Okay. To refute those myths....
May. 1st, 2006 07:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
conuly
Myth No. 1: Autism is caused by "refrigerator mothers."
Many years ago, Dr. Bruno Bettelheim claimed that autism had a psychological causation: that the mothers of these children, intentionally or otherwise, did not love their children. The term "refrigerator mother" was born, referring to the fact that the mother was cold toward her child.
Today we know that autism is a bioneurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain. Some theories suggest that it may be genetic, viral or caused by chemical exposure.
That one really *is* a myth. However (and I'm not the only one to have suggested this theory, though whoever else did it, I can't recall), it is entirely possible that *part* of that myth was caused by observing the fact that the autistic children had parents also on the spectrum who, to the psychologists, appeared cold towards the child. (In other cases, that's clearly a load of... whatever, but it's a possible explanation for some of them.)
Myth No. 2: Autistic children show no emotion.
A common misconception is that children with autism are unloving and do not have any emotional feelings.
On the surface, this may seem to be the case because they don't always express their emotions in a way that you and I recognize. But for those of us who know a child with autism, we are aware of the ways that they show love and affection.
This is another Real Myth. Autistic children and adults certainly show feelings (although this myth apparently applies only to children... I suppose autistic adults are another myth?)
Myth No. 3: Children just need a good spanking
We've all been out to a grocery store or running errands when we come across a child throwing a temper tantrum, including screaming, throwing and hitting. We may wonder why parents are letting their child do this without any discipline or reprimands.
If this is a child with autism, he most likely has lost control because of sensory overload. The sounds and visual stimulation and the overwhelming crowds are just too much for this child to take in, which results in a meltdown. Parents are unrightfully blamed for not disciplining their children.
Great. So far, we're three out of ten (is it ten?), and nothing I disagree with. Yay! But...
Myth No. 4: You're born with autism.
On average, autism is diagnosed at 44 months of age.
Who can spot the really blatantly obvious logical fallacy here? Anybody? ANYbody?
That's right! You can be undiagnosed for a significant period of time and still be autistic. Indeed, it often takes ages for parents to get a diagnosis once they start seeking it - and to get to the point where they're seeking it can also take a while.
Bad, bad journalist. No cookie.
Myth No. 5: Vaccines do not cause autism.
The jury is still out on this one. Although a recent Institute of Medicine report appears to refute an association between vaccines and autism, the major autism organizations all agree that more research needs to be conducted.
A recent study suggests that children receiving vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal are many times more likely to develop autism than those who receive thimerosal-free vaccine
The major autism organizations are shilling for money. Duh.
Notice how the study which refutes this claim is partially identified, but the study which supports it isn't? What does that tell us?
(Seriously, if I see any real evidence towards that theory, I'll post about it. Go ahead, point me to the studies.)
Myth No. 6: Dustin Hoffman's character in "Rain Man" is typical of a person with autism.
The character in "Rain Man" was a high-functioning person with autism and also was a savant. In reality, only 2 percent of those diagnosed exhibit such savant capabilities.
True... with a couple of caveats. Firstly, some neurotypicals are savants as well. I'm not sure if they're neurotypical, exactly, but they're not autistic, so you know what I mean. Secondly... apparently, Rain Man wasn't based off an autistic person at all. This irritates me.
Myth No. 7: The increase in the rate of autism is due to better diagnosing.
Ten years ago, the rate of autism was 1 in 10,000 births. Today it is 1 in 166. This is a 5,000 percent increase in 10 years. If this astonishing increase is due to better diagnosing, where are the thousands of autistic adults who should have received a diagnosis 10, 20 or 30 years ago?
Well... let's see. Some of them were wrongly diagnosed as mentally retarded (note that the rate of mental retardation diagnoses has gone down in the same period that the rate of autism diagnoses has gone up. This is *not* a coincidence). Some of them are getting diagnosed now, as "Asperger's" or "High Functioning Autistic" (neither of which was really possible ten years ago). Some of them are getting along, or struggling along, sans diagnosis, because they don't want one, or don't realize it's an option. Some of them were misdiagnosed with ADHD or OCD or (I believe) childhood scizophrenia.
She's partially right - the increase in the rate of autism isn't entirely due to better recognition of it and changing diagnostic categories. It's also due to the fact that people who would have gotten no diagnosis ten years ago, even if they'd sought one, are now capable of getting diagnosed as being on the spectrum.
And, remember, most of those statistics for autism diagnosis are, frankly, incredibly badly done and not very useful.
Just so you know.
Myth No. 8: Autism is a rare disorder.
With 1 in 166 children being diagnosed with autism, it can no longer be called rare. We have an epidemic on our hands. Every 16 minutes, another child is diagnosed with autism.
For all of us who have had the privilege of knowing, loving or working with a child with autism, we are able to see their abilities through the disability and appreciate the child within. I am pleased to report to the community that my Carmel Clay colleagues and I are working very hard to provide the best education we can for students who have been diagnosed with autism.
Epidemics are contagious.
And, frankly, you're not seeing "the child within". You're seeing "the child" or (for the daring) "the adult". There's no "within". That doesn't even make sense. Start making sense!
And it started off so well, too!
Many years ago, Dr. Bruno Bettelheim claimed that autism had a psychological causation: that the mothers of these children, intentionally or otherwise, did not love their children. The term "refrigerator mother" was born, referring to the fact that the mother was cold toward her child.
Today we know that autism is a bioneurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain. Some theories suggest that it may be genetic, viral or caused by chemical exposure.
That one really *is* a myth. However (and I'm not the only one to have suggested this theory, though whoever else did it, I can't recall), it is entirely possible that *part* of that myth was caused by observing the fact that the autistic children had parents also on the spectrum who, to the psychologists, appeared cold towards the child. (In other cases, that's clearly a load of... whatever, but it's a possible explanation for some of them.)
Myth No. 2: Autistic children show no emotion.
A common misconception is that children with autism are unloving and do not have any emotional feelings.
On the surface, this may seem to be the case because they don't always express their emotions in a way that you and I recognize. But for those of us who know a child with autism, we are aware of the ways that they show love and affection.
This is another Real Myth. Autistic children and adults certainly show feelings (although this myth apparently applies only to children... I suppose autistic adults are another myth?)
Myth No. 3: Children just need a good spanking
We've all been out to a grocery store or running errands when we come across a child throwing a temper tantrum, including screaming, throwing and hitting. We may wonder why parents are letting their child do this without any discipline or reprimands.
If this is a child with autism, he most likely has lost control because of sensory overload. The sounds and visual stimulation and the overwhelming crowds are just too much for this child to take in, which results in a meltdown. Parents are unrightfully blamed for not disciplining their children.
Great. So far, we're three out of ten (is it ten?), and nothing I disagree with. Yay! But...
Myth No. 4: You're born with autism.
On average, autism is diagnosed at 44 months of age.
Who can spot the really blatantly obvious logical fallacy here? Anybody? ANYbody?
That's right! You can be undiagnosed for a significant period of time and still be autistic. Indeed, it often takes ages for parents to get a diagnosis once they start seeking it - and to get to the point where they're seeking it can also take a while.
Bad, bad journalist. No cookie.
Myth No. 5: Vaccines do not cause autism.
The jury is still out on this one. Although a recent Institute of Medicine report appears to refute an association between vaccines and autism, the major autism organizations all agree that more research needs to be conducted.
A recent study suggests that children receiving vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal are many times more likely to develop autism than those who receive thimerosal-free vaccine
The major autism organizations are shilling for money. Duh.
Notice how the study which refutes this claim is partially identified, but the study which supports it isn't? What does that tell us?
(Seriously, if I see any real evidence towards that theory, I'll post about it. Go ahead, point me to the studies.)
Myth No. 6: Dustin Hoffman's character in "Rain Man" is typical of a person with autism.
The character in "Rain Man" was a high-functioning person with autism and also was a savant. In reality, only 2 percent of those diagnosed exhibit such savant capabilities.
True... with a couple of caveats. Firstly, some neurotypicals are savants as well. I'm not sure if they're neurotypical, exactly, but they're not autistic, so you know what I mean. Secondly... apparently, Rain Man wasn't based off an autistic person at all. This irritates me.
Myth No. 7: The increase in the rate of autism is due to better diagnosing.
Ten years ago, the rate of autism was 1 in 10,000 births. Today it is 1 in 166. This is a 5,000 percent increase in 10 years. If this astonishing increase is due to better diagnosing, where are the thousands of autistic adults who should have received a diagnosis 10, 20 or 30 years ago?
Well... let's see. Some of them were wrongly diagnosed as mentally retarded (note that the rate of mental retardation diagnoses has gone down in the same period that the rate of autism diagnoses has gone up. This is *not* a coincidence). Some of them are getting diagnosed now, as "Asperger's" or "High Functioning Autistic" (neither of which was really possible ten years ago). Some of them are getting along, or struggling along, sans diagnosis, because they don't want one, or don't realize it's an option. Some of them were misdiagnosed with ADHD or OCD or (I believe) childhood scizophrenia.
She's partially right - the increase in the rate of autism isn't entirely due to better recognition of it and changing diagnostic categories. It's also due to the fact that people who would have gotten no diagnosis ten years ago, even if they'd sought one, are now capable of getting diagnosed as being on the spectrum.
And, remember, most of those statistics for autism diagnosis are, frankly, incredibly badly done and not very useful.
Just so you know.
Myth No. 8: Autism is a rare disorder.
With 1 in 166 children being diagnosed with autism, it can no longer be called rare. We have an epidemic on our hands. Every 16 minutes, another child is diagnosed with autism.
For all of us who have had the privilege of knowing, loving or working with a child with autism, we are able to see their abilities through the disability and appreciate the child within. I am pleased to report to the community that my Carmel Clay colleagues and I are working very hard to provide the best education we can for students who have been diagnosed with autism.
Epidemics are contagious.
And, frankly, you're not seeing "the child within". You're seeing "the child" or (for the daring) "the adult". There's no "within". That doesn't even make sense. Start making sense!
And it started off so well, too!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 11:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 11:40 pm (UTC)It annoys me so much when people misuse that word. Obesity is particularly bad (though I suppose, in some small insignificant way, it could be considered metaphorically contagious).
As for other points... I try not to pay attention to statistics, because they're nearly always flawed, but something in me wants them to mean something :) Gah!
no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 11:57 pm (UTC)However, I doubt autism is catching other than through parent-to-child geneticness.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-02 12:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-02 12:34 am (UTC)LOL, we're right here on the Internet.
Seriously, what's the point of 'getting diagnosed' as an adult, unless one intends to try and get money or other support from the State on that basis? and the price of doing that is so much hassle and humiliation that one might as well go work at Wal-Mart or something instead.
I'm not 'struggling along' - these days I'm doing pretty well for myself - but it hasn't always been so. There were times when I could have used some help, but... ha! put myself back in the hands of the Thought Police, after what they did to me when I was young?! I'd rather have starved on the streets!
I suspect this sentiment may be shared by "thousands of autistic adults" who remember all too well their experiences as 'weird and unsatisfactory children', and aren't about to order a second helping.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-02 01:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-02 02:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-02 02:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-02 02:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-02 02:29 am (UTC)Although there were several savants Dustin Hoffman met before playing the role, and most of them were autistic. Just not Kim Peek, who it was originally based on.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-02 02:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-02 02:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 11:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 11:40 pm (UTC)It annoys me so much when people misuse that word. Obesity is particularly bad (though I suppose, in some small insignificant way, it could be considered metaphorically contagious).
As for other points... I try not to pay attention to statistics, because they're nearly always flawed, but something in me wants them to mean something :) Gah!
no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 11:57 pm (UTC)However, I doubt autism is catching other than through parent-to-child geneticness.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-02 12:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-02 12:34 am (UTC)LOL, we're right here on the Internet.
Seriously, what's the point of 'getting diagnosed' as an adult, unless one intends to try and get money or other support from the State on that basis? and the price of doing that is so much hassle and humiliation that one might as well go work at Wal-Mart or something instead.
I'm not 'struggling along' - these days I'm doing pretty well for myself - but it hasn't always been so. There were times when I could have used some help, but... ha! put myself back in the hands of the Thought Police, after what they did to me when I was young?! I'd rather have starved on the streets!
I suspect this sentiment may be shared by "thousands of autistic adults" who remember all too well their experiences as 'weird and unsatisfactory children', and aren't about to order a second helping.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-02 01:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-02 02:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-02 02:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-02 02:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-02 02:29 am (UTC)Although there were several savants Dustin Hoffman met before playing the role, and most of them were autistic. Just not Kim Peek, who it was originally based on.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-02 02:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-02 02:41 am (UTC)