Some people just want to free us from the prison of our mind

Post Reply New Topic

It looks like an actual mugshot. Like one of those notorious DUI booking photos.

.

thread de-railment?

honestly, the way i see it, autism is my personality.There's no-one locked in here.

Really? Thanks.
I'm quite abled with a camera.
Honestly never been arrested and thank the unknown god for that!
I could imagine myself being passed around like a joint in the slammer.
Scary.

I was tempted to just joke about my mind not being such a bad place to be trapped - I got a playstation and a six-pack of Mountain Dew in here, after all! But as I read through the thread, I gave that even more thought...

They shouldn't presume the outside world is such a great place to visit. Feh. If my books weren't out here, I'd be tempted to stay in my own head 24/7. Perhaps if we spent less time trying to get specific behaviors out of these kids, and were more sensitive to providing things they might reach out for, we'd have more success. I know it's not quite that simple, and some caretakers are very in-tune with their kids... but I think it gets overlooked sometimes. Are we providing potentially fulfilling experiences these kids will want to reach out for?

Another concern of mine is that nasty internal critic a lot of us have. You know - that dark voice that speaks with honesty and authority, and is more cruel than anyone else could ever be to us. If we are "trapped" inside... that voice is our roommate. How much good could we do if we provided adequate counseling for spectrum kids - not just for their autism needs, but to help them take control of their self-esteem?

Anyway, those are just some thoughts that came to mind. :/ I don't mean to offend any caretakers involved in the life of an autistic child; I know you're doing your best.

If spectrum kids don't tell us which experiences could be most fulfilling, how would we ever know? That's just it. They don't tell us what they want. They don't tell us anything, so we have to provide for them the best we possibly can.

I'll grant that it's very hard to know what a severely autistic child wants - both because they're autistic, and because they're children. We may have to make good guesses most of the time, and we may guess wrong a LOT of the time. But I think that sometimes these kids try to reach out as best they know how. I'm just saying we should keep an eye out for these attempts, and try our best to accomodate them, especially if we want them to try again. I'm not saying to expect it to happen often - just to keep an eye open for it.

Where do I say I know that no autistic child can 'come out' and communicate? I am saying there is one child, the autistic child, and that there is no other, non-autistic child imprisoned in there.

I'm not trapped anywhere. This poster is silly...and slightly ofensive.

I know, I know, they mean lower functioning kids, not someone with AS.

Why does the kid inside the head have a face like a cartoon bug? It looks like Uniquia from the Backyardigans.

Last edited by PunkyKat on 18 May 2008, 9:15 pm, edited 2 times in total.

In one way it is offensive,yet I hope they mean the Autisic who is not high functioning like most AS. I agree with most of you that my mind is not a prison. Since being DX a year ago I have tried to understand my condition information is the best way to inform the public about AS. Thanks to Alex Plank who has worked hard to address AS issues across the country, yet there are still people who live in the Dark Ages about AS and Autism. We need to address such materials in a positive way, so the public does not get any wrong ideas. We need to form some kind of Congress or have a Regional or National Summit, so that we can get together and discuss the issues effecting the Autistic Spectrum. This is just my thinking not a rant.
We should also have concern for those who feel their mind is a prison to them or thier love ones. Some do not understand the entire spectrum, and need to be educated. There are some I include myself who have only told the people who need to know. Their are I feel , and I am not alone that people (church,family,co-workers) would not understand AS.
I hope you all understand what I am saying. I wish you well.

My mind is not prison, it's heavenly paradise

Prison is other people

Explain.

Sometimes I can miss the point...

As the original image was rather large, and didn't fit comfortably on my screen, if I wanted to read its caption, it was only when I had read through half the thread that I discovered there was a second child in the picture.

Just in case anyone else missed the point, this is the (click-able) thumbnail:

Captions read:

AUTISM
Find my son before time runs out
free him from the prison of his mind

The "1-150" on the small guy's shirt doesn't seem meaningful, except that I suppose it refers to the estimated incidence of ASD in the USA, but note that only a minority of those will have an extreme form of Kanner's syndrome, and hence any great problems.

I see no sense in the assorted shapes (matching puzzle of some kind?) or the toy car.

No one seems to have mentioned that its "prison" seems single-sex.

==========

Anyway, I am also one who finds the whole thing quite offensive.

PS. Is it really produced by AutismSpeaks? I couldn't track down the origin of the thing. I'd like to boycott it.

I understand what you mean Zwerfbeertje, and I think your meaning is perfectly clear and I thoroughly agree. There is no such thing as a child locked within a child. One child only. I don't know who is responsible for it but I wouldn't give them much credibility.

Very offensive poster both in its imagery and message.