16 ms·

A very interesting read. One question comes to my mind: If autism is a spectrum, and Rain Man is in one side, what is there in the other?

reitanqild 11y ago
In the middle are, by definition I think, neurotypical people. In other directions/dimensions you find extroverts, ad(h)d-ers etc.
- JohnBooty 11y ago
  I generally agree. Additionally, there's a lot of overlap between autism and the various subtypes of ADHD. Whether they share a common cause or if they're two unrelated things that just sometimes happen to the same people, I don't know. A lot of the more impulsive ADHD'ers have trouble reading social cues in many of the same ways as autists. A lot of the more inattentive-type ADHD'ers (hello, this is me) can read social cues well but share other traits with those with autism - being overwhelmed by social situations, hyperfocusing, being overly literal at times, etc. Every time I read an article written by a high-functioning autist I find that I strongly relate to some of the traits but not others.
k8tte 11y ago
snow man?
roel_v 11y ago
It's an n-dimensional spectrum, but just the concept of 'spectrum' as already too difficult for many people to grasp, hence a generic use of 'spectrum'.
- JohnBooty 11y ago
  Thank you! I've never seen/heard this expressed so well and so succinctly before.
guard-of-terra 11y ago
You are.
- guard-of-terra 11y ago
  Why the down votes? On the opposite of autism spectre from the Rain Man is the Non Visually Autistic Person, i. e. most of you. I hoped the HN crowd is smart enough to grasp that. That turned out to be not the case :(
  - Cthulhu_ 11y ago
    You'll probably need to flesh out your reponse a bit, else it'll be perceived as sniping.
AndrewDucker 11y ago
William's Syndrome: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williams_syndrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williams_syndrome
- RobertoG 11y ago
  Fascinating. Thank you. The implications of this part, if true, caught my attention: "In one experiment, a group of children with Williams syndrome showed no signs of racial bias, unlike children without the syndrome. They did show gender bias, however, suggesting separate mechanisms for these biases"

reitanqild 11y ago

In the middle are, by definition I think, neurotypical people. In other directions/dimensions you find extroverts, ad(h)d-ers etc.

JohnBooty 11y ago
I generally agree. Additionally, there's a lot of overlap between autism and the various subtypes of ADHD. Whether they share a common cause or if they're two unrelated things that just sometimes happen to the same people, I don't know. A lot of the more impulsive ADHD'ers have trouble reading social cues in many of the same ways as autists. A lot of the more inattentive-type ADHD'ers (hello, this is me) can read social cues well but share other traits with those with autism - being overwhelmed by social situations, hyperfocusing, being overly literal at times, etc. Every time I read an article written by a high-functioning autist I find that I strongly relate to some of the traits but not others.

k8tte 11y ago

snow man?

roel_v 11y ago

It's an n-dimensional spectrum, but just the concept of 'spectrum' as already too difficult for many people to grasp, hence a generic use of 'spectrum'.

JohnBooty 11y ago
Thank you! I've never seen/heard this expressed so well and so succinctly before.

guard-of-terra 11y ago

You are.

guard-of-terra 11y ago
Why the down votes? On the opposite of autism spectre from the Rain Man is the Non Visually Autistic Person, i. e. most of you. I hoped the HN crowd is smart enough to grasp that. That turned out to be not the case :(
- Cthulhu_ 11y ago
  You'll probably need to flesh out your reponse a bit, else it'll be perceived as sniping.

AndrewDucker 11y ago

William's Syndrome: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williams_syndrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williams_syndrome

RobertoG 11y ago
Fascinating. Thank you. The implications of this part, if true, caught my attention: "In one experiment, a group of children with Williams syndrome showed no signs of racial bias, unlike children without the syndrome. They did show gender bias, however, suggesting separate mechanisms for these biases"