16 posts tagged “autism”
I am a convert to Greek Orthodoxy. I make short films as a hobby. I am a former college dj and I love many styles of music from popular to obscure. I like attending live shows (especially in small venues). I own a Moog synthesizer and a theramin. I like to watch sci-fi, fantasy, horror, drama, anime, experimental, Samurai films and television programs. My favorite tv show is probably House. I tend to read a lot of non-fiction especially essays. I enjoy hanging out at the book store and coffee shops. Walking is my favourite form of exercise. I have taken Judo, Tai Chi and Kuk Sool Won. While I never excelled at these arts I found them very rewarding. I have a tiny Papillon (butterfly dog) who I am training to be an Autism Assistance Dog. I am interested in linguistics and am studying Esperanto. However, the owner of the Mexican grocery store is encouraging me to learn Spanish and is eager to help. These are just a few facts about myself.
When one asks me what it's like to be Autistic, I usually talk about differences in sensory perceptions or differences in social interaction but truth be told, I'm still discovering what it is and what it means to and/or for me and others with the condition. One thing i'm sure of is it is not a curse nor is it comprable to a fatal car accident or cancer. Until fairly recently Autism was not talked about much by doctors and the US educational system had little to offer Autistic children. I was initially labelled Learning Disabled but by the time I attended middle school I was labelled Emotionally Impaired.
Some look at Autism as a puzzle. I see Autism in a larger context of the wonderful mystery of the human mind. There is so little we know about how the brain works and why one person thinks in one way while another person's mind operates differently. Wouldn't it be awfully boring if our minds all worked in the same way? Without neurodiversity we would not have da Vinci, van Gogh, or Picasso. We would never have had an Einstein.
Some would have us believe that we have an Autism 'epidemic' on our hands. But it seems more likely that more people are being diagnosed with Autism. There is also the potential risk now of over-diagnosis. I think back to when I was a child and diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder. Though I believe it to be a real medical condition I'm not sure I necessarily have it and believe it to be over-diagnosed. I don't always understand people when they give me directions. Not all teachers were as understanding as others. It was easier for me to make a joke than to admit in front of other children that I had no clue what the teacher was talking about or wanted me to do. At the same time, instead of the so-called experts admitting they didn't know what was wrong, I was given the label of Attention Deficit Disorder and put on the powerful stimulant Ritalin. Nowadays, some US doctors are claiming that Attention Deficit Disorder is really a childhood form of bipolar disorder because the similarity of the symptoms when they are described on paper. Previously bipolar (formerly called 'manic depression') was diagnosed in teens and adults, yet now five year-olds are being diagnosed with the condition and put on medication much more powerful than the Ritalin I was given as a child.
Instead of looking at medication as a quick fix, it may be better to
look at a child's surrounding environment. For instance, direct
florescent lighting has been proven to cause anxiety in certain people
and is often used in classrooms. Florescent lighting is more suited for
indirect lighting. For instance, I have a florescent bulb in a lamp in
my living room which shines upward towards the ceiling. I prefer it
over my ceiling light which is actually a non-florescent light! Another
thing is it can be difficult for children to concentrate on their work
with various distractions around them. One special education teacher
had us sit in cubicles which technically were just regular desks with
cardboard around each desk. The cardboard had wallpaper on it to make
it look nicer. Such solutions only require creativity and are much
cheaper than medicating children in the long run.
"Kristi Saecker said her 12-year-old son, Jacob Saecker, hasn't been
to school since mid-April when district officials told Jacob his dog,
Thor, was not welcome at Thorner School. He's been on independent study
since then. Kristi Saecker said her son has a high-functioning form of
autism, a developmental disorder that makes it difficult for him to
focus, communicate and interact with others."
from the article 'Helper dog banned'
In the article 'Don't Mourn For Us' Jim Sinclair writes:
Autism isn't something a person has, or a "shell" that a person is trapped inside. There's no normal child hidden behind the autism. Autism is a way of being. It is pervasive; it colors every experience, every sensation, perception, thought, emotion, and encounter, every aspect of existence. It is not possible to separate the autism from the person--and if it were possible, the person you'd have left would not be the same person you started with.
This is important, so take a moment to consider it: Autism is a way of being. It is not possible to separate the person from the autism.
Therefore, when parents say,
"I wish my child did not have autism,"
what they're really saying is,
"I wish the autistic child I have did not exist, and I had a different (non-autistic) child instead."
Read that again. This is what we hear when you mourn over our existence. This is what we hear when you pray for a cure. This is what we know, when you tell us of your fondest hopes and dreams for us: that your greatest wish is that one day we will cease to be, and strangers you can love will move in behind our faces.
