Why are people so ignorant about Autism?

Question

I mean, people always make generalizations and think that all Autistic people have the same charactaristics. They think everyone with Autism is dumb or that Autism needs to be 'cured.' It doesn't! It just needs to be understood. I actually saw a question that used Autism as an insult!! I myself am Autistic; I published a book, skipped seventh grade, and have an IQ range of 150-180. Yes, I am not the most socially connected person in this beautiful Universe, but I do have feelings. I would give just about anything to be understood. I think people should focus more on trying to LEARN about Autism, instead of trying to 'cure' it.

I may seem normal on the computer, but in the "real world" I do have some differences. I am very hypertactile, and I have difficulty with making friends. I also have a hard time making eye contact, although I am working on it. I also have sensory problems, so when I'm at school, seeing all the people sometimes bothers me.

Here's a cool blog:
http://joyofautism.blogspot.com/

Answer 1

Bravo. I think I can shed a little light on what may be causing you this frustration. I deal with it everyday.

The generalizations you speak about are usually out of willful ignorance which is a completely different animal than true ignorance and much harder to sway opinions from. People need to have nice, neat explanations for everything and anything that cannot be easily catagorized is subject to having the "holes" filled into the unexplained parts in a way that make sense to the person, no matter how far from reality the actual case may be.

This is how false stereotypes are applied to individuals, races, and cultures. Any new information or evidence that contradicts the current belief is almost alway met with resistance because it causes the person to change their current set of beliefs and question their foundations for those beliefs. What's laughable is that people often say it is the autistic person who is incapable of change. It is and always has been the fear of having to look in the mirror.

Willful ignorance is dangerous...and should be cured.

Answer 2

Well it seems that in this time and age people care a lot more about social intelligence than actually intelligence, and also you can't really expect everyone to know a bunch about Autism, most of the time it is only people with autistic family members or people who are autistic that know much about it, like personally I've watched a few shows on it but I'm not an expert and I would think that being Autistic sucks, but I'll take it from someone who is autistic that it's not completely horrible.

Answer 3

In my opinion, I think a lot of people are ignorant about all kinds of "mental illnesses" found in the DSM-IV (the psychological disorder bible).

People don't realize that there are both mild, moderate, and severe forms of a mental illness, and some people are high-functioning and low-functioning.

I don't think autistic people are dumb, even the ones that are lower functioning and have developmentally delayed speech. One autistic girl who couldn't talk was amazingly smart and organized in other areas. Everybody has something they're good at.

I'm no autism expert, but autism gets a lot of attention where I live. I have body dysmorphic disorder, and this is relatively unheard of.......I know it hurts when someone thinks that the word "mental disorder" should be used an insult...A lot of us are smart, hard-working and kind people.

Good luck.

Answer 4

People seem to think autism is a parallel to being mentally challenged, which is so far off the mark it is disgusting. Most people just don't know that it is a social disorder and not an intelligence disorder. The media also seems to portray autism as being another term for mentally challenged instead of going in depth to save people from actually thinking. God forbid the almighty Television ask people to THINK.

Answer 5

You can thank groups like "autismspeaks" for pressing the "1 out of 166 stats" in our faces without mentioning that the stats are so high because autism now includes high-functioning people like you.

In an effort to get funding for autism research, many promote the idea that autism is this great tragedy.

But you are also guilty of overgeneralization when you say autism does not need a cure.

That's easy for you to say! You are high on the spectrum!

You can talk. You can communicate. You understand what people tell you.

IF you are a parent of a child who throws fits & she has no way of telling you why:
IF you had no way of explaining to a scared child what this "strange man in a white coat" is doing to her (her routine physical exam):
IF you couldn't even give her a hug because the feeling of touch was torturous to her:
IF she would never look you in the eye, much less say "I love you";
IF you lived in fear for your child's life because she can't comprehend the danger of moving cars, deep water or electricity;

THEN you might be hoping for a cure - or at least some better treatment so the child isn't totally isolated in her own head.

YOU don't need a cure!

My neice does. And I wish there was a cure for my nephew's autism before he found the creek & drowned!
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AjiuWjNAL5xYCkr2RkqfM1_ty6IX?qid=20060909173847AAkcuiB

Answer 6

That's related to my CNN/Youtube GOP debate question...
"This Question is for the future President of the United States of America. The field of genetics is rapidly advancing. It is quite possible that during your term as President, parents will be having "designer babies" like never before. Screening for such thing as Autism, Depression, Obesity, or Sexuality"

Answer 7

I'm going to look up autism...because you seem like a perfectly normal person to me. Are you sure you're not just shy? Wish you had left a site for us to go to...maybe you can go back and add it to your question. If you do...I'll go to it and get educated. Wish you'd told us what you do..or don't do...that you were diagnosed as autistic.

Answer 8

Most folks really only focus the dynamics in their personal life that need addressing. Why are most folks so ignorant about astronomy.

Answer 9

II think it is wonderful that you let people know about autism.
You are 100 % right!
Best of luck in al that you do!

Answer 10

I agree completely