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Stereotypes people thought you'd have (autism)

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League_Girl
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11 Apr 2011, 4:01 am

Funny story, people who don't have it can tell and people who do have it can hardly tell simply because they are more effected by it than me. Only way my aspie friend who has severe AS can tell is me taking things literal.



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11 Apr 2011, 4:02 am

Well I sort of had all of them. I banged my head. I lined things up. I didn't talk to people. I had narrow interests. I didn't look people in the eye.

My mum did say however in a joking sort of way that I should be a brilliant genius. Yeah, that didn't happen. However I do have a few things that I'm really good at.


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11 Apr 2011, 4:10 am

TeaEarlGreyHot wrote:
You two are probably over-thinking this. Lots of people only ever know of one or two Autistic children, and often times these children engage in self harm (whether intentionally or not). Most people tend to look at these 1-2 extreme examples (because they stand out to them) and apply it across the board. I've also found most people don't really understand what the word 'masochist' means. They think all self harming is masochistic in nature.

Thus... all Autistics must be masochists.

You see pretty much the same lumping when it comes to Tourettes. Those with the vocal tics stand out the most, so it's what people see/associate with the disorder.


It's probably a bit of both, though I wouldn't say that autistic people - children or otherwise - often engage in self-harm. It just happens in more extreme cases. And you can't assume that any given person will only know severely autistic people. I've met a lot of people who know about Asperger's because a family member or friend has it.



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11 Apr 2011, 4:12 am

Asp-Z wrote:
TeaEarlGreyHot wrote:
You two are probably over-thinking this. Lots of people only ever know of one or two Autistic children, and often times these children engage in self harm (whether intentionally or not). Most people tend to look at these 1-2 extreme examples (because they stand out to them) and apply it across the board. I've also found most people don't really understand what the word 'masochist' means. They think all self harming is masochistic in nature.

Thus... all Autistics must be masochists.

You see pretty much the same lumping when it comes to Tourettes. Those with the vocal tics stand out the most, so it's what people see/associate with the disorder.


It's probably a bit of both, though I wouldn't say that autistic people - children or otherwise - often engage in self-harm. It just happens in more extreme cases. And you can't assume that any given person will only know severely autistic people. I've met a lot of people who know about Asperger's because a family member or friend has it.


Meh... if you kept reading I also said those are the ones that stand out. That's what I meant. I'm just on night 4 of insomnia. :-\


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11 Apr 2011, 4:14 am

TeaEarlGreyHot wrote:
Asp-Z wrote:
TeaEarlGreyHot wrote:
You two are probably over-thinking this. Lots of people only ever know of one or two Autistic children, and often times these children engage in self harm (whether intentionally or not). Most people tend to look at these 1-2 extreme examples (because they stand out to them) and apply it across the board. I've also found most people don't really understand what the word 'masochist' means. They think all self harming is masochistic in nature.

Thus... all Autistics must be masochists.

You see pretty much the same lumping when it comes to Tourettes. Those with the vocal tics stand out the most, so it's what people see/associate with the disorder.


It's probably a bit of both, though I wouldn't say that autistic people - children or otherwise - often engage in self-harm. It just happens in more extreme cases. And you can't assume that any given person will only know severely autistic people. I've met a lot of people who know about Asperger's because a family member or friend has it.


Meh... if you kept reading I also said those are the ones that stand out. That's what I meant. I'm just on night 4 of insomnia. :-\


I don't know, though. I get what you mean, but if someone knows people who are Aspie and people who have more severe autism, yes the more severe cases stick out, but they wouldn't think all autistic people are like that because they also have knowledge of autistic people who aren't.

Asperger's/HFA also seems to be a lot more common than LFA.



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11 Apr 2011, 4:16 am

Asp-Z wrote:

I don't know, though. I get what you mean, but if someone knows people who are Aspie and people who have more severe autism, yes the more severe cases stick out, but they wouldn't think all autistic people are like that because they also have knowledge of autistic people who aren't.

Asperger's/HFA also seems to be a lot more common than LFA.


Eh, I'm talking about those that only notice the extreme cases though. These are the people that would likely believe all Autistics are masochists.

But, as a PP pointed out there's a lot of re-enforcement of negative stereotypes in the media.


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11 Apr 2011, 4:20 am

TeaEarlGreyHot wrote:
Asp-Z wrote:

I don't know, though. I get what you mean, but if someone knows people who are Aspie and people who have more severe autism, yes the more severe cases stick out, but they wouldn't think all autistic people are like that because they also have knowledge of autistic people who aren't.

Asperger's/HFA also seems to be a lot more common than LFA.


Eh, I'm talking about those that only notice the extreme cases though. These are the people that would likely believe all Autistics are masochists.

But, as a PP pointed out there's a lot of re-enforcement of negative stereotypes in the media.


I think people who only notice extreme cases are certainly around, but there aren't as many of them as you seem to think. Lots of people know Aspies because we're absolutely f**king everywhere :P

Is there? I don't actually see much of it. Rain Man obviously shows an autistic person with savant abilities, which has caused a lot of people to think we're all savants, but I don't see a lot of films, TV shows, or other media showing negative portrayals of autism. Other films which have autistic people in - Snow Cake and Adam, for example - are actually not that bad at all.



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11 Apr 2011, 4:22 am

Asp-Z wrote:
TeaEarlGreyHot wrote:
Asp-Z wrote:
TeaEarlGreyHot wrote:
You two are probably over-thinking this. Lots of people only ever know of one or two Autistic children, and often times these children engage in self harm (whether intentionally or not). Most people tend to look at these 1-2 extreme examples (because they stand out to them) and apply it across the board. I've also found most people don't really understand what the word 'masochist' means. They think all self harming is masochistic in nature.

Thus... all Autistics must be masochists.

You see pretty much the same lumping when it comes to Tourettes. Those with the vocal tics stand out the most, so it's what people see/associate with the disorder.


It's probably a bit of both, though I wouldn't say that autistic people - children or otherwise - often engage in self-harm. It just happens in more extreme cases. And you can't assume that any given person will only know severely autistic people. I've met a lot of people who know about Asperger's because a family member or friend has it.


Meh... if you kept reading I also said those are the ones that stand out. That's what I meant. I'm just on night 4 of insomnia. :-\


I don't know, though. I get what you mean, but if someone knows people who are Aspie and people who have more severe autism, yes the more severe cases stick out, but they wouldn't think all autistic people are like that because they also have knowledge of autistic people who aren't.

Asperger's/HFA also seems to be a lot more common than LFA.

People have known about LFA the longest. AS/HFA has only widely been known for the last 10 years. There are still people that don't know anyone with AS/HFA. I mean I'm the only person in my family with it and I have no friends with it. The only other person I met with it is a rockstar. My mum's ex seem very AS but she only came to that conclusion after they broke up.

People have had a basic idea of what autism is for over 50 years and it's really hard to change someone's perception of it. My mum still stereotypes both autism and ADHD - I have both. She lives with someone who has both and talks about it a lot and in a lot of detail. Oh and I can't have epilepsy because I don't fit that stereotype either but I do hear/see/smell things and have myoclonic symptoms - not that she knows what that is.


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11 Apr 2011, 4:24 am

We see Aspies everywhere because we're in the know. Maybe it's a demographics thing, though I'm not sure how since I'm judging by Silicon Valley standards... but I dont often come across people that know about Aspergers aside from the name. People around here tend to know more about 'classic' Autism.


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11 Apr 2011, 4:25 am

pensieve wrote:
People have known about LFA the longest. AS/HFA has only widely been known for the last 10 years. There are still people that don't know anyone with AS/HFA. I mean I'm the only person in my family with it and I have no friends with it. The only other person I met with it is a rockstar. My mum's ex seem very AS but she only came to that conclusion after they broke up.

People have had a basic idea of what autism is for over 50 years and it's really hard to change someone's perception of it. My mum still stereotypes both autism and ADHD - I have both. She lives with someone who has both and talks about it a lot and in a lot of detail. Oh and I can't have epilepsy because I don't fit that stereotype either but I do hear/see/smell things and have myoclonic symptoms - not that she knows what that is.


Don't get me wrong, I'm saying there aren't people like that, I'm just saying there are less of them than people think, because Asperger's diagnosis are becoming a lot more common, so people know about it. I, myself, was very surprised to see how many people know about Asperger's and know other people with it, and how few preconceptions some people have.



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11 Apr 2011, 4:26 am

Asp-Z wrote:
TeaEarlGreyHot wrote:
Asp-Z wrote:

I don't know, though. I get what you mean, but if someone knows people who are Aspie and people who have more severe autism, yes the more severe cases stick out, but they wouldn't think all autistic people are like that because they also have knowledge of autistic people who aren't.

Asperger's/HFA also seems to be a lot more common than LFA.


Eh, I'm talking about those that only notice the extreme cases though. These are the people that would likely believe all Autistics are masochists.

But, as a PP pointed out there's a lot of re-enforcement of negative stereotypes in the media.


I think people who only notice extreme cases are certainly around, but there aren't as many of them as you seem to think. Lots of people know Aspies because we're absolutely f**king everywhere :P

Is there? I don't actually see much of it. Rain Man obviously shows an autistic person with savant abilities, which has caused a lot of people to think we're all savants, but I don't see a lot of films, TV shows, or other media showing negative portrayals of autism. Other films which have autistic people in - Snow Cake and Adam, for example - are actually not that bad at all.

The stereotype of autistic characters on TV is that we MUST recite numbers from memory.
I watch a lot of films/TV shows about autistics. NCIS, The Closer and Cold Case all had autistics that either recited facts or had to say numbers to stay calm. Law & Order did something like that too and did it poorly. But then Law & Order always gets it wrong.


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11 Apr 2011, 4:29 am

pensieve wrote:
The stereotype of autistic characters on TV is that we MUST recite numbers from memory.
I watch a lot of films/TV shows about autistics. NCIS, The Closer and Cold Case all had autistics that either recited facts or had to say numbers to stay calm. Law & Order did something like that too and did it poorly. But then Law & Order always gets it wrong.


*nod* I stopped watching those shows because I like realism. Sad too, because Abby is HAWT.


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11 Apr 2011, 4:29 am

pensieve wrote:
The stereotype of autistic characters on TV is that we MUST recite numbers from memory.
I watch a lot of films/TV shows about autistics. NCIS, The Closer and Cold Case all had autistics that either recited facts or had to say numbers to stay calm. Law & Order did something like that too and did it poorly. But then Law & Order always gets it wrong.


Crime shows BS their way through everything, though.

Quote:
We see Aspies everywhere because we're in the know. Maybe it's a demographics thing, though I'm not sure how since I'm judging by Silicon Valley standards... but I dont often come across people that know about Aspergers aside from the name. People around here tend to know more about 'classic' Autism.


I'm not talking about just seeing Aspies around, I'm talking about talking to people about Asperger's and them saying they have a family member or friend with it. That kind of thing is very common in my experience.



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11 Apr 2011, 4:31 am

Asp-Z wrote:

Quote:
We see Aspies everywhere because we're in the know. Maybe it's a demographics thing, though I'm not sure how since I'm judging by Silicon Valley standards... but I dont often come across people that know about Aspergers aside from the name. People around here tend to know more about 'classic' Autism.


I'm not talking about just seeing Aspies around, I'm talking about talking to people about Asperger's and them saying they have a family member or friend with it. That kind of thing is very common in my experience.


Eh, that hasn't been my experience. People don't tend to know things like that unless they or their children have it.

Or, of course, they work with Autistic people.


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11 Apr 2011, 4:35 am

TeaEarlGreyHot wrote:
Asp-Z wrote:

Quote:
We see Aspies everywhere because we're in the know. Maybe it's a demographics thing, though I'm not sure how since I'm judging by Silicon Valley standards... but I dont often come across people that know about Aspergers aside from the name. People around here tend to know more about 'classic' Autism.


I'm not talking about just seeing Aspies around, I'm talking about talking to people about Asperger's and them saying they have a family member or friend with it. That kind of thing is very common in my experience.


Eh, that hasn't been my experience. People don't tend to know things like that unless they or their children have it.

Or, of course, they work with Autistic people.


Guess it depends on where you live, then.

BTW, on a more humourous note relating to the crime shows...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gF_qQYrCcns[/youtube]



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11 Apr 2011, 4:38 am

WTF is he doing to the keyboard!? haha

"Zoomify!"


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