What do you know about Autism Spectrum Disorders?

Question

I was just wondering...what do you know about Autism Spectrum Disorders? (I know a lot, just want to know what others know) This question is especially important since April is Autism Awareness Month.

I will provide a lot of info after the question is done. Also, just a note, I have a form of Autism myself, called Asperger's Syndrome. (hence the name "AspergersKitty")

Answer 1

I know autistics are treated terrribly by society. I know that the combating autism act which just passed is geared into funding research into development of a prenatal screening in efforts to eliminate the autistic population (similar to Downs).
I know that groups like Autism Speaks are also funding the same kind of research. Right now, we are in a rebirth of the eugenics movement in America and it is scary.

Answer 2

The only thing I know (admittedly not much), is that these young children seem to be focused on one object at a time. They seem to be oblivious to humans around them. They are more into themselves. In extreme cases they can be self-abusive. I heard that they can start "normal" and then change too so their parents cannot always say this child was different from birth............I hope I did not do too bad. Good luck with promoting this disorder!
When you have selected the Best Answerer, would you consider answering this question as part of your comment:
Is it possible for a person to have a very mild form of autism so that they can function quite well in many ways as an adult but have a hard time with (romantic) relationships because they tend to be more into themselves?

Addition: I just wanted to add that my ex-boyfriend from many years ago had a nephew who used to "bang" his forehead on the kitchen table. The boy's mother was being investigated for abuse (in the 1970s). Then right in the counsellor/social worker's office he banged his forehead on the counsellor's desk. That made social services re-think their position.

Answer 3

Hi! I had the opportunity to work as a therapist with severe "Behavior Disordered" teenaged guys in a special Sp. Ed self-contained classroom. I had previously worked 15 yrs with very troubled adolescent young women in a locked psych treatment center. Needless to say, I had to learn a totally new way of working with these young men--14-19 yrs of age. "Bill" was Dx'd with Asperger's and responded incredibly well to this system! He helped me make a video tape where he not only explained, but diagrammed his own feelings and behaviors. He was incredible! The key to this system is Diagramming! I LOVE Piaget and applied his Cognitive Stages and found that guys, and particularly Bill would not respond verbally. I started diagramming behavioral patterns in the classroom which had a 16-yr old severe Tourette's, CD, and others. Almost all responded positively and began diagramming and examining their behaviors in the classroom. Then then tracked those patterns back to their formation to the Family of Origin. I used Glasser's Basic Human Needs--Belonging, Power, Freedom and Fun--as the basis of our behavior. Behavior is the vehicle with which we get those Needs met. Bill explained that "Belonging" wasn't important to him, but that Freedom and the Power to get that Freedom IS essential! The Fun he experienced was in being alone with his computer--AND in escalating the other guys into anger with him, by STARING at them when they made fun of him!! Bill was very articulate (in explaining this) and bright, I guess as those with Asperger's are. After a while Bill began coming to class regularly and doing his school work. He eventually fed into some regular classes at the HS and I believe he graduated. I've been retired for 15 yrs now, and am going to visit the area and hope to be able to locate his and others' parents and hopefully, the young men, if they wanted to. I really want to see how much follow-through this system has done and if it helped them transition into adult life.---I've realized that the way I had made "contact" with Bill was to "nag" him--which I think must have been the way his mother did when he was a toddler. It was a wonderful experience for me and I loved them all! I had nagged Bill and in the tape we discussed how I had said that I would be all over him like a bull dog until he started complying (to requests to go to the reading area; get up off the couch and do his homework rather than reading his comic book; etc! With others with other Dx's, I learned how their mothers had established initial "contact" and there was a big variety. Clearly most had never bonded with the mother.

Clearly, my knowledge re Asperger's is very limited and I'd be very interested in hearing from you re your experience and knowledge of the condition--I see it is not a "syndrome"?.
Thanks for your sharing. We all need to understand more of the human make-up!
Marge
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Answer 4

I know a tremendous amount about Autism and other PDDs.