Autistic Language: Just as legitimate as other languages?

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I know many of you have seen this, Amanda Baggs has stated that she can sometimes speak to other so-called "low functioning" autistics using their language.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnylM1hI2jc[/youtube]

What do you think?

EDIT: do you have other information on how "low-functioning" autistics can speak and communicate with each other?

She annoys me, and I've read a few things claiming she's a 'hoax' (if that makes sense... an actor...) which makes me a bit sceptical.

To be honest, my first thought was "Oooh, keyboard!" I love running my fingers over keyboards.

I don't really relate because when I stim and rock and whatnot, it's certainly not a language, and I'm not 'interacting with the world' - that's what I'm doing when I meditate - I'm more just satisfying my sensory urges and cravings, and so calming myself down and allowing myself to focus on other things I should be focussing on because I'm not distracted by irritating sensory urges.

She posts here as Anbeund I hope you know.

Cool! I didn't know that. I knew Anbuend identifies as LFA (which is rare on this board), but I didn't know she is Amanda Baggs.

lol flame war in 5....4....3....

You should consider the credibility, and the possible motivations, of the people who make those claims.

YEP, It's TRUE! And I feel the SAME as LeKiwi(annoyed, at how she portrays herself in the media originally). I have even told amanda so, in a polite way. I respect her right to react how she wants and, to those that stick around to hear her out, she ends up getting the message across. As for a flame war, It never seems to go far.

BTW as for faking, I doubt it! That would be a LOT of acting, and senseless.

I'm a bit sceptical of the sites saying she's a hoax (as they also say a few other things I don't agree with or that are infactual, which automatically makes the alarm bells go off!), but I guess once you've read something like that it makes it hard to shake the notion altogether, if that makes any sense?

Knowing that she's anbuend makes me totally disregard it though; nobody who posts what she posts could be a hoax or an actor - clearly whoever wrote that stuff had a different agenda to push, though whatever it was I may not ever know (probably because I've not ever visited the sites again, for above said reasons!).

Anbuend/Amanda - don't take it personally, hun (it's the videos/media, not your posts on here, by the way) - lots of people annoy me.

I cannot speak for others but I have watched her video: "In My Language". Language involves a sender and a receiver who can understand and interpret the coded message and respond back. In other words it's a two way street.

Amanda's interpretation on her video falls short of this definition for a very simple reason. The communication is only flowing in one direction. You cannot have communication with inanimate objects and the environment is an "inanimate object". Just my opinion.

Perhaps it's just semantics, but that was why I couldn't agree with the word language either.

But hey, maybe some people see the world as being alive? I do to an extent... there's energy everywhere that I do see on occasion, and you could argue that (besides the plants and trees and flowers and bees and animals and organisms and all else) the planet itself is a living entity... But for the purposes of general understanding, I don't think 'language' is necessarily the right word.

Maybe she perceives the environment as responding back? Just a guess though; really you would have to ask her.

She has stated that she can speak to other autistics in that language sometimes.

I didn't know that either, and I watched that video before.

Anbuend isn't fake,there is a hate campaign against her by a certain infamous lady who everyone knows the name of by now,she's the 'autism police' of the internet.



am do not have a special way of communicating,am use echolalia when verbal,makaton,head banging,hit self in a specific way,and force a grunting noise in back of throat using spit,also use a laptop and pda [though not if can help it],am will use anything if am desperate to get something said and one of the others isn't there/not working.
every other lfa am have lived with speak mostly or completely makaton,even the most profound lfa am have lived with,have learnt it,it all completely destroys the offensive non verbal/speech impaired=prof. ret*d stereotype,a male lfa am used to live with,who had prof. MR,would talk all day [verbally] only stopping to eat or sleep,though it wasnt free speech.
am do not think there is a secret language,but that is from own experience,havent lived with all lfas,or hfas or nts.

Who is this autism police person? I haven't heard of her or know the name, but it'd be nice to know who to keep an eye out for - I was really surprised to hear it's anbuend; that's definitely not a faker.

PM me if you don't want to put the name up here.

sorry LeKewi,always assume everyone knows it.

It's Droopy.
shes not on this forum though,she has a thing about aspies.
thing is actually too mild for a word there.