Does anyone get angry/offended when people say autism/Asperger's is awful, a disorder, or a disability?

Question

I mean, Asperger's does have its advantages. Like being honest, loyal, good sense of justice, special interest, wonderful ability to think using pictures, logical thinking, and treating everyone the same. Some people with autism are very spiritual(look up autism and the god connection)
Being disabled in physical ways doesn't give this. Isn't it arrogent that normal people have to say that their way of living is right and autistics' are wrong? How would they feel if we told them they are, even though they have the best social skills imaginable of all time, disabled because they don't have the advantages I stated earlier?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/ouch/200509/a... - 95k -

Yes, normal people have these qualities too, yet these qualities are brougt to a higher level in HFA/Asperger's http://www.autismtoday.com/articles/Love-Friendship-%20Work.asp?name=Jeanette%20McAfee,%20M.D.
http://paulcooijmans.lunarpages.com/psy/asp.html

http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/
Also, it says in Asperger's Syndrome A guide for parents and professionals by Tony Attwood on page 179( paraphrased due to it being copyrighted) that "they have honesty, loyalty, reliable, forthright, have a strong ethical code, exceptinal memory, special interest, original way of thinking, good imagination, and remarkable ability to think using pictures. These attributes are stronger in people with A.S. even though other people have them not as strong. Tony Attwood has met over a thousand individuals with A.S. in the last 25 years, I think he'd probably know what he was talking about.
This is not to offend anyone without these conditions. These conditions are not all fun, it makes it hard to have a job, get married, and have children for some with this condition.

On the Tony Attwood website, click what is asperger's syndrome

http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Neurotypical_syndrome
Here is a bit of satire to say how it would feel if normals were told there is something wrong with being normal

When I said they have the best social skills of all time I meant normal people and how would normal people feel if they were told that even though normal people have such great social skills they are disabled because they don't have the good things about autism/A.S.

I meant normal don't have it to such a degree acording to Tony Attwood.

i_luv_africa, I meant we as people having autism spectrum "disorders" telling normals(people without autism) that normals are disabled.

i_luv_africa, I would be contradicting myself if I said "how would they like it if we called them disabled because they do not have those advantages" when I just stated that people with Asperger's are said to have these!!!!!!

Here is a site that says not to treat autism as something "tragic","horibble", and an "affliction". It is by someone who would know because he has Asperger's http://www.williamstillman.com/about.html
Here is a PROFOUNDLY NONVERBAL autistic saying autism is a gift. http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=120&a=2204
Autism is not horrible http://www.autistics.org/library/pschwarz.html
http://home.att.net/~ascaris1/dontcure.html
http://www.neurodiversitynow.net/
and another autism is not an affliction site http://www.autistics.org/library/pschwarz.html http://www.boingboing.net/2006/10/11/is_autism_a_disorder.html
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=autistic

Answer 1

I get angry when people find out about my son and say that they are sorry for him...he is a wonderful person with much more insight than most neuro-typical people I have met. People can learn a lot from autistics and aspies if they just take the time to open their eyes and not try to "fix" things...they aren't broken, they just don't see things the way most people do. I always grew up believing everyone has weaknesses and everyone has strengths and that is just how it is. Do not misunderstand me, I am not saying being on the spectrum is a weakness...I do not believe it is, but quite the opposite. I think it is the narrow mindedness of most neuro-typicals that is the weakness. My autistic son's "weakness" comes to sensory things and being non-verbal.

Answer 2

"Autism Spectrum Disorder" is a very wide spectrum. This leads to a lot of confusion on the subject.

Asperger's is so high on the spectrum that many think it shouldn't even be labeled as "Autism" but as "an autism related condition."

A person who knows of a child who bangs his head on the wall and can't speak will respond very differently from someone who knows a computer programmer with Asperger's.

My neice is pretty Low-Functioning (though it's a very rare occasion she ever bangs her head) so I feel understood when I get the typical "Wow, that must be tough!" response.

I've been to a support group for family members and one of the reasons I don't go anymore is that most of the people there have kids with Apserger's. I couldn't help but think "what are you complaining about!"

On "The View," Temple Grandlin said "A little bit of that genetics gives you a scientist or a really great doctor. Too much of the genetics and you get a very severe problem."

But we need to be very grateful for all the things invented & improved by the obsessive mindset of the person with High-Functioning Autism. Given the linier mindset of many with Asperger's it is very likely many of our greatest minds in Science had Asperger's.

Answer 3

As a parent of a child with Autism I have never been told my child's view of the world is wrong. Yes its different but not necessarily wrong. There are advantages, but it is a disorder as it isn't the way typical people think and operate. It can be a disability depending on the severity of the case.
Not all people with autism or Aspergers are geniuses, savants, or have a special talent. Rainman made it appear that way but the numbers are actually pretty low. Also you can be honest to a fault. This means saying things at an innapropriate time or things that may be true but not nice.

Answer 4

autism is a lot like a disability if the person affected has a very low IQ, and doesn't have the resources to work around that (poor education system, no income, ESL, drug use in family, etc). it's at least an obstacle, educationally and socially. this is what i have observed from working in a preschool for autistic children.

aspergers, because it occurs in people with normal-to-high IQ, i would not say it is a disorder. i once dated a fellow with aspergers... it was different, but i wouldn't say it was any worse or any better than dating a guy without it.

Answer 5

I do not know if you know anyone with Autism, but all children with Autism do not have these attributes. As a teacher of severely autistic children, I would think it a tragedy if you say that Autism is not a disability or disorder. You said, and I quote "even though they have the best social skills imaginable of all time", obviously you do not know much of anything about Autism. The main symptoms of Autism is a LACK of social skills and communication disorders. I would check your facts before spouting off your opinions.

Answer 6

A disability is something that keeps a person from successfully doing major life activities without accommodations or support that other people without that condition can do successfully. That is, if the condition that you have prevents you from holding down a job successfully, or interacting with others successfully, or any other major life activity, than that's a disability.

Having a disability does not mean that the person is completely worthless or inept or clueless or retarded.

When I say that conditions on the autism spectrum are disabilities, I mean just what I said above-that they prevent people from completing major life activities without accommodations or supports. People who are identified with Asperger's Syndrome generally need major support in socially inappropriate situations or it seriously impacts their lives. There are people who say that they have Asperger's who don't need those supports, accommodations, or interventions--good for them, I wouldn't say that they are disabled.

As for being honest, loyal, etc that you mention above. Are you saying that only people on the autism spectrum have these qualities? Of course not. People with disabilities are people. And each person has unique qualities and gifts. Each person also has limitations and vices.

Aren't you being arrogant to say that "being disabled in physical ways doesn't give this." How do you know what people with physical disabilities experience?

Answer 7

My 10-year old high-functioning autistic son would tell you that his autism makes him special. I was watching the episode of The View that dealt with autism and one of the banners at the bottom of the screen referred to one of the children as being recovered or cured of autism. My son was absolutely horrified and couldn't understand why someone would take autism away from a person - he thought that was mean! I think it is all in the way you approach things and your attitude towards life. Iwouldn't judge another person's view - everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

Answer 8

i wrote this peom about my twin son he is 8 and has severe autism non verbal also x

In you come here comes the little boy i adore
I think he knows me, i think he knows my name
Your smiling but is it for me or for ones of your many vtech toys !
Standing in the kitchen you point i say 'toast '
Mummy know's me alright, i didnt have to say a word and yep my mummy knows right
Looking in your eyes so bright with a smile that comes and goes
I wonder what will you do when your older
Will you ever have a special someone
or will you enjoy just being you the only person you answer to is you
Mummy will always love you and care for you
Hold my hand Thomas walk with me to the special place
Where no-one knows us, but is this the world you already know
No one knows you like i do
If you hurt i know, if your angry i know
But if you cry i do too
Because i don't know why as you cannot say
Just let me hold you for a second or two and wipe your tears away
For crying does not suit you my happy little boy

Answer 9

This was a recent blog of mine:
From people with autism

"I know of nobody who is purely Autistic or purely neurotypical. Even God had some Autistic moments, which is why the planets all spin." Jerry Newport, AS

" You don't have to be handicapped to be different - everybody's different. " Kim Peek, autistic savant whom rainman is modeled on

" Autism itself is not the enemy...(the deficits) are barriers to who the child is meant to be, according to the developmental blueprint." Frank Klein, HFA

"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." Jim Sinclair, AS

"This is a world where autism is considered a disorder, and autistics are expected to submit to being "repaired". This is a world where autistics are subjected to abuse, ridicule, and punishment for being who we are. This is a world where autistics are given dangerous psychiatric drugs, and treatments which attempt to force neurotypical behavior on autistics. This is a world where autistics who manage to mimic neurotypical behavior enough to "get by in the world" are often plagued by deep emotional and self-image problems because of the discrepancy between who they are and what they appear to be. This is a world where autistics are considered, and treated, as something less than human, and are denied our basic human rights. This is a world where autistics are punished every day for being real, and rewarded for being false. This is not the world I want to live in." Amanda Baggs, LFA

Answer 10

A "Disorder" or a "Disability" is NOT something to be ashamed of. I am disabled and I have a disorder! The only thing that makes me angry is when people use the words negatively or assume they ARE things to be ashamed of.

Ignorance is what pisses me off. Most all "great" people in history had a "disorder" or were "disabled" in some way. It's just too easy for "normal" people to put down what they don't understand.