classic autists message to aspies

Post Reply New Topic

thanks very much KB8CWB,very much apreciated!
had to take PRN haliperidol late this morning because was so depressed,and getting agressive/self injuring because of the depression,its an evil illness.


ass burgers is a disablist insult from people who think theyre being funny towards aspies whereas low functioning is just a medical non diagnostic term,theyre very different and am not personaly offended for being under that label,it purely explains the presentation of autism due to varying levels of intelectual disability,some people use 'autistic' as an insult but it doesnt stop people using it.

severe autism isnt automaticaly LFA,people can be severely autistic and high functioning;quite aspies/HFAs on here fit that label such as steel maiden.

agreed,btbnnyr.

I think many of us struggle with depression, I know I do and has been worse of late. One reason I've not been round much. And the SNRI (I think it is called) has not been helping me as much anymore. First year was pretty good, but last few months I have been in that dark place more often then not.

It is more likely the low functioning people are not able to communicate well, but some have participated in these forums.

I think you're a very inspirational person. And I agree with every word that KB8CWB has said. You're one of the wisest people I can think of and you've helped and supported members of the community. You're always raising awareness of autism and ID and sharing endless knowledge and experience. I'm always learning something new from your posts every day. And look how far you've come: you're an ID and autism activist and you've accomplished so much. One day I would like to become a deaf rights and autism activist like you.

what SNRI are on? why do think they stop working?
am in the same situation,mine [cymbalta,SNRI] used to work ok as well.



it isnt just communication barriers,those of us labeled under LFA are not given the same chances to come onto communities like this,am lucky in that was brought up around PCs since five years old and lurked forums since sixteen.
most LFAs are treated as unable to turn a computer on,in fact it had been criteria for LFA at the ID institution had once lived in,and because had been able to turn the PC of mine on they said it wasnt LFA let alone autism.
it isnt impossible for us to access communities;am on a intelectualy disabled adults community with several of us being autistic as well,unfortunately its regulary infiltrated by people who arent ID who are there to groom us,there needs to be better security such as requiring a scan of our ID diagnosis.

on forums we need to see an accepting environment,its hard to feel accomodated like that when people regulary use intelectual disability terms like ret*d/retardation as disablist slurs on here and elsewhere.

I too am on cymbalta. I think it is not working as well due to my depression is back bad as ever. That and I am getting those weird brain zaps or flashes that one gets when stopping the med. Reason I know of those is because I ran out on 2 occasions and had trouble getting it. So not sure why this is happening. Thought was just a fluke but this last week has been very bad.

what level of cymbalta is it? it might be that the cymbalta needs upgrading,mine is prescribed at a higher than max recommended level for clinical depression.
what medication are hoping to change to next?
am thinking of atryptaline if get a choice because it works on neuropathic pain as well.

I am on 60mg per day currently. I have no idea what med I would change to if I did. It did work well for over a year. I also have high pain levels to deal with including neuropathic. Have to see doc soon but currently no GP as of insurance changes. Need to find another. Joys of US medical system.

mine is twice that so they might upgrade it if feel its worth the risk of waiting.

have a look into amytriptiline and butriptyline as those two are supposed to be very good with the neuropathic pain to, butryptaline is based on amytrptaline its supposed to be less sedative but just as good, did a bit of wikipediaing the other night.
can relate to the gp issue,havent got one either,am waiting to join a new clinic but we have NHS walk in centres over here that any random person can walk into and get non emergency medications/ medical help if needed,just takes an hour or more of waiting.
pity are not planning a trip to the UK any time soon.

THANK you for saying this.

I am severely autistic, but I am NOT low functioning.

People who don't know me well sometimes think that I can't be "severely" autistic, because I'm smart enough that I was able to earn a B.A. in computer science and because I'm usually able to hold conversations IF I'm in a headspace that allows me to interact with someone I don't know very well in the first place.

This is really a serious problem for me, and it's been a serious problem for me since before I knew what autism WAS. This misunderstanding of the difference between "low-functioning" vs. "severe" autism leads people to assume that I'm being an attention loving crybaby when I try to speak up for myself -- which led me to stop speaking up for myself at a young age and forced me to suffer in silence for almost my entire life. I am trying to unlearn this passive attitude, but it's hard. It's really hard.

Last edited by AmethystRose on 19 Aug 2014, 6:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

KingdomOfRats I am sorry to read you are experiencing depression at the moment.

While I do my best to make people feel better about themselves here you are one of the main people that has done that for me.

We are all separated here by geography living in our own little pockets of isolation but we are all real people and I can tell you a lot of people here have a lot of respect for you including me.

KingdomOfRats has an understanding of the subject that would put most autism specialists to shame.
Adding in posts like yours I will admit I find this subject a bit confusing.

I don't fully understand myself never mind anybody else on the spectrum.

hi AmethystRose,
its pure ignorance and a throwback to ancient pyschology history that people believe only those of us with LFA can have severe autism,am usualy not one of those counted under LFA by people with that attitude either because am able to use a computer.

autism can be mild,moderate,severe or profound and depending on the persons intelectual/mental capacity this can be low or high functioning,either way this has a impact on the persons global functioning and autistic presentation,so of course a severe HFA wont stick out like we do but it does mean they have severe autism whether those who like to stick to jurassic stereotypes want to believe it or not.
autism awareness still has a long way to go in own view.


thanks sharkattack.
woud be good as a autism detector even in sub clinical autists,
have successfuly spotted many working in support services so far as well as relatives,who needs to employ expensive pyschologists when they can pay an autistic in cans of redbull?
unfortunately am not able to give official documents but coud probably photoshop[well GIMP] one up.

KingdomOfRats, I have read many of your posts.

I think that a great disservice has been done to you by the people who decided that how someone scores on "IQ" tests is an indicator of their total intelligence and ability to understand the world -- those people who made up the designations "low-functioning" and "intellectually disabled" don't understand their own tests.

IQ just isn't that valuable of a measure of anything other than a person's ability to do well on an IQ test.

I see you as another data point supporting the belief that I and many other people hold that IQ is BUNK.

Just got done with dinner but I thought the amytriptiline sounded familiar. Also known as elavil here and had been on it. Was causing seizures and tongue biting (severe) in my sleep. I had to discontinue that one. As well as cymbalta had been doing, if higher dosages are allowed perhaps that is the key. Sounds like you are on 120mg per day and I know some on it up to 180mg per day. Once I get the doctor, I'll let the doctor sort it out. I do appreciate the help and thanks! I hate being like this....

Yes it would be a pity, but then I might be rather hard to be rid of if I did make it over there. Not fond of being here and if I could I'd immigrate elsewhere. I had a grandparent born in Douglas, IOM but no parent plus the US is not part of the commonwealth. If it was, moving would be a snap (almost). Have to tough it out over here. Someday I will make it over there as I have many friends and relatives on that side of the Atlantic.

Last edited by KB8CWB on 19 Aug 2014, 7:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I have a real life friend that has classic autism, and without going to detail I strongly agree with you.



How would you suggest I have made that thread?

I received some backlash in that thread which I thought resolved.

I was referred to as a sociopath by one in that thread. It shocked me when I read that post, because I wasn't expecting it. I still don't understand exactly what I did wrong. This may be a bad example, but I saw it as the same thing had I asked a person with ADHD to describe what it is like.



This is the reason I was so distinct in my thread.

From my understanding it works like this:

+ You can be severely autistic and 'high-functioning' (a medical term, not my own)
+ You can be severely autistic and 'low-functioning'
+ You can be mildly autistic and 'high-functioning'
+ You can be mildly autistic and 'low-functioning'

The typical use of functioning labels refer to IQ thresholds or the ability to conceal the disorder, with the former being the most common. Being 'high-functioning', from my point of view, strictly means that the person scores over 70 on a specific IQ test, and 'low-functioning' refers to a score below.

KingdomOfRats specifies that severe HFA won't stick out as a severe LFA does, and that indicates a different presentation of autism.

It is evident that 'severely autistic' or 'classically autistic' do not differentiate between presentation as LFA does. I want to hear about a particular presentation of autism from those that have it.

If not to refer to that presentation as LFA, what term should be used instead?

I didn't mean to involve my thread in this but it's clearly had a negative impact on some, and I really want to know other people's opinion on this matter. If this thread is for classic autistics to message others, then it seems a suitable place for such discussion.



I agree that it is a disservice, but personally I believe there are many different types of intelligence.

IQ tests can moderately assess potential aptitude, but they're not so effective in measuring the abilities of those who are not NT.

Furthermore, wisdom, and many other important characteristics are not accounted for.

It is true, that KingdomOfRats never fails to share incredibly valuable insight with her posts.

Last edited by Norny on 19 Aug 2014, 7:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.