Half a star.
Some time ago I watched a movie about a woman and a girl in a concentration camp in Nazi Germany. The woman was mentoring the girl on how to survive. Both the woman and the girl were half Jewish. All prisoners had to have the Star of David sewn on to their clothes, made from two triangles of cloth. At one point, the girl complains to the guards that both she and the older woman are only half Jewish, and that they deserve better treatment. This eventually leads that one of the triangles is removed from their prison garb. But it doesn’t change the fact that they are still in a concentration camp.
And this is how I feel about the so-called difference between Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome.
And what exactly is this suppose to mean, I don't know. But I keep having that movie pop into my head when I compare myself to people that are obviously Autistic. I am, but I am not.
What exactly are you asking?
Aspergers, and "high functioning autism", are both considered just that:'higher functioning' than regular autism.
Low functioning folks are more handicapped, but folks dont expect as much of them. you're higher functioning so the world expects more of you. So it evens out. So you get as much grief as the LFA's do I suppose. Is that what you mean?
mr_bigmouth_502
Veteran
Joined: 12 Dec 2013
Age: 30
Gender: Non-binary
Posts: 7,028
Location: Alberta, Canada
I think the issue is that since aspies and HFAs often "appear" to be normal until you get to know them, people assume that we're just like NTs, and that we don't have any real problems. It's similar to the problems people often face when they suffer from anxiety, depression, and other "hidden" conditions.
mr_bigmouth_502
Veteran
Joined: 12 Dec 2013
Age: 30
Gender: Non-binary
Posts: 7,028
Location: Alberta, Canada
I sometimes feel that way too.
KingdomOfRats
Veteran
Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Age: 40
Gender: Female
Posts: 4,833
Location: f'ton,manchester UK
those of us in the LFA spectrum get just as much grief but often in a different way.... abuse in the streets from total strangers, sickeningly patronised and being spoken around like we dont exist,treated like we have child brains,our family and support staff pitied for looking after us by people who dont even know us,given such low expectancies that some autists are even dressed in nappies when theyre not even incontinent/have toileting issues,some are kept locked away in the bedroom and never taken out with their dinner passed through a hole in the door like a prison only that they get less freedom than prisoners etc.
honestly it isnt any better,its just a different kind of crap we recieve.
_________________
>severely autistic.
>>the residential autist; http://theresidentialautist.blogspot.co.uk
blogging from the view of an ex institutionalised autism/ID activist now in community care.
>>>help to keep bullying off our community,report it!
Not asking anything. Just saying how I feel inside. Like a traitor at times. Like the girl in the movie.
I chopped a bunch off the post for fear of being pedantic.
The part I deleted was the part about a kid in church who clearly has signs of autism. He also, um, apparently eats his boogers in church - I didn't see it. I shook his hand during the hand shake of peace, and later on my middle daughter said, "Daddy, you shook the hands of the booger eater." And I said nothing.
Maybe I need to go for official diagnosis and remove that bit of uncertainty. But there you go, even fretting over it, that black and white cr@p comes creeping in again. Sigh.
mr_bigmouth_502
Veteran
Joined: 12 Dec 2013
Age: 30
Gender: Non-binary
Posts: 7,028
Location: Alberta, Canada
those of us in the LFA spectrum get just as much grief but often in a different way.... abuse in the streets from total strangers, sickeningly patronised and being spoken around like we dont exist,treated like we have child brains,our family and support staff pitied for looking after us by people who dont even know us,given such low expectancies that some autists are even dressed in nappies when theyre not even incontinent/have toileting issues,some are kept locked away in the bedroom and never taken out with their dinner passed through a hole in the door like a prison only that they get less freedom than prisoners etc.
honestly it isnt any better,its just a different kind of crap we recieve.
I'm not saying I want to look like an LFA, I'm just saying I want to appear more like Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory, or like Dr. House. If I were a living, breathing "Aspergers stereotype", then I think people would have an easier time "getting" me.
We're all vulnerable to abuse, prejudice, and bad treatment in general. So, yeah, I think it's an apt analogy. The severely autistic kid gets beaten up by his ABA therapist during one of those infamous restraint sessions; the mildly autistic kid gets beaten up by his peers because the bullies think he makes a nice punching bag. The severely autistic kid tries to explain and gets ignored because he can't talk well; the mildly autistic kid gets told to toughen up, boys will be boys. Neither one gets any help.
We're in the same boat, really. The specific ways things play out can be different, but the more I think about it, the fewer real differences I see between the situations we face. The differences tend to be more in the details. The basic problem is the same for everybody--Because we're disabled, they think it's okay to treat us like crap.
Seems to me that people with obvious/severe autism might occasionally wish it were more subtle, so that their talents would be recognized. It's very similar to wanting to be more stereotypically autistic, if yours is milder, so that people will cut you a break when your autism makes things hard for you. Again, it's the same basic problem--people assume that disability means incapable, that obviously disabled people can't have talents and people who don't look disabled can't have deficits. Both sides fighting the same stereotype, pushing against the same problem. We really ought to work together more.
_________________
Reports from a Resident Alien:
http://chaoticidealism.livejournal.com
Autism Memorial:
http://autism-memorial.livejournal.com
mr_bigmouth_502
Veteran
Joined: 12 Dec 2013
Age: 30
Gender: Non-binary
Posts: 7,028
Location: Alberta, Canada
We're in the same boat, really. The specific ways things play out can be different, but the more I think about it, the fewer real differences I see between the situations we face. The differences tend to be more in the details. The basic problem is the same for everybody--Because we're disabled, they think it's okay to treat us like crap.
Seems to me that people with obvious/severe autism might occasionally wish it were more subtle, so that their talents would be recognized. It's very similar to wanting to be more stereotypically autistic, if yours is milder, so that people will cut you a break when your autism makes things hard for you. Again, it's the same basic problem--people assume that disability means incapable, that obviously disabled people can't have talents and people who don't look disabled can't have deficits. Both sides fighting the same stereotype, pushing against the same problem. We really ought to work together more.
You make a very profound point, and I agree, HFAs/aspies and LFAs do face the same basic problem, just from somewhat different perspectives. Society as a whole needs to become more accepting, and damn it, if we can fight racism, sexism, and homophobia, we can fight ableism as well.
Similar Topics | |
---|---|
I don't want to be half scenemo anymore |
14 Apr 2024, 1:11 pm |
Why are 12 and a half size shoes so hard to find? |
16 Apr 2024, 7:35 pm |
Star Trek Origin Movie Set for 2025; Filming Begins Later Th |
14 Apr 2024, 5:55 pm |
New Trailer for Star Wars "The Acolyte" dropped |
23 Mar 2024, 10:07 pm |