Teachers make me move to the front of the class.

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...or maybe I should tell her to google this topic on Wrongplanet.net.

FYI Seats should be filled front to back, their should be no empty seats in front of taken seats. Their is no reason for someone to sit in the back when plenty of seats upfront are available.

I know that, but being at the front makes my anxiety levels go up. Also, I came into the class whilst everyone else had arrived minutes earlier, and she didn't tell any of them to sit at the front; they simply left the seats at the front and sat far behind them.

Have you been officially diagnosed? If so does the school know? Maybe you can ask them if they can help accommodate you with this issue.

Yeah I always found it much easier to concentrate when I wasn't surrounded by other people...otherwise I was always distracted by them being behind me, and being too close on both sides. I remember getting in trouble when I got moved ot especially uncomfortable seats when I reached my breaking point and couldn't take the stress anymore and would start getting obviously frusterated as much as i tried to supress it. And yeah in elementary and middle school it was not uncommon for people to throw things at me or otherwise try and provoke a reaction to get me in trouble without the teacher noticing they did anything so I prefered being able to see what people were up to.

I think being severely uncomfortable to the extent its hard to pay attention in the front is a good reason to sit in the back. Though I never did mind if they just wanted no one sitting in the very back but still allowed for me sitting in the back last row they were allowing people to sit in so there was still no one behind me.

I for one don't think an official diagnosis is the end-all and be-all.

I hope with a broader understandig of Asperger's-Autism Spectrum as a Civil Rights issue that it will be more widely accepted that a person can be self-diagnosed or clinician-diagnosed. That it's each person's choice and either way is fine.

For example, I don't think there's so much magic to DSM-IV. http://www.autreat.com/dsm4-autism.html
Please notice that the official diagnosis does not really mention sensory issues at all. It's like the committee (which is itself a problem) which came up with this formal diagnosis did not really talk with persons on the spectrum at all. In fact, I'd say that is the obvious conclusion.

Here is an autism advocate's creative spoof re-write of DSM-IV, which I think is better than the original!
http://www.journeyswithautism.com/2009/ ... or-autism/

======================

http://books.google.com/books?id=w_Hajj ... 's&f=false <-- can't read actual page.

Okay, here is from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
http://www.aacap.org/cs/autism_resource ... _on_autism <-- about two-thirds of the way down is the plain ol' autism diagnosis from DSM-IV.

Again, I am not particularly impressed. For example we have

" . . a total of six (or more) items from (1), (2), and (3), with at least two from (1), and one each from (2) and (3): "

They make it sound like it's a puzzle. (Yes, it is, but it's more of an either-or puzzle, which is what you'd expect from a spectrum.)

Yes, I fully understand many people need to get an official diagnosis to tap into services in college, employment services (generally scant), disability benefits (which I generally tend to think should be available for any unemployed person for whatever reason).

And yes, we want to respect a professional as someone who has been some time in. But we also want to respect ourselves. So, I very much think the professional-client interaction is more nearly between equals. It is the person's expertise, but it's my life.

Like a number of other people who have posted, I myself have not had the best luck with so-called mental health professionals. In fairness, some other people here at Wrong Planet have.

Last edited by AardvarkGoodSwimmer on 06 May 2012, 5:46 pm, edited 3 times in total.

Why not? I'm in a class with only 5 people other than me, and there are 2 people each in the first two rows and 1 each in the last two. I can't see anything wrong with that.

I'm not really into the idea of self-diagnosis. I'm measurably impaired but until I get a diagnosis I'm not entirely comfortable with presenting myself as having Asperger's - I think there are some dangers in watering down what it is and the effects on people's live if just anyone can say they have it. It will simply be too easy for many people to dismiss it as "pop psychology" and then functionally, in society, the concept loses impact in a way I think is unaffordable.

That being said, I think of the term "aspie" as slightly different and I'm comfortable identifying with that, in the meantime.

As far as the discrimination goes - discrimination against the traits is wrong, whether they are possessed by aspies or others. Some of the traits aren't unique to us. The discrimination itself isn't valid; and it would be remiss to validate it by asking for special exemptions. It should not exist, period. Not for us, not for anyone. For example, jobs that don't actually need "excellent interpersonal skills" should not be able to demand them, it discriminates not only against us but against many other groups as well. It's not a gate in that wall that we need - the wall needs to come down.

HAHA!...The spoof is definitely better! XD...and I like the use of the word "awe-tistic"- it sounds so much better.



I think it's totally and utterly ridiculous that they don't mention sensory issues!- especially when it's a defining moment of nearly every, if not all autistic people!

Actually sensory issues are not a requirement for ASD, and a large portion of ASD like my self have no sensory issues.

I know it isn't, but a vast majority of people with an ASD have sensory issues.- I know not everyone does, that's why I said "nearly every".

Not in the current DSM, but the new DSM (which kicks in next year) includes the following:

Well, I'm glad it's on tap to be included in DSM-5. But it is amazing that it took this long for psychiatrists to genuinely and respectfully listen to people on the spectrum.

I don't have that big sensory issues myself. Some exceptions, for example when a smoke detector 'chirps' every couple of minutes because the battery is low, this drives me up a wall, all the more so because it doesn't seem other people notice or even care, am trying to become more patient. But it's like when I open my ears, I expect then to be treated with respect.

PS. In another discussion, a person said sensory issues are included in the explanatory text of DSM-4. I would like a link on this if possible. And frankly, I only have limited patience for reading through officialdom and tend to do so in small doses.

Today I had Chemistry class with that teacher, today. This time I made sure I got to this class extra early in order for me to sit in the seat I wanted. My teacher asked me again to move closer to the front, again but I told her again that I didn't feel comfortable and that the last time she made me sit at the front, I could not concentrate etc. Luckily, she listened this time and she did not mind me sitting there. Hopefully she let's me sit where I want next time, but to make sure I might consider coming to her lesson extra early, on a regular basis.

I'm glad things went okay.

Now, in a sense, it shouldn't be such a dicey situation where you need to do this much advance planning, but maybe with a new teacher, and a social situation with a previous bad outcome, maybe it is sometimes necessary.