic and was obsessed with dinosaurs as a kid and still try to keep up with the research so... both?

This is bit of an odd way to phrase the question honestly. Lot of what most people think they know about dinosaurs is about as correct as their ideas about autism.

 

[PsychedelicDiamond]

I know that I have it, which is better than nothing, I suppose. Aspergers Syndrome rather, which was diagnosed when I was about 16, a rather important moment in my young life. Previously I just thought I was stupid. I have some idea what it entails, mainly that it's the reason why I'm such a spaz and I feel awkward looking strangers into their eyes.

Otherwise I don't know shit about dinosaurs. They were large lizards, or maybe birds, that lived a long time ago until they had an unfortunate encounters with some meteorites.

 

[SlumlordThanatos]

I'm part of an autism support program at a major university. While I'm personally a high-functioning individual and can pass as normal, I've spent the past five years living and hanging out with people on varying parts of the spectrum. It's worth noting that in order to get into the program, you have to register with the university's Center for Educational Access and provide documented proof of your disorder, so I know for a fact that anyone in the program has a diagnosis.

So, suffice to say that I know a fair bit. But given the number of interesting characters that have gone through the program while I was there, I've got a lot of stories about it.

 

[Synigma]

I've actually learned a lot about dinosaurs from looking into how evolution worked.... so yeah way more than Autism.

With all the mentions about Autism starting a few years ago (before it became the new insult) I figured I'd just pick some of it up like I learned about the Diabeetus. But nope. No one ever talks about any of the specifics of it, I guess because it's such a broad term, but I think it should still be brought up sometimes. At least some details of the spectrum maybe? I mean all I know is that you can be anywhere from Rainman to 'normal', being easily confused with someone who is just an introvert.

 

[Jute88]

I know that girls are probably being underdiagnosed, because ther symptoms are a bit different, specifically when talking about Asperger's.
And in some cultures people are more prone to diagnosing children with autism.

Also, when I was younger doctors suspected that I might have Asperger's.

 

[pookie101]

well i dont know a lot about it which is ironic as i was diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome about 5 years ago, to the extent i told the specialist "whats that?", gave me a little bit of info but not alot can be done when you are in your 40's so it was more for information than anything.

so yes i have it but know infinitely more about dinosaurs