3 ms·

I think this is a Hollywood view of autism - its not like that in real life, sure there's some people on the spectrum that are genius, but there are a lot that

I think this is a Hollywood view of autism - its not like that in real life, sure there's some people on the spectrum that are genius, but there are a lot that aren't and have more significant life challenges.

deleted 5y ago
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oceanghost 5y ago
Came here to say this. My best friends daughter is 10, and non-verbal. She can barely dress herself and can't tie her shoes. It's heartbreaking. For every Elon Must there has to be a hundreds of thousands of kids like this.
- NoPie 5y ago
  But for every kid like this there could be 10 austistic people with average or even above average IQ. Honestly I don't know but if autism is due to genetic differences then greater proportion will be with slight deviations from normal population. In fact, Elon Must said that he has Asperger's. Some prefer to avoid this label but I find it very useful to actually distinguish autistic people with average IQ (or better) from really disabled.
  - Grieving 5y ago
    I agree. I was diagnosed with high-functioning autism when I was younger, and assumed that autism referred to people fairly similar to me. Then my daughter was born. She's extremely low-functioning with only basic non-verbal communication (pulling me to the door means "let's go outside"; pulling me to the kitchen means "I'm hungry"). We've done PECS boards, AAC devices, ASL, etc, and she'll use them occasionally but they frustrate her. She has almost no instinct of self-preservation and a fascination with water, so will eagerly jump into a body of water if she has the chance; likewise when we go for a walk she doesn't understand that she can't just run out into traffic. Screaming and self-injury are constant and extreme. Which is to say that I don't think she and I have the same condition. Maybe there's a common genetic basis, but her quality of life is unimaginably worse. I get annoyed often by the 'disability advocates' who more resemble me and want to speak for people like her.
EdwardDiego 5y ago
Yeah, the mention of the "super brain" sure sounds like it.
thatguy0900 5y ago
I work in a caregiver setting for people with autism, I agree with this. Some percentage of high functioning people this would apply to, but many of them just wouldn't survive childhood in any other setting.
ceceron 5y ago
I was a volunteer in the place helping parents of autistic children. Sure, there are autistic people able to study / work / write books (I knew at least one), but for many just a gentle touch makes their nervous system short circuit. In their case sentence "Autistic individuals don’t have any difficulty communicating with another autistic" is just a lie, it's like there was an invisible bubble wrapping them and separating them from the world we know.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

oceanghost 5y ago

Came here to say this. My best friends daughter is 10, and non-verbal. She can barely dress herself and can't tie her shoes. It's heartbreaking. For every Elon Must there has to be a hundreds of thousands of kids like this.

NoPie 5y ago
But for every kid like this there could be 10 austistic people with average or even above average IQ. Honestly I don't know but if autism is due to genetic differences then greater proportion will be with slight deviations from normal population. In fact, Elon Must said that he has Asperger's. Some prefer to avoid this label but I find it very useful to actually distinguish autistic people with average IQ (or better) from really disabled.
- Grieving 5y ago
  I agree. I was diagnosed with high-functioning autism when I was younger, and assumed that autism referred to people fairly similar to me. Then my daughter was born. She's extremely low-functioning with only basic non-verbal communication (pulling me to the door means "let's go outside"; pulling me to the kitchen means "I'm hungry"). We've done PECS boards, AAC devices, ASL, etc, and she'll use them occasionally but they frustrate her. She has almost no instinct of self-preservation and a fascination with water, so will eagerly jump into a body of water if she has the chance; likewise when we go for a walk she doesn't understand that she can't just run out into traffic. Screaming and self-injury are constant and extreme. Which is to say that I don't think she and I have the same condition. Maybe there's a common genetic basis, but her quality of life is unimaginably worse. I get annoyed often by the 'disability advocates' who more resemble me and want to speak for people like her.

EdwardDiego 5y ago

Yeah, the mention of the "super brain" sure sounds like it.

thatguy0900 5y ago

I work in a caregiver setting for people with autism, I agree with this. Some percentage of high functioning people this would apply to, but many of them just wouldn't survive childhood in any other setting.

ceceron 5y ago

I was a volunteer in the place helping parents of autistic children. Sure, there are autistic people able to study / work / write books (I knew at least one), but for many just a gentle touch makes their nervous system short circuit. In their case sentence "Autistic individuals don’t have any difficulty communicating with another autistic" is just a lie, it's like there was an invisible bubble wrapping them and separating them from the world we know.