The Truth About Autism: Scientists Reconsider

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abuend, there are people who're nonverbal who score high on standardized IQ tests; there are also people who're verbal that score low. It's not clear cut, i.e., nonverbal equates to scoring poorly on standardized tests.

Personally, self-help and adaptive functioning should be included in our "autistic intelligence" if one is to utilize non-standard tests. It takes intelligence to feed oneself, it takes intelligence to get oneself out of bed, it takes intelligence to adapt and thrive in society like our "peers".

Just because most of us may score well on a certain test doesn't mean there's some truth that's being missed.

Intelligence is the capacity to learn, and then apply that knowledge functionally; we kinda lack in that last part.

To be honest, I think the title of the article is somewhat misleading. What I mean by that is that it insinuates that the whole of science (not just one part) is reconsidering the identity of Autism.

The area of science that would be reconsidering matters would be medicine. That's a good thing because it means a change in thinking when it comes to medication as a treatment (and I for one welcome that sort of change!).

But we shouldn't mistake this for believing that genetic science is making any reconsiderations to their silent majority view (that Autism is genetic at it's origin).

Bottom line - Amanda Baggs is a trail blazer for all things positive about Autism, and that includes LFA. I'm firmly of the view - and Daniel touched on this - that an IQ is not an all round judgment on a person's cleverness. Heck, there are people who have an IQ below 70 who can actually function within their restrictions quite well. And yet there are people who have an IQ well into three figures (the 100's) and yet can be absolute twits! Intelligence - like everything is - is just a tool that depends on how it's used.

And I know that there are LFA's (who don't get that DX without an IQ below 70) who fulfill both sides. Just when the bigots think an LFA is completely dumb, they do something that would be seen as hardly dumb at all. In other words - just because LFA's are inherently unintelligent as a medical fact doesn't mean they are stupid.

These are all factors that medicine is considering, and Amanda has played a part in bringing this to their attention. And for that I say good for her!

good idea

IMO most people with LFA that are labeled as mentally ret*d really aren't mentally ret*d.

I have seen that video by Amanda Baggs and in all honesty that video is totally alien to me. Maybe it's just me because I am high functioning and very verbal.

Just goes to show there is more than one type of intelligence.

It's just showing a video of "stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms"; her explanation of such is totally alien to me, but that's subjective.

I sway side to side as soon as I stand up, and I always have; like a penguin that's not walking. I have no idea why I do it, perhaps once, before I knew I did it it was to alleviate anxiety from the overwhelming internal and external environment (emotional to sensory), but now that I notice it, it makes me more anxious as I don't wish to draw attention to myself, i.e., people can see me doing this can't they?

I'd have probably once been considered "high-functioning and very verbal" but possibly for different reasons. I doubt it's that, because all of this was true of me at that time just as much as now. (It's also not my only reason for doing those things, it's just one aspect of it. Can't describe my entire life in one video.) I think it's more about diversity among autistic people, just like Donna Williams writing is totally familiar to me, but I've seen some people who look at it and go "What is this, I can't even understand it, WTF?" And the lives of some autistic people (whether "verbal" or "nonverbal", "HFA" or "LFA") are totally foreign to me as well, and then some (also in all those categories) are very similar to me. There are underlying similarities between most autistic people, but those similarities manifest as a lot of surface-level and even beneath-surface-level differences between us.

I agree. The problem is how the profession clings to outdated behavioral psychology. You can’t measure intelligence in nonverbal people with standard tests. Just because intelligence can’t be communicated in LFA people doesn’t mean they aren’t thinking and analyzing in their own way.

and change!