The question I’d like to raise is, “really?”

No, not really. Based on studies conducted throughout the last two decades, it would appear that Mr. Kirby is completely wrong to say that most autistics are “low functioning.” The most recent studies which look into the official number of individuals diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome paint a very different picture.

According to a study conducted in England during the 90s (Asperger’s was only recognized in 1981, a decade earlier), one in three hundred people had already been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. However, a study conducted in Sweden a little more recently found that the rate of Asperger’s Syndrome diagnoses has increased to 1 in 250. ¹ Since the CDC says that 1 in 150 people have Autism, those with Asperger’s would make up considerably more than half of all autism diagnoses.

Already, it appears that more people have Asperger’s than any other autism diagnosis. But we haven’t even factored in the number of people with classic autism who would still be considered “high functioning.” I was unable to find any studies addressing the number of people with high functioning autism but it’s clear that there are quite a few people meeting that criteria on Wrong Planet alone, much less the entire world.

What’s interesting to note is that Asperger’s clearly makes up more than half of autism diagnosis alone. Considering this fact, why would anyone get the impression that high functioning autistics are in the minority?

The simple answer is that people such as Kirby and organizations such as Autism Speaks benefit from the public incorrectly believing in a picture of autism that is completely wrong. How do they benefit exactly? Think about how many people donate to autism organizations because they want to help the “poor autistic children.” Granted, Asperger’s Syndrome isn’t the easiest thing to be diagnosed with. But would as many people donate money if they knew that more than half of the 1 in 150 ‘sufferers’ are actually not suffering from anything other than social skill problems, sensory issues, and mainly being misunderstood by society?

By deceptively equating autism to the likes of cancer or polio, organizations such as Autism Speaks bring increased attention to the issue of Autism and raise more money than they would under normal circumstances. While awareness is generally good, these organizations are creating a negative stigma and a culture where parents’ violence against autistic children is viewed under a sympathetic light.

Why is this tolerated? I don’t know the answer to that question. It puzzles me just as much as autism puzzles those parents who didn’t get a kid who acted as normal as they thought he should. Unfortunately, those parents are getting all the attention right now while autistics themselves are not being listened to. Hopefully this will change in the future but all of us with autism need to increase our volume to make more noise before we can begin to be heard.

1 Bjorn Kadesjo, Christopher Gillberg, and Bibbi Hagberg. (1999) Jr. Autism and Developmental Disorders, 29, 327-331.

Author Alex Plank founded WrongPlanet.net while he was in High School. Since that time, the site has gained more than 17,500 members across the globe.

The post What? Aren’t Most Autistics High Functioning? appeared first on Wrong Planet.

This is a troubling time for people with Autism (and I speak as one of those Autistics) because the media focuses a considerably large percentage of their Autism coverage on stories told by those who do not even have the condition. I’ve put together a list of only ten misconceptions that have been born out of the lack of an autistic voice in the media.

10. Autism is an epidemic.

Organizations like Autism Speaks and Cure Autism Now are quick to label Autism an epidemic, despite the fact that scientists have found the opposite to be true. For instance, Dr. Roy Grinker, an anthropologist at GWU, whose research was ironically funded by Autism Speaks (needless to say, they’re not too happy), recently published Unstrange Minds, a book that debunks the idea of an “Autism Epidemic.” And he’s not the only scientist who has problems with the those who label it an epidemic.

9. Most Autistics are “low functioning.”

Due to the negative connotations autism gets from the term “low functioning,” the bigger nonprofits like to focus on low functioning autistics because people are more likely to donate to help severely affected people (these same organizations use the statistic of 1 in 150 but they imply that 1 in 150 people are low functioning). However, the most recent studies show that a little less than half of Autistics are low functioning. A lot of autism experts point out that Asperger’s is underdiagnosed, which indicates there’s an even lower percentage of people who would qualify as “low functioning.”

8. Autism can be treated by ________ (insert unapproved treatment here).

This is one of the most troubling fallacies because it’s usually spread around by people who try to take advantage of uneducated parents who will do anything to help their kids. Many of these self proclaimed experts cheat families out of small fortunes and conduct dangerous and highly illegal “treatments” on autistic children with absolutely no improvement in their condition. Throughout history, snake oil opportunists have popped up when scientists couldn’t find a real cure, and this time its no different.

7. Autism is caused by mercury.

This myth is popular among the same snake oil opportunists I just mentioned. Because mercury is a real poison that exists in everything from vaccines to thermometers, it’s easy to convince parents that it causes problems. While high doses of mercury are very dangerous, mercury doesn’t cause autism at any dose. In addition, the amount of mercury in vaccines is not high enough to have any measurable effect. Studies have consistently shown that there is no link between autism and vaccines. This myth of a correlation is especially troubling when real outbreaks have been caused by parents’ fear to vaccinate their children.

6. Nonverbal autistics are severely mentally impaired.

Becase they have trouble communicating with the rest of the world, you may think they’re somehow less intelligent. The opposite is true. Low functioning autistics have impaired communications skills but they are just as smart as your average joe and many are even smarter.

5. Autistics can’t be geniuses.

Actually,there are many historical geniuses who are thought to have had autism (Albert Einstein and Thomas Jefferson, for example). However, I think it’s foolish to use them as evidence when I can merely point to currently living people like Nobel Prize winning economist Vernon Smith and actor Dan Ackroyd who have made public statements about being diagnosed with Autism.

4. We have a pretty good understanding of autism.

Scientists don’t know very much about the brain, much less Autism. Every day, researchers are learning new things about Autism. Regardless, we still have a lot more research to do before we can begin to understand this puzzle.

3. Autistics want to be cured.

Most autistics, in fact, do not want to be cured because they’ve already accepted autism as part of their personality, identity, and lifestyle. You may not understand why anyone would want to be diagnosed with a psychiatric condition, but even homosexuality was listed in the DSM as being a disorder at one point in time.

2. People with Autism are alike.

While you may be quick to use autism to refer to someone’s identity, autistics differ from each other just as much as those without the condition differ from each other.

When my friend Dan and I started Wrong Planet, we were surprised by just how different the members were from one another. We naively thought they’d be exactly like us. Needless to say, Wrong Planet members and autistics come in all shapes, sizes, professions, religions, political affiliations, and nationalities.

1. Autistics are represented by nonprofits like Autism Speaks and Cure Autism Now; donating to these causes helps people with Autism.

Actually, most autistics feel that these nonprofits are doing a disservice to those living with Autism by running campaigns that dehumanize people with the condition and painting an inaccurate picture of what Autism is like.

For example, Autism Speaks, the largest Autism organization in terms of financial capital, has no autistic employees and no board members with the condition. They disallow autistic individuals from speaking at their conferences with the rationale that “it wouldn’t be appropriate.”

While a lot of the research they fund may be conducted by good scientists who are unaware of the organization’s political slant, Autism Speaks’ end-game is establishing prenatal screening. Any good that comes from this research is consequently undermined by the negative messages they send.

There are autistic-run organizations such as Wrong Planet and the Autistic Self Advocacy Network trying to give Autistics more voice in the media. ASAN, for example, recently succeeded in a media campaign criticizing the New York University Child Study Center. The center apologized for and rescinded an advertisement campaign (the Ransom Notes Campaign) that painted Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome in an unrealistically negative light.

Also, there are great bloggers out there sending positive messages like Ballastexistenz, The Joy of Autism, Autism Diva, and even About.com.

Article by Wrong Planet founder Alex Plank

The post Ten Myths about Autism – Debunked appeared first on Wrong Planet.

Do people with Asperger’s who don’t have schizophrenia hear things that aren’t there? Like thoughts in your head that never go away? What is it called and what can you tell me about it?

-Tempy

Read on for BeenThereDoneThat’s response!
Dear Tempy:

I could be wrong, but it doesn’t sound to me like schizophrenia. Only a professional (like a psychiatrist) can tell you for sure. If you think you’re hearing things, and if it’s really bothering you, I’d go see someone really soon, however, hearing voices can also be the result of taking certain classes of drugs (high doses of cocaine, amphetamine, or other stimulant) or a symptom of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

It’s worth noting that stimulants are used to treat depression and AS symptoms, and if this applies to you, you should see your doctor and make him or her aware of the fact that you’re hearing things. Sure, hearing voices can be a sign of something serious, but there are all sorts of things you have to rule out first, and that can only be done by a psychiatrist.

Everyone has thoughts that seem to go around and around in their heads. There are supposed to be all kinds of tricks for getting them out. I’ve never found that any of them work for the thoughts that go around and around in my mind. You’re not alone, and it’s nothing to worry about. Some people can’t get a song out of their heads.

I am not trying to make a diagnosis here, and again, if it’s really bothering you, or if the voices are telling you to hurt yourself or other people, or that you can do something very dangerous that no human can do….like flying under your own power….then you should probably see someone right away.

– BeenThereDoneThat



Send your questions to “Dear Aspie”! Just send an e-mail to dearaspie@wrongplanet.net. Questions of a personal nature may be submitted anonymously, though printing a user name is preferred. “Dear Aspie” reserves the privilege of editing for spelling, brevity, and clarity. Thanks for your submissions!

The post Do people with Asperger’s Hear Voices? appeared first on Wrong Planet.

Research by scientists in Montreal suggests current ways of measuring their intelligence are inaccurate.
This might help them play a greater part in the job market and in wider society, the researchers argued.

Dr Laurent Mottron draws a distinction between people with “autistic spectrum” disorders – those with normal or above average intelligence – and those with “real autism”, which he says is characterised by mental impairment.

The Wechsler scale is one of the most widely used ways of measuring autistic intelligence. People diagnosed with the disorder typically score very low on the verbal comprehension part of the test.

But research by Dr Mottron, from the University of Montreal, and colleagues found overall that autistic subjects performed much better on a different test called Raven’s Progressive Matrices, with some mute autistics performing exceptionally well.

He said this test might provide “a window for the accurate assessment of autistic intelligence”.

Read the full article at the BBC.

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