Oh my goodness!!! So glad I'm not the only one who hates hearing people say, "it's not a disability" or it's a superpower! I'm a respite worker for a young man with level 2 autism. His area of specific interest is wild animals of all kinds. He can spit out facts about whale sharks, but can't tie his shoes because the process of tying laces just doesn't stick with him. He wants to be a zookeeper but never remembers to feed his cat.
He definitely has the disorganized brain of autism. It's not that he, himself is disorganized; it's that his executive function is impaired and it can't coordinate the other parts of his brain the way that it should. He has very little impulse control....and none of his impulses are good.
But, get him on the topic of critters and he sounds like a college professor. In fact, I'm in the process of scheduling him to give a talk at our local library.
So I completely agree that refusing to acknowledge the disability side of autism does in fact belittle it. It also cuts people off from the resources they so desperately need. However, that hyperfocus and bottom up thinking can produce some remarkable gifts. I believe a balance between these two is what we should strive for.
I love this. You have just described my point so well. It’s as though people will solely focus on his ability to recite animal facts but not the other factors that come with it and the fact he is so knowledgeable on animals, that must mean he is a genius or his autism is a “superpower”. It really annoys me that people just like to see certain aspects of autism rather than learn the full story. Thank you for your comment, hopefully this will give people a deeper understanding on my intentions of the blog xx
AuDHDer: I agree with you, autism is not a super power. Indeed you can’t get an autism diagnosis without demonstrating that it currently impacts many aspects of your life. In fact I have yet to meet an autistic person that doesn't have a ton of other issues going on such as anxiety, stomach issues, insomnia, learning differences or ID...really the list goes on and on. It is almost always autism AND...
In some autistic people there can be real strengths in some areas. It is often described as a spiky profile. This is where an autistic person might be really good in things like music or math, but be really weak in others like executive functioning. I'm not talking about autistic savants here, just people that would be called gifted in some area.
From my experience it is most often from this group that I have heard some refer to autism as their super power. Many of these lower support needs autistics have very low self-esteem because they never fitted in and some were bullied growing up. So it makes them feel better about themselves to refer to autism as their super power. And there can be some good aspects to autism. Some of us have the ability to hyperfocus, have great pattern recognition, or experience physical sensations such as listening to music more intensely.
As far as why more people are getting diagnosed you mentioned a lot of the reasons, and I personally think that they are all contributing factors. Understand that the very first person diagnosed with autism, Donald Triplett back in 1943, just passed away 2 years ago. Donald was a low support needs autistic, who was a banker and was also great at music...he had perfect pitch. Many people were not diagnosed when they should have been back in the 1950s-80s because so few people knew anything about autism. Science and training of professionals have finally caught up and they do a much better job now of diagnosing. But the autistic people have always been there. A piece of paper saying that you're autistic doesn't suddenly make you autistic, you have always been.💛
I feel this to my core. As a mum of a Audhd boy and only now discovering my own diversity (thanks Perimenopause 😔), it amazes me the judgements I get from others. The eye rolls that suggest I'm self-disgnosing or looking for something that they can't see in either of us.
I'm exhausted from advocating for my son, but I will not stop. I know people don't 'mean' to belittle ASD, Adhd or any other diversity by saying things like 'oh don't we all have a bit', but my goodness, they wouldn't say to a type one diabetic 'don't worry, these sweets won't hurt' and that's what breaks my heart the most
Neurodiversity is seen in such a different way to a physical disability. It’s like they need to see the autism to believe it but when they do, they judge it.
I have 2 children who are completely different. My eldest is diagnosed autistic, my youngest not. I’ve always had a feeling my youngest is neurodivergent but because she doesn’t act the same as my eldest, everyone thinks I’m just being paranoid or looking for things that aren’t there - as though I would choose this? Drives me crazy!
I’m sure you are doing everything you can for your little one so just try and block out the outside noise and keep smashing it! If we don’t advocate for them, who will?x
My son always asks that. He is on the spectrum. But, when schizophrenia hit… it feels like more of a nightmare. He definitely does have some abstract ideas and is incredibly intelligent and creative.
Oh my goodness!!! So glad I'm not the only one who hates hearing people say, "it's not a disability" or it's a superpower! I'm a respite worker for a young man with level 2 autism. His area of specific interest is wild animals of all kinds. He can spit out facts about whale sharks, but can't tie his shoes because the process of tying laces just doesn't stick with him. He wants to be a zookeeper but never remembers to feed his cat.
He definitely has the disorganized brain of autism. It's not that he, himself is disorganized; it's that his executive function is impaired and it can't coordinate the other parts of his brain the way that it should. He has very little impulse control....and none of his impulses are good.
But, get him on the topic of critters and he sounds like a college professor. In fact, I'm in the process of scheduling him to give a talk at our local library.
So I completely agree that refusing to acknowledge the disability side of autism does in fact belittle it. It also cuts people off from the resources they so desperately need. However, that hyperfocus and bottom up thinking can produce some remarkable gifts. I believe a balance between these two is what we should strive for.
I love this. You have just described my point so well. It’s as though people will solely focus on his ability to recite animal facts but not the other factors that come with it and the fact he is so knowledgeable on animals, that must mean he is a genius or his autism is a “superpower”. It really annoys me that people just like to see certain aspects of autism rather than learn the full story. Thank you for your comment, hopefully this will give people a deeper understanding on my intentions of the blog xx
AuDHDer: I agree with you, autism is not a super power. Indeed you can’t get an autism diagnosis without demonstrating that it currently impacts many aspects of your life. In fact I have yet to meet an autistic person that doesn't have a ton of other issues going on such as anxiety, stomach issues, insomnia, learning differences or ID...really the list goes on and on. It is almost always autism AND...
In some autistic people there can be real strengths in some areas. It is often described as a spiky profile. This is where an autistic person might be really good in things like music or math, but be really weak in others like executive functioning. I'm not talking about autistic savants here, just people that would be called gifted in some area.
From my experience it is most often from this group that I have heard some refer to autism as their super power. Many of these lower support needs autistics have very low self-esteem because they never fitted in and some were bullied growing up. So it makes them feel better about themselves to refer to autism as their super power. And there can be some good aspects to autism. Some of us have the ability to hyperfocus, have great pattern recognition, or experience physical sensations such as listening to music more intensely.
As far as why more people are getting diagnosed you mentioned a lot of the reasons, and I personally think that they are all contributing factors. Understand that the very first person diagnosed with autism, Donald Triplett back in 1943, just passed away 2 years ago. Donald was a low support needs autistic, who was a banker and was also great at music...he had perfect pitch. Many people were not diagnosed when they should have been back in the 1950s-80s because so few people knew anything about autism. Science and training of professionals have finally caught up and they do a much better job now of diagnosing. But the autistic people have always been there. A piece of paper saying that you're autistic doesn't suddenly make you autistic, you have always been.💛
I feel this to my core. As a mum of a Audhd boy and only now discovering my own diversity (thanks Perimenopause 😔), it amazes me the judgements I get from others. The eye rolls that suggest I'm self-disgnosing or looking for something that they can't see in either of us.
I'm exhausted from advocating for my son, but I will not stop. I know people don't 'mean' to belittle ASD, Adhd or any other diversity by saying things like 'oh don't we all have a bit', but my goodness, they wouldn't say to a type one diabetic 'don't worry, these sweets won't hurt' and that's what breaks my heart the most
Neurodiversity is seen in such a different way to a physical disability. It’s like they need to see the autism to believe it but when they do, they judge it.
I have 2 children who are completely different. My eldest is diagnosed autistic, my youngest not. I’ve always had a feeling my youngest is neurodivergent but because she doesn’t act the same as my eldest, everyone thinks I’m just being paranoid or looking for things that aren’t there - as though I would choose this? Drives me crazy!
I’m sure you are doing everything you can for your little one so just try and block out the outside noise and keep smashing it! If we don’t advocate for them, who will?x
My son always asks that. He is on the spectrum. But, when schizophrenia hit… it feels like more of a nightmare. He definitely does have some abstract ideas and is incredibly intelligent and creative.