Poll: Autism. Bad or Good?

[astrav1]

(Oh, also, because you came to a video game site, be prepared for a mega-malillion self-diagnosed "Asperger's" cases to tell you all about how it is.)

Who the heck would do something like that?

seriously when did it become something people title themselves with?

I just don't get when that started, it's sick and wrong...

Are you really so surprised? It happens with a host of mental disorders. It's almost never intentional, but people subconsciously assign themselves these disorders and stand by it firmly. People use them for two "benefits":

1) Surrendering Responsibility. The selected disorder comes with a particular behavior, or set of behaviors, for which the person can now claim they are not responsible.

2) Entitlement. The selected disorder also entitles the person to additional attention, or some side-effect label that is favorable.

Similarly, these disorders themselves are usually selected for two reasons:

1) They are hard to verify (or disprove). You can't fake a missing limb, but you can fake certain mental disorders, and no one can definitively tell you you're lying. They have no choice but to take what you say at face value.

2) They often come with a "trap door" built right into the disorder. Many disorders also come with a different or "milder" form that allows the person to claim the aforementioned "benefits" without having to accept the associated drawbacks.

In the case of Asperger's Syndrome, the benefits are that a person is no longer responsible for rude, abrasive, socially-unacceptable behavior (It's the disorder!), but they also can artificially label themselves as highly intelligent. Even if they're genuinely highly intelligent, this label gives their claim more weight than a possibly equally-intelligent person with no such label.

Asperger's is a candidate for this fakery because it is (#1) hard to verify or disprove. A person can simply claim to have "very high functioning Asperger's," meaning that they don't have to demonstrate much in the way of symptoms, except those they find favorable at a given moment. It's a "buffet disorder." Take what you like, leave the rest, and who's to say otherwise?

OTHER EXAMPLES:

"Clinical" Depression - These people are always keen to use the word "clinical" as a way of saying, "You may not argue this point or assign any responsibility to me." This is despite there having been no medical tests to prove there is any sort of chemical imbalance. You can't disprove them, and they have a license to get free attention from anyone by having the saddest sob story at any given moment.

Bipolar or Manic-Depressive - All of the benefits of claiming depression, but without the burden of having to be depressed all the time. You can be impulsive and rash, as well. But the bottom line is that if people are negatively impacted by your mood, that's just tough--it's not your responsibility, you have a disorder.

ADD/ADHD - I don't have to do anything I don't like, or pay attention to you, because I have a chemical imbalance for which I have had no chemical testing. You can't prove I don't have it, and it doesn't mean I'm dumb or have any sort of drawbacks. I can selectively choose when to pay attention or when not to, with complete freedom--it's the disorder!

SPECIAL NOTES:

- I know these are actual conditions that actual people have. I also know that diagnostic techniques are spotty at best, so plenty of people are able (and willing) to get a rushed diagnosis in order to excuse behavior by using the misfortune of others. There are real examples, and there are many, many fakers. This does not detract from the reality of the disorder itself.

- The fact that a medication "works" is not proof that there was a disorder, and is not an acceptable diagnostic methods. That's like me saying that, because I feel better after having a Twinkie and a glass of scotch, I must have depression that is linked to a Twinkie-scotch deficiency in my brain. Diagnosis comes before treatment, and it takes a long time and a lot of observation. Phony, armchair diagnosis is the only kind you can get on short notice.

- I'll repeat: In the majority of cases, I don't think people do this intentionally. I don't think they know that they're doing it for attention or excuses, but that doesn't make it any less true. The subconscious is powerful, especially in the sort of people already willing to surrender responsibility for their own behavior to a hollow label--these are the sort that were already predisposed to letting the subconscious "take over."

Finally, someone else who gets it.

 

[Grigori361]

Your little brother had asperger's when he was born and the symptoms didn't become obvious until he was 2? Regulations on vaccines tend to be very strict and besides, getting autism from a 'bad vaccine' is impossible. A vaccine is just a bunch of dead bacteria that allow your body to make antibodies if and when living bacteria of that type invade. The amount of mercury it could conceivably contain would be tiny or nonexistent.

OT: I know someone with asperger's who is social enough but sucks at academic things.People with it arent necessary reclusive geniuses. Buut.. from my point of view, social skills seem more important. If you have a brain but can't talk to strangers, how do you cope with a job interview or interact with co-workers? If you're dim but you get on with people, at least you can get by.

while I would agree that I've not seen anything to make me think that autism comes from vaccines, I will say that your view of vaccines in my understanding it rather, limited.

Firstly they're not exactly dead, due to two reasons A: in order to make them economically they're often grow in host animals, and without knowing exactly what is in that host animal down to the last molecule (more or less impossible) you don't know what's in it, and if you don't know that then you can't sterilize it.

Secondarily, you also can't completely sterilize vaccines, if you do then you utterly annihilate the bacterial matter you're trying to expose the body's systems to and it won't register as a threat, which means you won't get that immune response.

I myself don't support getting most of them, because I get sick more when I have them, and I don't mean I get the flu when I get the flu shot. Before someone starts up that tired of piece of ass. I get sick with other things, the thing about vaccines is that while they do offer virtual immunity to a given disease, they also weaken the immune system as a whole sometimes for years, because of the resources it has to put into creating the infrastructure for immunity to a given disease, I get all of the one time vaccines, but I doubt touch anything that's repeated.

 

[Macgyvercas]

He wasn't born with it he was given a vaccine when he was 2 years old to help him from receiving the flu, but all of the vaccines in that year had expired and had mercury inside of all of the expired bottles and effected hundreds of kids within those years.

They have disproved this SO MANY TIMES.

Drives me mad to hear it.

You get more mercury eating a single piece of tuna.

THANK YOU!

Seriously, I too am sick of that theory. I'd have thought that would have been shot in the head by now.

 

[Spy_Guy]

"Bad or Good"?

Good lord! You make me want to punch a baby. Who are we to label something with such a wide spectrum "good or bad"? Especially those of you who aren't actually autistic. In fact, the very idea of generalizing autism disgusts me beyond belief.

Personally, I have a very high-functioning (or however you translate that) version of Aspergers, and I have had that since birth. Ever since it was discovered I have been stuffed together with people with far, far worse autism, and that is not funny.

Whenever you see some autistic adult speaking about their past experiences they make people with autism sound like freaks. The psychologists are the worst of this bunch:
"I met a child once, he refused to eat..."
...
"...as it turns out he was autistic and would only eat food shaped like a traffic light."

They give people like me a bad name.

Oh, and bad. Autism is bad, as it alienates an individual from the rest of society. People with autism perceive the world differently, meaning their life experience, decision making structures, and social guidelines are different. It unfortunately makes it very difficult for an affected individual to operate within our picture of a "normal" society, forcing the autistic to not be who they are.

Are you, yourself autistic, or is this something you've read/heard/been told somewhere?
If not, this is exactly what I'm talking about.

Yes, I may think differently, I may have different guidelines, but don't think for a second this keeps me from interacting with people in a proper manner.

I talk to people, and I make friends like everyone else... however, due to my condition, if we can call it that I analyze everything in order to get better at it. While "neurotypical" (another word for "normal") people may have it pre-programmed that you're supposed to act a certain way towards people, I have learned that by experience, and it's now gone so far that it's automatic for me as well.

Most, if not all people I've met have no idea I'm autistic, to such a point that they toss around insults directed at people with autism in my presence (and I have no reason to believe they'd intentionally do it just to get at me).

Just to make it clear, just because someone decided to slap a "handicapped" label on people with autism does not mean that everyone is a crippled mess incapable of social interaction, and that it necessarily affects them adversely.
I can also assure you that, based on my own, as well as stuff I'm told and stuff I notice about other autistics is that while neurotypicals think of us as socially handicapped, and that this somehow reduces our chances of happiness, this is not really the case (based on what I have seen).

Most people with more noticeable autism than me that I've met seem perfectly content with the friends they have, and as for myself... I think friends are really nice to have, but I don't need lots of them, and if necessary I can go a long time without talking to people or hanging out with them. I can do it, but I don't have to.

[hr]
Now that was quite the wall of text there... I must say that it's a subject I'm personally involved in, and I find the question to be offensive in its simplicity.
Ah well, good opportunity to vent.

EDIT: "High-functioning autism: Autism unaccompanied by mental retardation" I did make an arse of myself after all.

 

[A Pious Cultist]

"Bad or Good"?

Good lord! You make me want to punch a baby. Who are we to label something with such a wide spectrum "good or bad"? Especially those of you who aren't actually autistic. In fact, the very idea of generalizing autism disgusts me beyond belief.

Personally, I have a very low-functioning (or however you translate that) version of Aspergers, and I have had that since birth. Ever since it was discovered I have been stuffed together with people with far, far more high-functioning autism, and that is not funny.

High-functioning refers to social skills, emotional stablility and general mental age so you'd be high-functioning and they'd be low-functioning.

 

[Spy_Guy]

"Bad or Good"?

Good lord! You make me want to punch a baby. Who are we to label something with such a wide spectrum "good or bad"? Especially those of you who aren't actually autistic. In fact, the very idea of generalizing autism disgusts me beyond belief.

Personally, I have a very low-functioning (or however you translate that) version of Aspergers, and I have had that since birth. Ever since it was discovered I have been stuffed together with people with far, far more high-functioning autism, and that is not funny.

High-functioning refers to social skills, emotional stablility and general mental age so you'd be high-functioning and they'd be low-functioning.

Are you sure?
I was told that, paradoxically enough, high-functioning autism means "extra autistic", not "works well".
I'll have to look that one up before I make an arse of myself (even more)

EDIT: Thank you so, so much for pointing that out to me. I was dead wrong.

 

[bobknowsall]

He wasn't born with it he was given a vaccine when he was 2 years old to help him from receiving the flu, but all of the vaccines in that year had expired and had mercury inside of all of the expired bottles and effected hundreds of kids within those years.

They have disproved this SO MANY TIMES.

Drives me mad to hear it.

You get more mercury eating a single piece of tuna.

Good to see some sense being spoken.

OT: Autism isn't really what I'd call a good thing, because those who have it are often crippled socially, and it's not like they're markedly more intelligent than the rest of us. You'll find that there are smart autistic kids, middle-of-the-range autistic kids, and autistic kids who are dumber than a sack of hammers with no hammers in it.

It's not some unholy aberration or anything, but does it actually improve the lives of those who have it?

And don't get me started on the people who don't actually have it, but say they are. They're socially retarded, and they have no right to co-opt an actual disorder to cover up their indequacies.

Phew, that's my rant for today.

 

[archvile93]

And people don't get it from the flu jabs etc, the top scientists reckon it is caused by a kind of selective virus, a bit like cancers, and only some are born with a DNA capable of supporting the autism 'virus'.. I'm not a scientist so I might be wrong..

Neither cancer nor autism is caused by any kind of virus. It's genetic.

That's not entirely true. Genetics can give you a predisposition to an abnormality, but that doesn't always mean you'll get it as tests on identical twins have shown. A good example is ulcers which have been shown to be caused by a common stomach bacteria. However, these bacteria only ever manage to cause ulcers when the immune system is weakened, such as during consistent high levels of stress.

 

[Hashime]

"Bad or Good"?

Good lord! You make me want to punch a baby. Who are we to label something with such a wide spectrum "good or bad"? Especially those of you who aren't actually autistic. In fact, the very idea of generalizing autism disgusts me beyond belief.

Personally, I have a very low-functioning (or however you translate that) version of Aspergers, and I have had that since birth. Ever since it was discovered I have been stuffed together with people with far, far more high-functioning autism, and that is not funny.

Whenever you see some autistic adult speaking about their past experiences they make people with autism sound like freaks. The psychologists are the worst of this bunch:
"I met a child once, he refused to eat..."
...
"...as it turns out he was autistic and would only eat food shaped like a traffic light."

They give people like me a bad name.

Oh, and bad. Autism is bad, as it alienates an individual from the rest of society. People with autism perceive the world differently, meaning their life experience, decision making structures, and social guidelines are different. It unfortunately makes it very difficult for an affected individual to operate within our picture of a "normal" society, forcing the autistic to not be who they are.

Are you, yourself autistic, or is this something you've read/heard/been told somewhere?
If not, this is exactly what I'm talking about.

Yes, I may think differently, I may have different guidelines, but don't think for a second this keeps me from interacting with people in a proper manner.

I talk to people, and I make friends like everyone else... however, due to my condition, if we can call it that I analyze everything in order to get better at it. While "neurotypical" (another word for "normal") people may have it pre-programmed that you're supposed to act a certain way towards people, I have learned that by experience, and it's now gone so far that it's automatic for me as well.

Most, if not all people I've met have no idea I'm autistic, to such a point that they toss around insults directed at people with autism in my presence (and I have no reason to believe they'd intentionally do it just to get at me).

Just to make it clear, just because someone decided to slap a "handicapped" label on people with autism does not mean that everyone is a crippled mess incapable of social interaction, and that it necessarily affects them adversely.
I can also assure you that, based on my own, as well as stuff I'm told and stuff I notice about other autistics is that while neurotypicals think of us as socially handicapped, and that this somehow reduces our chances of happiness, this is not really the case (based on what I have seen).

Most people with higher-functioning autism than me that I've met seem perfectly content with the friends they have, and as for myself... I think friends are really nice to have, but I don't need lots of them, and if necessary I can go a long time without talking to people or hanging out with them. I can do it, but I don't have to.

[hr]
Now that was quite the wall of text there... I must say that it's a subject I'm personally involved in, and I find the question to be offensive in its simplicity.
Ah well, good opportunity to vent.

I am not autistic, but find the disorder fascinating. I also have a friend with asbergers (sp?), and he alluded to this when I asked him about it. It is sad that people do not take the time to understand what autism really is.

 

[weker]

I have a form of autism with SPD and I would trade much to get rid of its drawbacks.
its bad because I have to think hard about everything I say or do to fit with the norm and who is to say that whoever wouldn't be smart without it?

 

[SCRuler]

Lots of people do it on the internet. It's one of the most self-diagnosed disorders in history, especially with the advent of the internet.

 

[katsumoto03]

To be perfectly honest, we're a social species, and we need each other, so while some individuals may thrive with their extra learning skills, without proper social skills, they can sometimes be more of a drag than a bonus. I dont mean to generalize, but social skills are far more important in the way of operating around other people in my opinion.

I was about to post a long-winded argument about why it isn't good when I saw this. Thanks dude.

 

[weker]

I take autism as a well balanced perk in life.
The person who takes it receives boost in all Intelligence at the cost of charisma....
Really need to make a perk about it in fallout new vegas

it is not at all like this the trade of is intelligence in certain areas
and by charisma it not at all like that you just fail to understand human phyc or how to react to it
I am great at predicting peoples thoughts and personality but lack the skill to make me seem normal i tend to be stuck on 90% nice and 9% emotionless

 

[Polyg0n]

It is bad because no matter how good the autist people get in some field it wont really help anyone as they can't share their information and skills with the society and cause a lot of work to those close to them. I'd also belive that it would be easier to live a happier life if you were not obsessed about something all the time.

 

[phantasmalWordsmith]

I confess to having asperger syndrome. the main problem with it is the social problems, however, the cases of asperger syndrome can vary greatly, mine is quite mild. As i got older i sort of "grew out of it" I figured out most of my problems via trial and error, even now my own parents can only really tell i have it when i go into a sort of "panic".

The only time i regret having asperger syndrome is when it comes to talking with parents and my older sister, they have an attendancy to over explain things and talk to me like I'm a child or someone with full-autism. I hate it.

but other than that, as far as i can tell aspergers isnt good or bad, its simply an alternate; like the difference between macs and windows

 

[Spy_Guy]

Lots of people do it on the internet. It's one of the most self-diagnosed disorders in history, especially with the advent of the internet.

Someone else mentioned the fact that you can blame something on a disorder that's very difficult to verify.
Most people take "social difficulties" as "Being an insensitive prick", and use a legitimate diagnosis to validate their behavior.

However, note that there's something called "Internet asperger" due to the fact that the internet, and forums like this naturally disconnects you from the people you're talking to, meaning that you miss a bunch of cues you'd get when talking to a person face-to-face.

Take the phrase "nice work"
Simple, short phrase (removed capitalization and such to make a point).

In real life, depending on how you emphasize it, how you stand, your facial expression, etc. it can mean both "Great job!" or "You screwed up.", or even "You screwed up royally, mate"

I had a chat with an internet friend of mine and I told him:
"You do great work as an admin!" over a text chat.
His response was:
"Are you sarcastic?"

So you can miss the meaning of a message because you don't have all the cues you'd get in normal life.

(as a footnote, I can mention that you could also get emotionally detached from the people you meet online and start acting like a prick, this overlaps with the GIFT [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GIFT])

 

[Danpascooch]

OK then how did a healthy child at birth become slow to learn until he was 6 and then out of nowhere have the education of a 11th grader at 10, he didn't get out of dippers until he was 5. Not bad parenting

Some mental disorders show no symptoms till certain ages, for example, Schizophrenia appears around 18-24 years old (typically), but you're still BORN WITH IT

 

[A random person]

Ignoring the scientific inaccuracies that have been pointed out repeatedly, it depends if we're talking high or low-functioning. Low-functioning is pretty crippling, to say the least, while high-functioning generally just causes some social difficulties (which are often overcome before too long).

Considering I'm an aspie (professionally diagnosed, since that's necessary to point out at this point) and don't really want that part of me changed, I wouldn't describe high-functioning as bad in itself.

 

[Hairetos]

I think you should change the title to aspergers, not autism in general, because aspergers is generally a mild form of autism. I read somewhere that most people with aspergers are diagnosed with it after they are adults, and live reasonably normal lives even before diagnoses.

OT: People without aspergers can learn 3 languages and have good math and reading skills. When i was 10 years old, I could read at a 12th grade level, and i could probably do math at a 9th grade level too, my school only tested reading and didn't do advanced classes, but I could do simple multiplication when I was 3. Admittedly, I only speak english, but that's just because I don't care, speaking other languages would not make my life any better so I don't learn them. Well, i took spanish in High School, but that was required for college.

Not to bring you down, but did you read at a 12th grade level because the Accelerated Reading test said you did? Because if that's true, I hate to inform you but that's bunk. Everyone in my 7th grade English class could "read at a college level" and that's quite frankly ridiculous. Unless you actually sit down and take those classes at that level, I don't think you can accurately say that you were capable of performing at that grade. I'm sure you were gifted to some degree, but I hate when the school system inaccurately inflates the egos of students, because they effectively get ***** slapped when they try the "real thing" (high-level courses).

Now, onto the OP. If he's happy and isn't infringing on the happiness of others, then it's fine. It could even be a good thing, but that's speculation. If it's making him miserable and he hates his life because of it, then it's probably not a good thing. It's really that simple.

 

[bioshockedcriticjrr]

He wasn't born with it he was given a vaccine when he was 2 years old to help him from receiving the flu, but all of the vaccines in that year had expired and had mercury inside of all of the expired bottles and effected hundreds of kids within those years.

They have disproved this SO MANY TIMES.

Drives me mad to hear it.

You get more mercury eating a single piece of tuna.

If you ask me, it's a bit of a combo of the two, also eating something and having it injected into you are two very different things, thank-you very much. anyway, it's funny you mention autism because I myself was diagnosed autistic as a young child. now, I don't perport to be a "genious", (although I'd like to think I'm somewhat decent with the pen, if you know what I mean) and I can personally say that autism is very much "bad" in the sense that you feel like there's a barrier between you and your peers. that's probably why your brother likes xbox-live so much, he's got a little more control in there. also, I'm pretty sure that being good at one specific thing is known as being a sevant and not autism, although I think the two are connected