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I do wish people would stop romanticizing autism with phrases like "beautiful minds". From personal experience, I can tell you that there is nothing too beaut

I do wish people would stop romanticizing autism with phrases like "beautiful minds". From personal experience, I can tell you that there is nothing too beautiful about growing up with a brother who never stopped throwing tantrums like a toddler, whose intelligence never developed beyond about three years old, and who without the right medication won't stop hitting his own forehead and barking like a dog.

brador 10y ago
Autism is a spectrum. This beautiful minds piece is likely referring to controlled autism, where you get the special power of deep thought and mindless work ethic without the tantrums part.
- koluft 10y ago
  It's still deeply tacky empty euphemism. Do non-autistic people have ugly minds?
Kenji 10y ago
I agree with you 100%. Tbh I think there are two kinds of autism. 'Real' autism, like your brother has, or people who cannot speak, etc. This kind seems to be much rarer, but a tragedy for everyone involved. I read an article (linked here on HN but I can't find it anymore) about someone taking care of such an autistic person and it is heartbreaking. The other kind I would call 'newest fad' autism that people who are a bit socially awkward label themselves with, and pride themselves with their 'beautiful mind' and their intelligence. Bonus points: They don't have to improve themselves and their social skills because it's a mental health thing and out of their control. The catalogues of mental disorders (like DSM) say a lot about a society.
- koluft 10y ago
  You shouldn't spout off about medical topics you are uninformed about.
- dghf 10y ago
  Describing high-functioning autism as a "fad" which excuses those with it from having to "improve themselves" is both unpleasant and ignorant. Some autistic people have perfectly normal intelligence and language skills, yet may suffer from some or all of: - incomprehension of and bafflement by social cues and conventions that the rest of us take for granted; this is far more than just being "socially awkward", and was famously described by Temple Grandin as like being "an anthropologist on Mars" - a heavy reliance on routine, and discomfort or distress when that routine is disrupted - over-sensitivity to sensory stimulation, which can make things like a trip to the supermarket (strip lighting, PA announcements, crowds, the smell of produce and other people's bodies) hellish.
- Sanddancer 10y ago
  Every medical condition has degrees of severity. Look at broken bones. A fractured toe doesn't use a different word than fracture just because a compound fracture of an arm is much more serious. The DSM recognizes subtleties and degrees of mental problems which can be important in dealing with someones' overall mental health.
dghf 10y ago
"If you've met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism." -- Stephen Shore, professor of special education at Adelphi University and person with autism.
- Kenji 10y ago
  Of what use is a classification system when the elements belonging to the same class have no general, discernible commonalities?
  - dghf 10y ago
    There are commonalities. IIRC, a diagnosis of autism requires significant impairment in all three of, and severe impairment in at least one of: - social skills - communication skills - rigidity (reliance on routine) That doesn't stop a wide variation in how those manifest in individuals, nor make the diagnosis meaningless.
  - lasfter 10y ago
    There may be general discernible commonalities, but autism is a spectrum and its symptoms do not prescribe a personality.
  - theoh 10y ago
    Psychiatric classifications do tend to be problematic because personality is so complex. It's not like botany.
    - Kenji 10y ago
      I agree. I wish the field of psychiatry would address these problems honestly and scientifically, rather than inventing and voting disorders into their manual.
      - Silfen 10y ago
        The DSM exists for billing purposes. It's not exactly a scientific taxonomy of psychiatric disorders.
cloverich 10y ago
Thank you for sharing this. My wife works with autistic patients regularly (pediatric dentist) and one of the main things I have learned is that what is popularly thought of as Autism can be far removed from reality. Which isn't a judgement of any kind on people with Autism but (as I suspect your post intends) to concur that if people want to discuss / share opinions on Autism, learning a bit more about what Autism really means would be a good next step.

brador 10y ago

Autism is a spectrum. This beautiful minds piece is likely referring to controlled autism, where you get the special power of deep thought and mindless work ethic without the tantrums part.

koluft 10y ago
It's still deeply tacky empty euphemism. Do non-autistic people have ugly minds?

Kenji 10y ago

I agree with you 100%. Tbh I think there are two kinds of autism. 'Real' autism, like your brother has, or people who cannot speak, etc. This kind seems to be much rarer, but a tragedy for everyone involved. I read an article (linked here on HN but I can't find it anymore) about someone taking care of such an autistic person and it is heartbreaking. The other kind I would call 'newest fad' autism that people who are a bit socially awkward label themselves with, and pride themselves with their 'beautiful mind' and their intelligence. Bonus points: They don't have to improve themselves and their social skills because it's a mental health thing and out of their control. The catalogues of mental disorders (like DSM) say a lot about a society.

koluft 10y ago
You shouldn't spout off about medical topics you are uninformed about.
dghf 10y ago
Describing high-functioning autism as a "fad" which excuses those with it from having to "improve themselves" is both unpleasant and ignorant. Some autistic people have perfectly normal intelligence and language skills, yet may suffer from some or all of: - incomprehension of and bafflement by social cues and conventions that the rest of us take for granted; this is far more than just being "socially awkward", and was famously described by Temple Grandin as like being "an anthropologist on Mars" - a heavy reliance on routine, and discomfort or distress when that routine is disrupted - over-sensitivity to sensory stimulation, which can make things like a trip to the supermarket (strip lighting, PA announcements, crowds, the smell of produce and other people's bodies) hellish.
Sanddancer 10y ago
Every medical condition has degrees of severity. Look at broken bones. A fractured toe doesn't use a different word than fracture just because a compound fracture of an arm is much more serious. The DSM recognizes subtleties and degrees of mental problems which can be important in dealing with someones' overall mental health.

dghf 10y ago

"If you've met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism." -- Stephen Shore, professor of special education at Adelphi University and person with autism.

Kenji 10y ago
Of what use is a classification system when the elements belonging to the same class have no general, discernible commonalities?
- dghf 10y ago
  There are commonalities. IIRC, a diagnosis of autism requires significant impairment in all three of, and severe impairment in at least one of: - social skills - communication skills - rigidity (reliance on routine) That doesn't stop a wide variation in how those manifest in individuals, nor make the diagnosis meaningless.
- lasfter 10y ago
  There may be general discernible commonalities, but autism is a spectrum and its symptoms do not prescribe a personality.
- theoh 10y ago
  Psychiatric classifications do tend to be problematic because personality is so complex. It's not like botany.
  - Kenji 10y ago
    I agree. I wish the field of psychiatry would address these problems honestly and scientifically, rather than inventing and voting disorders into their manual.
    - Silfen 10y ago
      The DSM exists for billing purposes. It's not exactly a scientific taxonomy of psychiatric disorders.

cloverich 10y ago

Thank you for sharing this. My wife works with autistic patients regularly (pediatric dentist) and one of the main things I have learned is that what is popularly thought of as Autism can be far removed from reality. Which isn't a judgement of any kind on people with Autism but (as I suspect your post intends) to concur that if people want to discuss / share opinions on Autism, learning a bit more about what Autism really means would be a good next step.