*hums* 'nother autism article
Nov. 1st, 2004 11:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
conuly
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2004/10/31/area_news/news04.txt
When given Matchbox toy cars, he would only line them up, side by side. He didn't know how to play.
Y'know, this is just the sort of thing that annoys me. Doesn't it ever occur to anybody that this is playing, it's just different? But no, he has to be saved! He has to make annoying vroom vroom noises and make a mess! Gah.
Just before his third birthday, Ryan was diagnosed with autism...she and her husband, Roger, were devastated.
Because, really, they had no idea that this would happen!
This is just something I don't understand. How is it that they're not "devastated" until they hear the word "autism"? Does this change something?
That "epidemic" will create a future burden for the government, she said. One case of autism will cost taxpayers $2 million over the autistic person's lifetime, she said.
Let's see. 2,000,000 divided by... oh, let's say 80. That equals... about $25,000 a year. Hm. Not a pretty number, sure, but how much is spent on other people?
Therapists helped her son regain his childhood, spending 40 hours per week working on the basics: sitting, following basic commands, and eventually, speaking.
Somehow, I don't think spending 40 hours a week learning to be bossed around is part of childhood. *shrugs* Maybe that's just me. Maybe I shouldn't type these things when I'm PMSy. Maybe.
Oh, and my favorite:
Hamilton said the number of children with the disorder is growing 26 percent each year.
"Think about that," she said. "Every four years, the number is doubling."
No. The number of children diagnosed with autism increases yearly. Can we say "better diagnostic techniques" and "a concept of the autistic spectrum"?
*checks clock*
I need to go to class soon. Djusk' a!
When given Matchbox toy cars, he would only line them up, side by side. He didn't know how to play.
Y'know, this is just the sort of thing that annoys me. Doesn't it ever occur to anybody that this is playing, it's just different? But no, he has to be saved! He has to make annoying vroom vroom noises and make a mess! Gah.
Just before his third birthday, Ryan was diagnosed with autism...she and her husband, Roger, were devastated.
Because, really, they had no idea that this would happen!
This is just something I don't understand. How is it that they're not "devastated" until they hear the word "autism"? Does this change something?
That "epidemic" will create a future burden for the government, she said. One case of autism will cost taxpayers $2 million over the autistic person's lifetime, she said.
Let's see. 2,000,000 divided by... oh, let's say 80. That equals... about $25,000 a year. Hm. Not a pretty number, sure, but how much is spent on other people?
Therapists helped her son regain his childhood, spending 40 hours per week working on the basics: sitting, following basic commands, and eventually, speaking.
Somehow, I don't think spending 40 hours a week learning to be bossed around is part of childhood. *shrugs* Maybe that's just me. Maybe I shouldn't type these things when I'm PMSy. Maybe.
Oh, and my favorite:
Hamilton said the number of children with the disorder is growing 26 percent each year.
"Think about that," she said. "Every four years, the number is doubling."
No. The number of children diagnosed with autism increases yearly. Can we say "better diagnostic techniques" and "a concept of the autistic spectrum"?
*checks clock*
I need to go to class soon. Djusk' a!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-11-01 09:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-01 09:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-01 10:09 am (UTC)secomd: I just saw a commerical for a 'cure autism omg' walk thing in my city. I'm tempted to make a sign and stand it out. we've got nice weather, and I've fallen into that deep pit that is NaNoWriMo.
save me Ulyyf, save me.
no subject
Date: 2004-11-01 10:13 am (UTC)http://www.aspiesforfreedom.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=321
no subject
Date: 2004-11-01 11:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-01 11:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-01 11:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-01 11:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-01 11:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-01 11:35 am (UTC)It's funny -- for the longest time after my daughter was diagnosed with autism, I kept thinking to myself: 'why didn't I notice it earlier on?' Then it occurs to me: I simply accepted all these 'quirks' as part of her own unique personality. What a crazy concept that is! ;)
This is just something I don't understand. How is it that they're not "devastated" until they hear the word "autism"? Does this change something?
Actually, the word 'autism' was what un-devastated me. At first, the doctor suggested my daughter may be deaf, which really did make me rather sad -- that whole idea that she'd never be able to hear certain pitches of music, or really know the sound of my voice, etc. When I found out my daughter was autistic, my attitude was more like: 'oh! well, then -- that explains *so* much!' It was more like I discovered half of the secret decoder ring to get into my daughter's world. It just made so much *sense* to me.
I mean, I won't pretend it's all sun-and-roses. Clear communication is *still* difficult, but I usually get frustrated with *myself* for being unable to understand *her* than vice-versa.
On the other hand, Aisling is rather high-functioning, so I might feel differently if we didn't have a connection or understanding at all, or if she seemed to be struggling a great deal with daily life, y'know? *shrug*
no subject
Date: 2004-11-01 02:16 pm (UTC)it's just now gotten cold. as in, less than 80 degrees cold.
no subject
Date: 2004-11-01 02:21 pm (UTC)also: decoder ring = good analogy.
no subject
Date: 2004-11-01 09:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-01 09:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-01 10:09 am (UTC)secomd: I just saw a commerical for a 'cure autism omg' walk thing in my city. I'm tempted to make a sign and stand it out. we've got nice weather, and I've fallen into that deep pit that is NaNoWriMo.
save me Ulyyf, save me.
no subject
Date: 2004-11-01 10:13 am (UTC)http://www.aspiesforfreedom.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=321
no subject
Date: 2004-11-01 11:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-01 11:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-01 11:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-01 11:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-01 11:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-01 11:35 am (UTC)It's funny -- for the longest time after my daughter was diagnosed with autism, I kept thinking to myself: 'why didn't I notice it earlier on?' Then it occurs to me: I simply accepted all these 'quirks' as part of her own unique personality. What a crazy concept that is! ;)
This is just something I don't understand. How is it that they're not "devastated" until they hear the word "autism"? Does this change something?
Actually, the word 'autism' was what un-devastated me. At first, the doctor suggested my daughter may be deaf, which really did make me rather sad -- that whole idea that she'd never be able to hear certain pitches of music, or really know the sound of my voice, etc. When I found out my daughter was autistic, my attitude was more like: 'oh! well, then -- that explains *so* much!' It was more like I discovered half of the secret decoder ring to get into my daughter's world. It just made so much *sense* to me.
I mean, I won't pretend it's all sun-and-roses. Clear communication is *still* difficult, but I usually get frustrated with *myself* for being unable to understand *her* than vice-versa.
On the other hand, Aisling is rather high-functioning, so I might feel differently if we didn't have a connection or understanding at all, or if she seemed to be struggling a great deal with daily life, y'know? *shrug*
no subject
Date: 2004-11-01 02:16 pm (UTC)it's just now gotten cold. as in, less than 80 degrees cold.
no subject
Date: 2004-11-01 02:21 pm (UTC)also: decoder ring = good analogy.
imagination
Date: 2004-11-18 06:51 am (UTC)This reminds me of a ranting topic. The 'experts' say that autistic people lack imagination. They base this on the fact that autistic kids will line things up or stim with them instead of pretending. But pretend play usually isn't very imaginative, it's just imitation. An NT kid who likes superman tends to play a lot of foil-the-evildoer pretend, and that's called imaginative. But an autistic kid who likes spinning things and spins a plate or something, that's not called imaginative. Just because it's odd, they don't recognise it as imagination. I would define imagination as "The ability to create ideas, worlds, etc in your mind." With that definition, neither of those kids are showing that. But a kid who sits there twiddling xyr thumbs might be. Of course it's hard to recognise unless it's acted out. But firstly, a kid who's playing out a slight variation on a stereotypical script is not doing imaginative play and secondly, just because you can't see imagination doesn't mean it's not there! And as for play, I'd define it as "doing activities that are enjoyed for the simple pleasure of doing them" in which case the superman pretend is play, the spinning plates or lining up cars is play, and even my obsessive researching of disabilities and differences is play. The one thing they all have in common is that they are done for the enjoyment of doing them, rather than the result. Of course, some forms of play are innaproprite, such as killing someone and then raping their dead bodies, but the simple rule for that is that play should be stopped if it infringes on anyone's rights(including those of the player).
imagination
Date: 2004-11-18 06:51 am (UTC)This reminds me of a ranting topic. The 'experts' say that autistic people lack imagination. They base this on the fact that autistic kids will line things up or stim with them instead of pretending. But pretend play usually isn't very imaginative, it's just imitation. An NT kid who likes superman tends to play a lot of foil-the-evildoer pretend, and that's called imaginative. But an autistic kid who likes spinning things and spins a plate or something, that's not called imaginative. Just because it's odd, they don't recognise it as imagination. I would define imagination as "The ability to create ideas, worlds, etc in your mind." With that definition, neither of those kids are showing that. But a kid who sits there twiddling xyr thumbs might be. Of course it's hard to recognise unless it's acted out. But firstly, a kid who's playing out a slight variation on a stereotypical script is not doing imaginative play and secondly, just because you can't see imagination doesn't mean it's not there! And as for play, I'd define it as "doing activities that are enjoyed for the simple pleasure of doing them" in which case the superman pretend is play, the spinning plates or lining up cars is play, and even my obsessive researching of disabilities and differences is play. The one thing they all have in common is that they are done for the enjoyment of doing them, rather than the result. Of course, some forms of play are innaproprite, such as killing someone and then raping their dead bodies, but the simple rule for that is that play should be stopped if it infringes on anyone's rights(including those of the player).