Apr 9Liked by Amelia Mavis Christnot, The Big Picture
THIS IS ME.
I'm an Aspergian.
And while I can not rattle off every type of train ever built, I have my own lists: World Series results, stations on the New York Subway, crews of the US Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions.
And I like the cartoon showing the difference between the stereotypical autistic person and the reality.
Apr 9Liked by Amelia Mavis Christnot, The Big Picture
Recently self-identified (and clinically supported, if not “diagnosed”) at 42, after running into an absolute brick wall of burnout at the end of last year. Understanding myself much more fully, now. The autism and neurodivergence community is no question the best thing about the internet, in my view.
What comes to my mind reading this insightful piece by Amelia is the Myth of Normal. We make ourselves sick by assuming what normal is rather than embracing our differences as the healthy norm. As a child I was labelled with attention deficit disorder when in reality I only attended to the world differently. As an adult that difference is paying dividends as I write about how I attended to the world went against the cookie cutter order imposed upon me by school as a student. School had separated subjects that were inseparable to my mind. I was busy making connections that went against our order of things to see the bigger connected picture.
I have several of these "symptoms". I "hear" too much. I was hyperactive in early years so I was put in dance and tumbling. I pause when speaking to "find" the word that fits. I am hypersensitive to spices. I hear music of any kind first before vocal sound so I have a hard time in venues with background music when I am supposed to carry on a conversation. All my life. A couple of other "things". I never considered it was autism. I just thought everyone else had their own different problems.
Apr 9Liked by Amelia Mavis Christnot, The Big Picture
THANK YOU! What an informative and thoughtful article. I learned a lot from this. I’m not on the spectrum but have friends that are. Your experience and explanations I believe will make me a more informed, understanding person going forward. Thank you so much for sharing. 💜
This is wonderful! A lot of these symptoms show up in my husband, myself, and my son as well as my autistic daughter. As it turns out, for philosophical reasons, I was protective of my kids’ autonomy and agency as they were growing up and as I learn more about our brains I am grateful that I let toddlers, preschoolers, and school kids dictate to the family when warranted (I can’t handle the noise at this musical, the height of this restaurant, scratchy clothing, etc.) Even if I didn’t understand everyone’s operating system, I have few regrets because we always treated sensory issues, mental exhaustion, video gaming, as indicating needs, not willfulness.
While attending a conference and seeing a presentation in which the presenter referred to her research participants as "Aspygirls", I checked off nearly every indicater she presented regarding women who'd been misdiagnosed all their lives and have a high probability of being Autistic. I then looked for someone with expertise in late diagnosis of women and got my official diagnois of ASD. That was an enlightening moment that cast an entirely different interpretation of my life's experiences. Interestingly, I am also a behavior analyst, which means I provide applied behavior analytic programs to assist individuals (many autistic) in increasing their independence and addressing any individual needs they or their families have identified. Now, I have to say, that if I had been the recipient of traditional ABA as a child, I would have responded violently to that treatment and likely have been institionalized as a result. However, as a modern and non-traditional behavior analyst, one who is a firm believer in the right of everyone to refuse to be compliant and to be unique and interesting individuals, I provide what is becoming known in our field as "compassionate care". I do not try to mask anyone's individual traits or try to turn an atypical person into a typical person. I wouldn't like it if someone tried to do that to me, so I'm not doing it to them. Applied Behavior Analysis has been going through significant changes largely the result of the feedback recieved from previous recipients of ABA programs. I want to make two comments regarding the statements made in this article about ABA. First, like you mentioned, every autistic person is unique just like every non-autistic person is unique, and we range across a wide spectrum of skill strenghts and skill deficits. What I have observed in autistic adults who have significant skill strengths is a tendency not to recognize that there is a significant population of autistics with significant skill deficits in communication and daily living skills who would have their independence seriously limited without ABA programs to help. I have also observed in my field a tendency for ABA professionals to not recognize the population of autistics who do no have severe skill deficits and therefore do not need any intervention and if they get treatment, it's usually not appropriate. So that is my first comment regarding negative comments about ABA. The other comment is that it's very common for people to speak in absolutes, for example, something is always one way, or never one way. When people use absolutes to refer to the historically and sometimes current traumatic ABA programming, and advocate against it without qualifying what they say, then they are misrepresenting whatever it is they spoke so absolutely about and are in fact engaging in the same behavior they complain about when people refer to them in absolute terms. So my second comment is, as much as we each want to be treated uniquely and recognized for our strenghts and assisted for our weaknesses, we should recognize that we do the same for others autistic and non-autistic, and for programs intended to teach. Let's face it, many public schools and many teachers are terrible in how they teach or respond to kids with autism, but no one is advocating that we end public education for autistics. My personal experiences with the public school both as a student and as an educator have been both positive and negative but I don't advocate for the end of public school because they aren't perfect or had a history of poorly treating individuals with disabilities or autism. However, I frequently see this response by autistics, to advocate against something that is not universally negative and in fact helps so many people. There seems to be no flexibility or recognition that many behavior analysts, including myself, are actually helping people and are not in any way hurting or traumatizing anyone. Just once, I'd like to read an article that provides a balanced view of ABA rather than advocating for or against. Thank you, Wendy Weller, PhD, BCBA-D.
My mother was so frustrated with me growing up in the 60s/70s. She thought I was doing all this on purpose. Why, I would say, when I hate attention, would I do things to bring attention to myself?
I’m so thankful that information is now getting out that there are many folks who just simply have a different operating system. Thank you for doing your part to raise awareness and normalize being somewhat different.
Thank you, Amelia, for expanding my understanding. I will be sharing this article with friends and family.
Here’s a possibly related experience from my own life concerning word retrieval, especially proper nouns. My mother would occasionally use the name of the person she was looking at, rather than the name of the person she was speaking about. And as I get older, I find myself struggling to recall people’s names. Not all the time and not people currently in my social circles. Meanwhile, beginning in my 60s, I’ve needed to ask people to speak slower so that I can follow along. When watching John Oliver, I set playback at 85%.
At a certain point, aging is perhaps a time of increased neurodivergence.
This was very enlightening. Thank you for the courage to write it. I am NOT autistic but I have some of the traits you described so eloquently and share your frustration. Because I'm not autistic, I've been spared abuse but I've seen eyerolls at times. Thank you for this article.
Apr 9Liked by Amelia Mavis Christnot, The Big Picture
This one post is worth the entire year's subscription price. My 10-year-old grandson has been diagnosed with some form of autism. I'm forwarding this to his parents. I hope it will help them understand and accept him better.
Amelia this is a very interesting piece. I love learning new things. When I first learned about autism, was around the time that Dr. Temple Grandin was being discussed in the media. Her self awareness helped to develop understanding for Autism. When I studied school psychology we learned that spectrum meant that everyone was on the bell curve of the behaviors, which means we all have some. So, we were taught that the point at which autism is diagnosed is when behaviors impede competent functioning. I love the way you reframe things Amelia. You are a case study of one and as such make autism very individual. I know people with one or a few of many of the characteristics you have mentioned but they are not necessarily getting an autism diagnosis on the basis of that. I also know people who might get an autism diagnosis but do not have one. Still, I have visited programs where carers work with children who wear helmets to avoid them hurting themselves or others when they hit their heads against the walls. I wonder how much effort is made to teach sign language to those who do not have verbal communication. It is interesting that you say you did not speak until you had something to say. That stands out in a world where people are paid to just fill the void with speech. Thank you for sharing yourself with us.
THIS IS ME.
I'm an Aspergian.
And while I can not rattle off every type of train ever built, I have my own lists: World Series results, stations on the New York Subway, crews of the US Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions.
And I like the cartoon showing the difference between the stereotypical autistic person and the reality.
READ THIS.
THIS IS ME.
Recently self-identified (and clinically supported, if not “diagnosed”) at 42, after running into an absolute brick wall of burnout at the end of last year. Understanding myself much more fully, now. The autism and neurodivergence community is no question the best thing about the internet, in my view.
Thank you!
What comes to my mind reading this insightful piece by Amelia is the Myth of Normal. We make ourselves sick by assuming what normal is rather than embracing our differences as the healthy norm. As a child I was labelled with attention deficit disorder when in reality I only attended to the world differently. As an adult that difference is paying dividends as I write about how I attended to the world went against the cookie cutter order imposed upon me by school as a student. School had separated subjects that were inseparable to my mind. I was busy making connections that went against our order of things to see the bigger connected picture.
"Reading between the lines to get what a person really means baffles me. Why not say exactly what you mean?" I love this so much.
I have several of these "symptoms". I "hear" too much. I was hyperactive in early years so I was put in dance and tumbling. I pause when speaking to "find" the word that fits. I am hypersensitive to spices. I hear music of any kind first before vocal sound so I have a hard time in venues with background music when I am supposed to carry on a conversation. All my life. A couple of other "things". I never considered it was autism. I just thought everyone else had their own different problems.
THANK YOU! What an informative and thoughtful article. I learned a lot from this. I’m not on the spectrum but have friends that are. Your experience and explanations I believe will make me a more informed, understanding person going forward. Thank you so much for sharing. 💜
This is wonderful! A lot of these symptoms show up in my husband, myself, and my son as well as my autistic daughter. As it turns out, for philosophical reasons, I was protective of my kids’ autonomy and agency as they were growing up and as I learn more about our brains I am grateful that I let toddlers, preschoolers, and school kids dictate to the family when warranted (I can’t handle the noise at this musical, the height of this restaurant, scratchy clothing, etc.) Even if I didn’t understand everyone’s operating system, I have few regrets because we always treated sensory issues, mental exhaustion, video gaming, as indicating needs, not willfulness.
While attending a conference and seeing a presentation in which the presenter referred to her research participants as "Aspygirls", I checked off nearly every indicater she presented regarding women who'd been misdiagnosed all their lives and have a high probability of being Autistic. I then looked for someone with expertise in late diagnosis of women and got my official diagnois of ASD. That was an enlightening moment that cast an entirely different interpretation of my life's experiences. Interestingly, I am also a behavior analyst, which means I provide applied behavior analytic programs to assist individuals (many autistic) in increasing their independence and addressing any individual needs they or their families have identified. Now, I have to say, that if I had been the recipient of traditional ABA as a child, I would have responded violently to that treatment and likely have been institionalized as a result. However, as a modern and non-traditional behavior analyst, one who is a firm believer in the right of everyone to refuse to be compliant and to be unique and interesting individuals, I provide what is becoming known in our field as "compassionate care". I do not try to mask anyone's individual traits or try to turn an atypical person into a typical person. I wouldn't like it if someone tried to do that to me, so I'm not doing it to them. Applied Behavior Analysis has been going through significant changes largely the result of the feedback recieved from previous recipients of ABA programs. I want to make two comments regarding the statements made in this article about ABA. First, like you mentioned, every autistic person is unique just like every non-autistic person is unique, and we range across a wide spectrum of skill strenghts and skill deficits. What I have observed in autistic adults who have significant skill strengths is a tendency not to recognize that there is a significant population of autistics with significant skill deficits in communication and daily living skills who would have their independence seriously limited without ABA programs to help. I have also observed in my field a tendency for ABA professionals to not recognize the population of autistics who do no have severe skill deficits and therefore do not need any intervention and if they get treatment, it's usually not appropriate. So that is my first comment regarding negative comments about ABA. The other comment is that it's very common for people to speak in absolutes, for example, something is always one way, or never one way. When people use absolutes to refer to the historically and sometimes current traumatic ABA programming, and advocate against it without qualifying what they say, then they are misrepresenting whatever it is they spoke so absolutely about and are in fact engaging in the same behavior they complain about when people refer to them in absolute terms. So my second comment is, as much as we each want to be treated uniquely and recognized for our strenghts and assisted for our weaknesses, we should recognize that we do the same for others autistic and non-autistic, and for programs intended to teach. Let's face it, many public schools and many teachers are terrible in how they teach or respond to kids with autism, but no one is advocating that we end public education for autistics. My personal experiences with the public school both as a student and as an educator have been both positive and negative but I don't advocate for the end of public school because they aren't perfect or had a history of poorly treating individuals with disabilities or autism. However, I frequently see this response by autistics, to advocate against something that is not universally negative and in fact helps so many people. There seems to be no flexibility or recognition that many behavior analysts, including myself, are actually helping people and are not in any way hurting or traumatizing anyone. Just once, I'd like to read an article that provides a balanced view of ABA rather than advocating for or against. Thank you, Wendy Weller, PhD, BCBA-D.
My mother was so frustrated with me growing up in the 60s/70s. She thought I was doing all this on purpose. Why, I would say, when I hate attention, would I do things to bring attention to myself?
I’m so thankful that information is now getting out that there are many folks who just simply have a different operating system. Thank you for doing your part to raise awareness and normalize being somewhat different.
Thank you, Amelia, for expanding my understanding. I will be sharing this article with friends and family.
Here’s a possibly related experience from my own life concerning word retrieval, especially proper nouns. My mother would occasionally use the name of the person she was looking at, rather than the name of the person she was speaking about. And as I get older, I find myself struggling to recall people’s names. Not all the time and not people currently in my social circles. Meanwhile, beginning in my 60s, I’ve needed to ask people to speak slower so that I can follow along. When watching John Oliver, I set playback at 85%.
At a certain point, aging is perhaps a time of increased neurodivergence.
Who On Earth . .
He was once thought maybe Autistic!
but preferred an explanation more Mystic
Simply couldn't Refuse . .a Constantly
nagging Muse . .on sonnets, villanelles
even Limericks! insisting ..
Are You Talking About? . . .# Three Guesses . .. .
You are my hero... & one of my go to pods every day along with J Vance & Heather Cox Richardson. Thankyou. Love you.
Deidre
This was very enlightening. Thank you for the courage to write it. I am NOT autistic but I have some of the traits you described so eloquently and share your frustration. Because I'm not autistic, I've been spared abuse but I've seen eyerolls at times. Thank you for this article.
This one post is worth the entire year's subscription price. My 10-year-old grandson has been diagnosed with some form of autism. I'm forwarding this to his parents. I hope it will help them understand and accept him better.
Amelia this is a very interesting piece. I love learning new things. When I first learned about autism, was around the time that Dr. Temple Grandin was being discussed in the media. Her self awareness helped to develop understanding for Autism. When I studied school psychology we learned that spectrum meant that everyone was on the bell curve of the behaviors, which means we all have some. So, we were taught that the point at which autism is diagnosed is when behaviors impede competent functioning. I love the way you reframe things Amelia. You are a case study of one and as such make autism very individual. I know people with one or a few of many of the characteristics you have mentioned but they are not necessarily getting an autism diagnosis on the basis of that. I also know people who might get an autism diagnosis but do not have one. Still, I have visited programs where carers work with children who wear helmets to avoid them hurting themselves or others when they hit their heads against the walls. I wonder how much effort is made to teach sign language to those who do not have verbal communication. It is interesting that you say you did not speak until you had something to say. That stands out in a world where people are paid to just fill the void with speech. Thank you for sharing yourself with us.