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naturalplastic
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12 Jul 2021, 3:06 pm

It is possible...that autistics are like gophers, and that aspies are like African rock hyraxes.

Outwardly similar gophers are rodents- related to other similar looking bucktoothed mammalia like hamsters, squirrels, beavers, rats, mice, and prarie dogs. Though similar in size and general shape appearance diet, and behavior, to gophers, rock hyraxes are not rodents, but are in a class by themselves, and are actually more closely related to elephants than they are to rodents.

So at some future time - when they more about physical brain structures of autistics (for example) and get other more advanced data from every field related- it may well be that we will break aspergers asunder from autism again because it may turn that aspie (like hyraxes) are a different animal from the autistic gophers whom they outwardly resemble. But until then...we are all just different kinds of gophers.



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12 Jul 2021, 3:29 pm

I usually say people with Asperger's are like what cats are to lions and tigers.


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funeralxempire
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12 Jul 2021, 3:38 pm

Joe90 wrote:
I usually say people with Asperger's are like what cats are to lions and tigers.


But aren't lions more social than cats? :nerdy:


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12 Jul 2021, 3:49 pm

Seems like a lot of speculation and opinion at this point.

I hope there will be a defining genetic sequence that can tell us more.



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12 Jul 2021, 4:35 pm

Functioning labels are ableist BS. No more throwing "low functioning" under the bus just to feel better about yourself. You're autistic, end of.



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12 Jul 2021, 4:45 pm

On my autistic driving license (AKA clinical diagnosis) it says high functioning autism / aspergers

I agree with the previous post - functioning labels are most unpleasant

I am autistic


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Joe90
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12 Jul 2021, 7:27 pm

funeralxempire wrote:
Joe90 wrote:
I usually say people with Asperger's are like what cats are to lions and tigers.


But aren't lions more social than cats? :nerdy:


Cats can be social too. I used to have a cat that was like a dog, and she was the only cat I'd ever met that meowed at other animals, in the same tone as she meowed at humans.

But back to the topic, I'm not comparing the traits of different cats, I'm just giving an analogy.


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Benjamin the Donkey
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13 Jul 2021, 8:51 am

The term "aspergers" has no meaning apart from autism.


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13 Jul 2021, 10:27 am

Saying to me that I'm autistic and that's that is like saying to a non-binary person that he's a boy and that's that or she's a girl and that's that.

I don't identify as autistic. I don't feel autistic at all, but I can't not have ASD because I was too stereotypical Aspie when I was a teenager to not have it, and ASDs aren't something you just grow out of.


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funeralxempire
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13 Jul 2021, 10:29 am

I'm not autistic, except for that form of autism I was diagnosed with.

Sounds legit. 8)


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Joe90
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13 Jul 2021, 11:13 am

funeralxempire wrote:
I'm not autistic, except for that form of autism I was diagnosed with.

Sounds legit. 8)


Bit like autism is a difference, not a disorder, even though ASD stands for Autism Spectrum Disorder.


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funeralxempire
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13 Jul 2021, 11:35 am

Joe90 wrote:
funeralxempire wrote:
I'm not autistic, except for that form of autism I was diagnosed with.

Sounds legit. 8)


Bit like autism is a difference, not a disorder, even though ASD stands for Autism Spectrum Disorder.


I'd agree, which is why I have no issue with people referring to autism as a disorder.

I get confused when double-speak is mandated, that's why I try to advocate for language to be clear and precise as often as possible.

I'd agree that the medical field sometimes over-emphasizes people's feelings over clear language and in this context it makes little sense.

Further, the core of your complaint seems to stem from your own attitudes towards autism, not from whether or not the term is actually applicable to describe your current diagnosis or how the medical community understands that diagnosis. Asperger's is an autistic spectrum disorder after all.

By your own explanation you're a person who has been diagnosed with a form of autistic spectrum disorder. I'm pretty sure that means you're a member of the club even if you'd prefer to not identify as such.


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Joe90
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13 Jul 2021, 11:59 am

funeralxempire wrote:
Joe90 wrote:
funeralxempire wrote:
I'm not autistic, except for that form of autism I was diagnosed with.

Sounds legit. 8)


Bit like autism is a difference, not a disorder, even though ASD stands for Autism Spectrum Disorder.


I'd agree, which is why I have no issue with people referring to autism as a disorder.

I get confused when double-speak is mandated, that's why I try to advocate for language to be clear and precise as often as possible.

I'd agree that the medical field sometimes over-emphasizes people's feelings over clear language and in this context it makes little sense.

Further, the core of your complaint seems to stem from your own attitudes towards autism, not from whether or not the term is actually applicable to describe your current diagnosis or how the medical community understands that diagnosis. Asperger's is an autistic spectrum disorder after all.

By your own explanation you're a person who has been diagnosed with a form of autistic spectrum disorder. I'm pretty sure that means you're a member of the club even if you'd prefer to not identify as such.


I'm just not keen on being lumped in with autism. I often wish Asperger's was a separate diagnosis, like ADHD or learning difficulties or other disorders that usually share similar traits to autism but aren't on the autism spectrum.
But I'm not one of those who want to think that ASD isn't a disorder.


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14 Jul 2021, 12:22 am

Mona Pereth wrote:
So it was eventually decided that it made more sense to classify autism severity levels based on current functioning only, rather than on one's past history, and to treat any language/speech difficulties as a separate dimension from autism severity per se.

Interesting point. Also disregarded are patterns indicating future decreased functioning, I'm still "on it" about my daughter's lack of diagnosis. We'll see if her functioning continues to skirt the ASD diagnosis. How much anxiety and hardship is "enough"? I'm reading a book right now ("Divergent Mind") that suggests many hyperfocused, highly intellectual girls in a structured environment can often "pass" (as NT) for decades. Back to topic, I consider my daughter to be Autistic: on the Autism Spectrum towards what is sometimes called Asperger's.

The way the diagnose Autism, I guess I would have been "in" and "out" of it based on environmental stress. So when I find a supportive workplace and the kids are grown and I minimize my social interactions, will I no longer be Autistic/Aspie? Until the next crisis and then I'll be Autistic/Aspie again? Silly, silly, silly. I can see it now: my daughter was Autistic from 12 to 28 then again 37 to 43 and at 62 to ... silly, silly, silly. I hear that kids do have to reevaluate periodically (in US). I'm glad I don't have to. I probably wasn't Autistic last Wednesday, but I was really Autistic Monday. :P



ezbzbfcg2
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14 Jul 2021, 12:39 am

funeralxempire wrote:
By your own explanation you're a person who has been diagnosed with a form of autistic spectrum disorder. I'm pretty sure that means you're a member of the club even if you'd prefer to not identify as such.


I suppose since so many people think autism = classical autism, they shy away from the label if they're HFA or Asperger's or PDD-NOS. So, even actual autists are in denial about being autistic if they're higher up. (They're still autistic regardless).

But I think Asperger's still has a place as a type of Autism, it helps people who'd otherwise be oblivious realize that there's more to the spectrum than the classical type.

Many undiagnosed Aspies may be naive and not realize there's more to autism than classic, and therefore never discover why they are the way they are.

There are many different measurements for rectangles. A square is a specific type of rectangle, with unique properties that differentiate it from other rectangles. But it still falls under the spectrum of 4-sided shape. Asperger's is the square component of the Autistic rectangle universe.



funeralxempire
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14 Jul 2021, 12:47 am

Joe90 wrote:
funeralxempire wrote:
Joe90 wrote:
funeralxempire wrote:
I'm not autistic, except for that form of autism I was diagnosed with.

Sounds legit. 8)


Bit like autism is a difference, not a disorder, even though ASD stands for Autism Spectrum Disorder.


I'd agree, which is why I have no issue with people referring to autism as a disorder.

I get confused when double-speak is mandated, that's why I try to advocate for language to be clear and precise as often as possible.

I'd agree that the medical field sometimes over-emphasizes people's feelings over clear language and in this context it makes little sense.

Further, the core of your complaint seems to stem from your own attitudes towards autism, not from whether or not the term is actually applicable to describe your current diagnosis or how the medical community understands that diagnosis. Asperger's is an autistic spectrum disorder after all.

By your own explanation you're a person who has been diagnosed with a form of autistic spectrum disorder. I'm pretty sure that means you're a member of the club even if you'd prefer to not identify as such.


I'm just not keen on being lumped in with autism. I often wish Asperger's was a separate diagnosis, like ADHD or learning difficulties or other disorders that usually share similar traits to autism but aren't on the autism spectrum.
But I'm not one of those who want to think that ASD isn't a disorder.


I guess what I'm getting at is that at the end of the day the boundaries between subtypes are too fuzzy to make chopping them up into distinct things natural. There's too much diagnostic overlap between what's Asperger's and what's HFA. If diagnostic criteria aren't clear enough for the experts to see clear boundaries I don't believe it's a problem to remove the boundaries and just recognize that individuals are impacted in varying ways to differing degrees.

I wouldn't want the label to be viewed as synonymous with the worst cases but since it isn't I don't mind identifying with it openly enough that it might contribute to dispelling that notion. I accept everyone's mileage may vary though.


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戦争ではなく戦争と戦う