Mental Retardation, Asperger's and awareness

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I don't know if this is true or not, but I've met a few people with things like Mental Retardation and Down's Syndrome who seem very unaware of the environment around them and are just happy wherever they are. And I have met/heard of people on the Autism spectrum who are too aware of what's going on around them, which is why they get overstimulated.

A severely Autistic person might look like they're completely unaware, but really they are still worried about sounds or too much movement or bright lights or whatever. Is this true?

When I started school, I was very frightened of the big change and everything, and didn't do too well on my first day, and I was talking to my mum about it the other day, and I said, ''but how was I so aware of this big change at an age as young as 4 and a half?'' and my mum said, ''well people on the Autism spectrum are more aware of those sorts of things.'' Then she told me about a woman she knew with a child with mild Mental Retardation, and when he started school he was completely unaware.

Could this be true? People on the Autism spectrum are typically prone to take too much in, even if they seem severe and unable to converse with anyone, and people with Mental Retardation are like the opposite; take in less information around them?

Obviously NTs are in between, but I'm leaving them out of this.

You're right about the autistics being oversensitive in many cases, but we can also be under-sensitive.

I'm pretty sure that hypersensitivity and sensory integration disorder is common in MR, too.

Just-plain-atypical sensory perception is probably common in both groups, though. Too much, too little, not knowing which things are significant; poor "filtering", inattentiveness... you name it.

Most people on the spectrum are oversensitive, although some people at the extremely low functioning end of the spectrum "live in their own little worlds" and are mostly undersensitive to the world around them.

I think that once we overcome the bad aspects of oversensitivity, it becomes one of the best existing arguments for the view that Autism is a gift. For example, someone at my school once said something slightly offensive about an Aspie boy who was in the same room at the time and when the young Aspie told him to stop being so offensive, his response was "Wow. You must have really good hearing." This puzzled me a lot because they were only approximately six metres apart.

Another time, some idiot in my French class who was sitting under a metre away from me decided it would be a good idea to shake a bottle of diet coke, and then drench me in it before planting the bottle on me; all of which he whispered to the person beside him! When he attempted this, I turned around and drenched him in his own juice before a drop touched me! During this, his neighbour commented "How the hell did he hear that?!"

And they call us the disabled ones! Do most Neurotypicals have such atrocious hearing?

I wouldn't imagine. Not in my experience.

I have heard someone say something about autists/aspies having "too much consciousness", I have always felt that, I want to say that this is what is happening. This was a weird feeling I had all through my school years, also when I was very young, so that is probably what you felt in the school years as well. ?

A theory I have had is that autists/aspies are aware of all the details around them and that this is something that is very stimulative. NTs however, are aware of the social "movements" around them, all the things that are happening, and they get relaxed by the habit of "melting" into these "movements". Like soothing music, this is something that is natural for them. When someone lacks this ability, they are stuck with the details. The painful details.

Not painful intrinsically. Just too many of them to process all at once. NTs just seem to be better at figuring out which things are important, and ignoring everything else before it even gets into their conscious minds. The rest of us--autistics and anybody with sensory processing disorder--end up doing the sensory equivalent of trying to drink from a fire hose.

I don't believe that those with Down Syndrome are unaware of their enviroment. M a y b e that is true for the severe cases of mental retardation.. The fact that someone seems ok doesn't mean that they are ok.

Here are some people with Down Sydrome who seem very aware of their environment to me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StwSnjtM ... re=related

Like a boss.

Also, it is wrong to assume that just because someone reacts less to stimulus means that they experience less of it. It could mean they experience so much stimulus that they choose to ignore as there is too much of it.

Yeah, they are as aware as NTs, I think. Once you get to the severe/profound level, I know there are often sensory disabilities too, or memory problems--like you might be blind and deaf at the same time, or not be able to remember things for very long, or not be able to remember several things at once. But Down syndrome is usually mild to moderate. From what I understand, it's more like they just have a harder time learning, especially at school. It's not some kind of totally different experience of life--at least, not any more different than the average disabled person's is.

Could you please clarify the meaning of the expression "like a boss"? I am not familiar with it!

It means that you did something in a really cool manner, like a boss.

It's gamer slang. (Video game players.)

A 'boss' in a video game is a more powerful enemy, who is plot-important in some way, and typically has a unique mechanic to the fight.

So if you're 'like a boss', it means you're better than the random mobs. (Mobs are the weak enemies which usually come in large numbers.)

Oh, and people with cognitive disabilities aren't unaware of things. They have more trouble understanding what's going on, but on average they'll take in about as much as most people.

In particular, the stereotype that they don't know about prejudice is wrong. I know of some people with Down Syndrome who have become housebound out of anxiety because of bullying from others due to their visible disability. A lot of people with DS probably notice subtle bullying more than many autistics, because they tend to be better at reading social cues. (Social skills are a strength in DS.) They may sometimes 'put on a good face' and pretend they don't notice, because they're socially aware enough to think hiding pain in front of victimizers is a good idea. But they definitely still find it hurtful.