"Low-Functioning" Auties - our duty to help them?

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I concur on this being a difficult question!

I attend a support group for an autism and Asperger's study organization and we have been discussing this as well; we are considering taking a more active role in the community since our group typically remains reclusive on awareness activities. Hopefully, we can make a difference someday!

The most I can offer for input is to be understanding and receptive, but treading the line between that and being condescending can be tough sometimes.

If anyone wants to help this "high functioning autie", you can send money (hey, some "low functioning auties" function better than me; I know of several who can work around people, for example).

I'll happily spend it on important goods, like guns.

I just want to clear it out - I pointed this issue as something that should be part of our goals. As I see it.

"Low functioning" Autistic people are just autistic as we are, if we fight for autistic people, I feel that we can't leave them behind. I really think that should be a part of our fight. I mean, seriously, when you hear that crazy mother of Autism Speaks saying she would kill her daughter, doesn't it break your heart? They are human beings and deserve love as anybody else. We should try to understand them, not rate them as second-class human beings. And if other autistic people feel they can communicate with them - perhaps they really can.

What do you mean by "low functioning"?

The historically correct one where the individual has an IQ below 70-80?

You wouldn't know this, but I tested 58 on an "official" one within the past year; does that make me "low functioning"?

I also tested "high" on another official one as a child; does that make me "high functioning"?

I'm the same person.

I don't think there is a misconception about low-function autistic individuals; a misconception can exist in some circumstances but not in general. I work for a special education classroom as a teaching assistant and there is a distinction. One of the students I work with she is 18 she cannot read, write or perform mathematics. She has no knowledge of geography, history, science or any other elementary knowledge. I have another student who is blind and autistic and wheel-chair bound and his learning abilities are similar to the aforementioned student. We also have another student who is autistic and his abilities are similar as well except he has some behavioral issues; if there is a change in his routine or something upsetting happens he becomes very upset and starts screaming and flailing his arms. Each student has made tremendous progress but they are low-functioning by it's very definition and it would be wrong to say otherwise; they would be placed in a different type of classroom and the services they received wouldn't accommodate what they need.

Let's take this thread in a less hostile direction.

For those of us who want to help "low-functioning autistics" (whether or not you like the term), how would we start? Where is a good place to volunteer, for example?

Raising awareness? Working in the jobs normally taken by clueless NTs? Starting our own answer to the JRC, a sort of... JRC with all the evil taken out and replaced with good?

Or speaking of the JRC, getting jobs there and being less shock-happy than average. Sure, you're doing bad... but if you're doing less bad than would be done under any other circumstances, and if you speak to reporters and stuff, then you're a net positive. (If one choice is -10 and the other is -5, then choosing the latter is an improvement of 5, right?)

Networking with parents to help them understand their kids?

Well, nobody can truly speak for anyone else (which I think you already mentioned in your post) but what I find confusing is how so many people get offended because supposedly people like Alex Plank and Ari Ne'eman are "trying to speak for" them or their child (this particularly applies to parents).They aren't speaking for others nor are they trying to, but even if they were, they have more of a right to than non-autistics and especially more than neurotypicals. Afterall, they're on the spectrum, so to some degree they can empathise with people who are lower functioning.

I don't propose that we speak for anyone, but it annoys me that people chastise you and accuse you of abusing them or their child by "speaking for them" when you're only saying what you feel. It further annoys me when those same people think that they can speak for their nonverbal,severely autistic children, as if they actually know if the childreally wants to get married or really wants the things the parents want for them.

But of course I strongly support any effort to defend their rights, to help them live a comfortable and happy life and to help them progress as much as they can in life just as I do for any other person. I think many aspies have to stop this snobbery of thinking that we are above LFA's. Many of us aspies have to stop undermining their accomplishments. Many of us have to stop stigmatising those who are lower funtioning. In short, we need to clean up our act.

I had once hoped to possibly become involved like some kind of "big brother" or intermediary or advocate or whatever else might be helpful to someone else on the spectrum , but I have yet to find any place or way to actually do that. I do know about there being some kind of "support group" activity in a nearby town, but nobody there knew of anyone already available when I asked about possible help with my mother-in-law. So, I do not really know whether what seems needed is actually even possible.

I think it is important to add that not everyone with AS/HFA is emotionally cut out to work with LFA kids.

Indeed. But there's no need for everyone to do so anyway.

Anyway, if there's no existing program... someone needs to start one. *considers mounds of homework* Just not me. Besides, I'm too young to start anything anyway, but if it ends up starting itself in my area I'll try to help.

...Failing that, what about an internet site? That way, we can all pitch in and... call it WP. Huh. Why isn't WP serving this function?

Maybe we should work on advertising.

And I don't see that any harm could come of someone starting a site specifically for autistic adults to calmly, rationally explain to hysterical NT parents that it's not the end of the world if their child stims a little. (Like that, only less dripping with sarcasm and bias.) Or something.

Maybe someone who knows some Aspies in person should start it. Start small, start local. A few volunteers, a few flyers on power poles. Then grow.

I've always said that the problem with the school system is that the teachers don't know what it's like to struggle in school (either academically or socially) and experience failure. The ones who teach are usually the ones who were successful in school. So they can't relate as well to people with LDs or more serious issues (whether it's dylsexia, Asperger's, autism, ADHD, whatever.) Even the special education teachers, who are trained in all these fields, still haven't experienced it for themselves. So when a student with a disability tells the teacher "You don't know what it's like for me" chances are they're right. I remember reading about a workshop called F.A.T (Frustration Anxiety Tension) which pretty much forced the educators participating to play the role of a disabled student (either physical or learning disability). The leader would then play the role of a discompassionate teacher, ridiculing the "students" (educators) for their disability, saying "Why can't you do this?" or "Why can't you do better?". This has proven to be a successful workshop and has gotten the point across to educators. However, it is completely impractical to provide this training to every educator in the world, so the next best solution would be to have an example of a student with a disability (whether it's dyslexia, Asperger's, a physical handicap, or something else) assist the teacher with dealing with these students, although it should be done in a subtle way. For instance, it shouldn't be "Class, meet Joey. He's going to help me work with Bobby". Depending on Bobby's age, it may or may not be best for him to be "in" on it (he may get embarrassed or resentful if he's an elementary school student, but by the time he's in high school, he'll probably be smart enough to find out on his own, so it's best he know before hand. However, it should be done subtly enough that the rest of the class doesn't catch on and resent and tease Bobby for it. For instance, if Joey were to be referred to as a "teaching assistant" and he were to focus on Bobby but help the rest of the class when they needed it as well, that would probably be ideal. That way, while they may wonder why Joey suddenly showed up or why they're the only class with a "teaching assistant" they probably won't question it that much that they'd catch on and start teasing Bobby or resenting him. But that being said, Joey should have some idea how to teach as well. Because he may understand what it's like to have a disability, but if he's a completely incompetent teacher, that really doesn't help. It would require a gradual shift in the system, since at this point most of the students who had learning disabilities in school and are now old enough to be teachers are not because they struggled in school and either gave up or barely squeaked by. At the very least, they'd have developed a resentment for the teaching system and would never go back to it. But if the few educators with disabilities could start a recruiting base at high schools and colleges, looking for people with disabilities, they wouldn't necessarily need an education degree (depending on the laws of the jurisdiction where the school was) but they would receive training on how to educate, and would also be able to have discussions with the other trainees about living and being educated while having a disability. This would allow them to be both successful and understanding as an educator for people with disabilities. And for those who say if you understand people with disabilities than you'll be able to teach them easily - that's bogus. One of my 6th grade teachers was probably understood me more than any other teacher I had in middle school, but I didn't learn a thing from him the whole year. He really helped me grow and mature, but quite frankly I'd have failed the final exams (in my middle school you had one teacher for 3 core subjects and the other for 2 - this one was the one I had for 3) if it were not for the fact that my 5th grade teacher (who was also very understanding of me) went well above and beyond the standard 5th grade curriculum. Conversely, I learned a lot in my High School Statistics Class this past year (12th grade) but the teacher was incredibly insensitive and intolerant of those with disabilities (and most of those without as well, for that matter.) So, there is no perfect solution, but if over time we implemented this plan, then we'd slowly improve the system. When I first started elementary school, an internet search for Asperger's syndrome in education returned 3 results. Now, it returns 502,000. Granted, there are more total web pages now, but there were about 320 million then, and 11.5 billion now. So that's 35 times as many, yet there are 167,000 times more pages about Asperger's Syndrome in Education. So, adjusting for the increase in size of the Web overall, there are approximately 4,700 times as many pages about Asperger's in education as there were when I started school. And this will continue to increase. So, that being said, I think those with AS and HFA could definitely assist better.