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ursaminor
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12 Feb 2010, 4:04 pm

There is very little difference between someone with Aspeger's syndrome and someone with classic autism.
The argument I see that you use is that people will lump all autistics together in every way.
To me it seems highly unlikely that this will happen, because I think people are not that stupid.



Veresae
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12 Feb 2010, 4:44 pm

ursaminor wrote:
There is very little difference between someone with Aspeger's syndrome and someone with classic autism.


Classic high functioning autism, yes; but not low functioning autism. I actually think they're going in the wrong direction and should put HFA with AS, instead of the other way around, since the two *are* so very similar and since it would probably benefit those with HFA. If someone hears that you have autism, they tend to judge you more harshly than if they hear you have AS, usually because fewer people know what AS is so they're more open minded about it, instead of automatically thinking that you could never find a place in society. Therefore they'd probably get more encouragement from others. It actually brings up another point: will people with AS be expected to be a part of society if they are simply just dubbed "autistic"?

ursaminor wrote:
The argument I see that you use is that people will lump all autistics together in every way.
To me it seems highly unlikely that this will happen, because I think people are not that stupid.


I do. XD And I think that history, and even modern society, shows that I'm right about that. People are always ignorant about other kinds of people. Consider the amount of misconceptions about the gothic subculture.



justMax
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12 Feb 2010, 4:53 pm

Moony wrote:
MindBlind wrote:
I'm proud to be an aspie that does embrace this change. I just don't understand how people will go on about tolerance and how it is wrong to stigmatise someone because they have autism and yet condemn the idea of themselves being reffered to as autistic. Isn't that hypocritical?

No.

See, we understand Autism. But most people do not. Most people see "autism" as a synonym for "ret*d" Personally, I doubt most of us would mind if it were simply a name change. But now, when we go to a job interview, we will have to say "I have autism." To an uninformed person, that could reflect much worse on us than being able to say "I have Asperger's." It's more than a name change, we're being lumped into a negative public stereotype.

It's not being hypocritical to want to avoid that title, because we are some of the few who understand it.


Isn't it our duty then to use our ability to understand the locked in aspects of those who are LFA, as well as communicate more normally with NT's, to educate and assist everyone understand what autism really is?



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12 Feb 2010, 4:57 pm

bhetti wrote:
I'm fine with it. in fact, it makes more sense to absorb it into the spectrum.

however, I really hate the terms "high functioning" and "low functioning". it's not as if spectrum issues are the same in everyone. extreme sensory issues make life difficult for a lot of people, but it doesn't mean they're incapable of thinking or communicating or learning. same with social issues. if you want to socialize but are horrible at it, does that make you high functioning because you want to socialize, or low functioning because you're bad at it? I'd like to see subscales that report without passing judgment.

also, it would be really nice for people to get over the IQ issue when there are communication or sensory issues. a person who can't verbalize or complete a test because of sensory issues can't be given an IQ score.


here! here! for subscales and the IQ issue, i heartily agree--the idea of trying to slap a single numerical value on a concept as amorphous as "intelligence" is ridiculous in and of itself, IMO



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13 Feb 2010, 1:11 am

starvingartist wrote:
bhetti wrote:
I'm fine with it. in fact, it makes more sense to absorb it into the spectrum.

however, I really hate the terms "high functioning" and "low functioning". it's not as if spectrum issues are the same in everyone. extreme sensory issues make life difficult for a lot of people, but it doesn't mean they're incapable of thinking or communicating or learning. same with social issues. if you want to socialize but are horrible at it, does that make you high functioning because you want to socialize, or low functioning because you're bad at it? I'd like to see subscales that report without passing judgment.

also, it would be really nice for people to get over the IQ issue when there are communication or sensory issues. a person who can't verbalize or complete a test because of sensory issues can't be given an IQ score.


here! here! for subscales and the IQ issue, i heartily agree--the idea of trying to slap a single numerical value on a concept as amorphous as "intelligence" is ridiculous in and of itself, IMO

+1
IQ means little.

Also, I think most of the people who replied to me have equally valid points. Less than stating my own opinion, I was giving a reason why this change could be an upsetting event for an Aspie.


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ursaminor
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13 Feb 2010, 8:49 am

Veresae wrote:
Classic high functioning autism, yes; but not low functioning autism. I actually think they're going in the wrong direction and should put HFA with AS, instead of the other way around, since the two *are* so very similar and since it would probably benefit those with HFA. If someone hears that you have autism, they tend to judge you more harshly than if they hear you have AS, usually because fewer people know what AS is so they're more open minded about it, instead of automatically thinking that you could never find a place in society. Therefore they'd probably get more encouragement from others. It actually brings up another point: will people with AS be expected to be a part of society if they are simply just dubbed "autistic"?
But there will be some kind of system to assign severity of symptoms.
It will show autism more as a spectrum.

Veresae wrote:
I do. XD And I think that history, and even modern society, shows that I'm right about that. People are always ignorant about other kinds of people. Consider the amount of misconceptions about the gothic subculture.
What misconceptions do you speak of?



Odin
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13 Feb 2010, 10:18 pm

I'm OK with the change. I prefer calling myself HFA than AS, anyway


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Lecks
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13 Feb 2010, 10:24 pm

The change doesn't affect me in any noticable way. I always reffer to myself as HFA anyway, with emphasis on the "HF" part, out of convenience.


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