The Alphabet of Autism (A - I) need help with J -Z

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Made this video of common traits or characteristics of people on the Autism Spectrum. I would like to make a few more, continuing on through the alphabet from J to Z, and would appreciate your help. 32,457 heads are better than 1. That's a joke of course, so maybe J could be "Joking". But I'm not really crazy about J is for Joking. Anyone have a better idea for J and any or all of the letters that follow? Comments and advice welcome.
So far I have :
A/Autism
B/Bully
C/Communication
D/Disorder
E/Echolalia
F/Feeling
G/Gaze Avoidance
H/Hyperverbal
I/Inertia

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mBVmWwTzGY[/youtube]

Here are some I came up with. If I think of more later, I'll add them:

Jokes and idoms are often misunderstood
K
Lack of reciprocal conversation
Memorization of facts
Need for sameness
Obsessive interests
Pervasive Developmental Disorders
Q
Routines
Sensory issues
Tendency to be rigid
U
Varied levels of functioning
W
X
Years behind socially
Z

-OddDuckNash99-

Last edited by OddDuckNash99 on 17 Jan 2010, 11:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.

How about:

Q= question authority

I know this is not a diagnostic symptom of ASDs, but it certainly seems to be a frequent trait, often because the person with an ASD is being asked to do something which does not logically make sense to them.

Or maybe just

Q= question

to illustrate the natural curiosity and tendency for independent thought exhibited by those with ASDs.

And maybe

U= underdiagnosed

And for X:

X= XCI

XCI in Roman numerals is 91, and the rate of autism in the US is now estimated to be 1 in 91. I don't mean to exclude non-Americans, but X is a hard one!

Or perhaps, playing on the "Wrongplanet" theme, we could make use of the prefix "xeno" as in "stranger" or "alien", as in the words "xenophobia" or "xenomorph". That might be too negative though.

K = kaleidoscope

This indicates how differently autism can functionally express itself in different people even though the basics are the same- a "kaleidoscope of ability," and also how people can view the same autistic person differently depending on whether they focus on deficits or strengths (the equivalent of "turning" the kaleidoscope to see a different pattern). Maybe I'm carrying the metaphor too far though.

Okay, last post (I swear):

Z= zebra

Ever heard, "When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras." In other words, look at the most common causes/conditions first. Well for many adult autistics, their doctors/therapists are too focused on "horses" such as bipolar disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, etc,. and completely forget about the "zebra" of autism or Asperger Syndrome.

Another "z" might be:

Z= zealous

to indicate how zealously autistics pursue their special interests. This one might be a better choice, since the relationship to autism is a little more obvious and direct.

On another note, why is the built-in Wrongplanet spell-check giving me a red line under "Asperger"? When I right-click on it, it suggests asperity, aspersion, etc. Alex, please add "Asperger" to the built-in dictionary!

Thanks so much OddDuckNash and LostInSpace. Your ideas are really great and exciting. Some would never have occurred to me so I really appreciate your help with this. Please don't hesitate to respond as often as you like, never have to apologize for that. And .....may I quote you and/or give you credit on the next videos if I use your suggestions? I can do it with annotations over the scene or within the body of the spoken text.

What do you think about using "Wrong Planet" for my W sequence? I don't know if that would be appropriate. I would like to do that because that's what comes to my mind when I think W in relation to Autism.

Yes, absolutely, any way you want to do it is fine. It actually would be okay even if you didn't give credit, but it would be neat to see my name on there.



I think that's a neat idea, and it might attract newcomers to the website.

Sure, you are more than welcome to credit me if you'd like. And, LostInSpace, I loved "z" for "zealous"! That was great! This was a lot of fun. I like alphabet games.
-OddDuckNash99-

Thanks OddDuckNash. I'm glad you think this is fun. I love Z for zealous too. I also loved your suggestions of
Obsessive interests and Pervasive Developmental Disorders

Thanks, guys! I think my favorites were "Inertia" (ugh, such an issue!) and I also heart "Obsessive interests."

I also agree that it was fun!

Why is B for bully? It makes it sound like autistic people are bullies.

You make a very good point. I didn't think it would come across that way, but now that you mention it, I can see how that might be the case. When I make annotations I will make it clear that autistic people are often the victims of bullying. Thanks for bringing that to my attention, buryuntime.

I've made an annotation on the B for Bully scene in the video. I think it's much clearer now that people on the spectrum are the target of bullies, although we do know that they can also be bullies themselves. I may have to go back and make that point clear as well.

Wow, has the video been part of the post since you first posted it? How did I not notice that? I only went looking for a video after reading this post. Stupid crappy visual processing that makes me overlook anything that is formatted differently/looks different- my brain just ignores it. Anyway, the video is good.

Xtra Strong Interests/Obsessions ? XD