Autistics Who Don't Fit the Common Stereotypes

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HKHall
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21 Jul 2016, 5:33 pm

ASPartOfMe wrote:
I see a lot of postings in comments sections whining my kid will never speak, because you communicate you are not "real autistics" they are going to be replied to by me with one or two of these videos.


It is then, an additional tragedy that their children cannot speak easily, effectively, or at all; it prevents said children from explaining to their parents, in detail, why they're being petty, selfish, and egocentric. :wink:



kaspermedmusen
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21 Jul 2016, 5:56 pm

The important question now is: Why do some people not display the common stereotypes of autism spectrum disorders?

Do they have less severe autism or just different symptoms?
Could other co-morbid mental illnesses with other stereotypes overpower the stereotypes of autism?

If you get what I mean.

Example: A person with Bipolar disorder and co-morbid autism might be manic for a lengthy time despite it being a core symptom of autism to become tired from long-time hyperactive behavior. The bipolar mania symptom has in this case over-trumped the autistic symptom of being tired from too much hyperactivity.



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21 Jul 2016, 5:59 pm

Because stereotypes are inaccurate representations (see the link in the opening post, which is based on that).

Another link on this:

http://news.wisc.edu/experts-question-p ... ut-autism/



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21 Jul 2016, 6:04 pm

There are certain symptoms that MOST autistic people exhibit---like a tendency to "not get" social cues, especially in childhood.

There are certain symptoms that SOME autistic people exhibit--like sensory sensitivity.

Then there are symptoms which are peculiar to the individual with autism.



kaspermedmusen
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21 Jul 2016, 6:08 pm

B19 wrote:
Because stereotypes are inaccurate representations (see the link in the opening post, which is based on that).

Another link on this:

http://news.wisc.edu/experts-question-p ... ut-autism/


Thank you for pointing out. I misunderstood the word stereotype. Let's just change them to core symptoms in my previous post.

They are of course false (in most cases); Two people with Asperger are more diverse than two randomly chosen people on the street. AS is the diagnosis with the most diverse type of people of all diagnosis. So to apply stereotypes to us is quite silly.



B19
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21 Jul 2016, 6:15 pm

No problem! Another reason these narrow stereotypes still infest public and professional conceptions of AS is the fact that nearly all the exploratory research on autism was done on male only samples which were profoundly age and gender biased. This massive sampling-error has not yet been rectified by the scientific community.

We might scratch our heads and wonder why not, given the huge funds that are poured into other aspects of AS research.



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21 Jul 2016, 6:17 pm

B19 wrote:
Some do asssert (quite adamantly) that diagnostic criteria = a total description of AS, and project that in a black and white way onto others, perhaps not realising that the diagnostic criteria are purpose specific - a heuristic used to assist diagnosis, not inclusive of all signs, symptoms and lived experience of AS.


If that "some" was directed at me, you got it all wrong. I do not mean, and have never meant it as a "total" description, i say it's the only common criteria for the diagnosis, that does not exclude other traits and features in individuals.

Things like Alexithymia, Synesthesia and Savantism being discussed isn't even part of the diagnosis. It is important to make that distinction and not get those things confused.


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21 Jul 2016, 6:19 pm

Those who come here to start brash minded posts are on the whole intent on creating more vitamin D for themselves and have probably recalled, when a bedtime story doesn't always induce napping but nappy rash.
Slower autistics shouldn't be cast down for being cast out and these discussions shouldn't even exist. No one is getting any more support from being shown up as a defect, so why not just issue out a search warrant as well?
Most don't always show a good vocabulary either, but that doesn't stop them from being self taught.

When did males start acting like female buddha's? 8O



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21 Jul 2016, 6:21 pm

kaspermedmusen wrote:
AS is the diagnosis with the most diverse type of people of all diagnosis. So to apply stereotypes to us is quite silly.


*clears throat*


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21 Jul 2016, 6:24 pm

Ichinin wrote:
B19 wrote:
Some do asssert (quite adamantly) that diagnostic criteria = a total description of AS, and project that in a black and white way onto others, perhaps not realising that the diagnostic criteria are purpose specific - a heuristic used to assist diagnosis, not inclusive of all signs, symptoms and lived experience of AS.


If that "some" was directed at me, you got it all wrong. I do not mean, and have never meant it as a "total" description, i say it's the only common criteria for the diagnosis, that does not exclude other traits and features in individuals.

Things like Alexithymia, Synesthesia and Savantism being discussed isn't even part of the diagnosis. It is important to make that distinction and not get those things confused.


No Ichinin, it wasn't directed at you at all (nor any posters in the thread). I should have specified the group I was referring to more exactly in that earlier post ie "some" meaning a tiny proportion of new members. The vast majority of new members don't arrive with fixed ideas about how the "real autistics" should be and start off trying to impose that on others.



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21 Jul 2016, 6:38 pm

Another stereotype is that aspies are dangerous and violent. It comes from the fact that when aspies commit murder they are often brutal, resulting in heavy publicity. In fact most aspies are calm and not violent at all but these rare cases of brutal murders by persons with Asperger's reinforce the stereotype that we as a group pose a risk to society.



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21 Jul 2016, 8:11 pm

B19 wrote:
http://strangeringodzone.blogspot.co.nz/2016/07/autistics-who-dont-fit-stereotypes.html


I get what she's trying to say, but she is a little loose with her terms of stereotypes vs required behaviours. Things like people with AS being techie geeks is indeed a stereotype (I'm assuming it is, as I can't say I've ever heard of it but I can believe it's commonly held) that is not always true. However if someone enjoys social chit chat and spending time with people and maintains friendships etc, then that person is unlikely to meet the diagnostic criteria for autism.

The danger I see with an article such as the above is that someone who is a bit socially awkward or geeky could read it and think the definition of autism is broader than it is and might think "I'm geeky, but I don't have those other problems but it's just an inaccurate stereotype that autistic people have those problems so I guess I'm autistic." It seems to be carte blanche for almost anyone to label themselves as autistic.

B19 wrote:
One of the great beauties of Wrong Planet is that it was intrinsically set up to cater to the neurodiverse and to be inclusive.


Tell that to the people who are abused, called names, ridiculed and ganged up on by a large clique if they express any agreement with any theory or study that suggests autistic people might have a deficit in any way whatsoever.

But we won't get into that here :)

B19 wrote:
One of the issues is that the heuristics to date have been based on research done on exclusively male samples - usually young male samples, and this bias is recognised though it has not been remedied (yet) as good research which is not age and gender biased on large male and female samples has not yet been done.


Autism is a developmental disorder so it makes perfect sense to focus on children. Not to say that adults with autism don't also need to be studied\helped etc, but by the time autistic people get to adulthood they often have very muddy waters from the various strategies they have picked up through the years, whereas autism in children is in a "pure" form, unsullied by life experience, and easier to study and draw conclusions from.

kaspermedmusen wrote:
Example: A person with Bipolar disorder and co-morbid autism might be manic for a lengthy time despite it being a core symptom of autism to become tired from long-time hyperactive behavior.


The only "core symptoms" are really the things laid out in the diagnostic criteria. While it's certainly true that many autistic people share many common traits, they are not all part of the diagnostic criteria. Becoming tired from hyperactive behaviour is not really related to autism that I've ever seen? So in your stated example having a manic episode would not be a bar to a diagnosis of autism, however obviously things are more complicated when other issues are involved (the criteria do generally cover this).

B19 wrote:
Because stereotypes are inaccurate representations


The definition of a stereotype is something that is simplified, not something that is inaccurate. Many stereotypes are accurate, from race to autism.

kraftiekortie wrote:
There are certain symptoms that MOST autistic people exhibit---like a tendency to "not get" social cues, especially in childhood.

There are certain symptoms that SOME autistic people exhibit--like sensory sensitivity.


What's important to realise is that there are symptoms that *all* autistic people must exhibit otherwise they can't be diagnosed. Autism isn't a huge bag of symptoms that you get to "pick any three" from. As I said above, there are indeed many traits that are seen among varied people, but these are fairly incidental.

kaspermedmusen wrote:
Another stereotype is that aspies are dangerous and violent. It comes from the fact that when aspies commit murder they are often brutal, resulting in heavy publicity. In fact most aspies are calm and not violent at all but these rare cases of brutal murders by persons with Asperger's reinforce the stereotype that we as a group pose a risk to society.


One thing I've noticed recently is the post-crime diagnosis of Aspergers. Someone is arrested for hacking, for fraud, or a range of other types of crime and the first person you see isn't a lawyer or a solicitor but a psychiatrist to get you an instant Aspergers diagnosis. I think the legal profession thinks it can be used as some kind of Get Out of Jail Free card, or at least to gain sympathy for the criminal.



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01 Jan 2019, 7:09 pm

Female, dyscalcalya, not interested in computers or machines


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01 Jan 2019, 10:04 pm

Perhaps it's worth noting that not all aspies will fit all of the common stereotypes. You can't shove every one of us into a single box.


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01 Jan 2019, 10:57 pm

ProfessorJohn wrote:
I have been told a few times on here that I can't possibly have Asperger's because I don't have the extreme dislike for being touched. I actually like physical affection. I wish the ones who said I can't have Asperger's were correct, though, but they aren't.
A few people in the past thought I wasn't on the spectrum because I do NOT have any of the stereotypical Aspie talents, skills, abilities. The average NT is better with computers & technology than me. I am NOT an intellectual at all & the average NT is smarter than me with most subjects & made much better grades than me in skewl. I also LOVE spending LOTS of time & being VERY affectionate with romantic partners. That said I am a very stereotypical Aspie when it comes to all the problems, weaknesses, struggles, & issues that we face.


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02 Jan 2019, 5:36 am

Dichotomies are easy.
Introversion-extroversion, sensitivity-insensitivity, male-female, rational-emotional, silly-serious, weird-conformist, atheist-religious, sensory avoidant-sensory seeking, clumsy-atlethic, shy-confident, awkward-social, etc.
Where the former's common and the latter's usually overlooked/ignored/doubted...


I'm an autistic female who doesn't suffer or deal with anxiety or psychological issues, has no nerdy or geeky image, has no masking and copes-a-lot image, and is inconsistently fluctuating in many ways not limiting to senses and perception, competence levels and preferences. :twisted:


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