Okay, this pisses me off....
Oct. 6th, 2003 09:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
conuly
I was at Autistics.org to check the links they have, and one of them was about a guy who wanted to bother another user he'd been arguing with and managed to disable a huge part of the internet for Houston's port.
Okay, fine. Sure, people do stupid things like that. Criminal people do stupid things like that. But could somebody explain this paragraph to me:
"Mr Caffrey, who suffers from Asperger's Syndrome - a form of autism - was said to be in love with an American girl called Jessica at the time."
Hm... are they saying that no neurotypical would do that? Or that he would not have done that except for the AS part? Fact is, this is bullshit. Not all aspies are destructive criminals, in fact, I'd guess that most of us aren't. You would NEVER read "the alleged criminal, who is completely normal...".
If you still don't see the problem, try it like this:
"The alleged criminal, who is black..."
"The alleged criminal, who happens to be Jewish..."
If the statement about AS had any relevance, sure, go ahead and put it in. But it didn't. He is not innocent because, oh, well, he couldn't help it, he's got some weird mental condition. The only purpose of that line was to unfairly paint a group of people as mentally unstable, potentially criminal. Gee, thanks guys.
The story was also posted here
Okay, fine. Sure, people do stupid things like that. Criminal people do stupid things like that. But could somebody explain this paragraph to me:
"Mr Caffrey, who suffers from Asperger's Syndrome - a form of autism - was said to be in love with an American girl called Jessica at the time."
Hm... are they saying that no neurotypical would do that? Or that he would not have done that except for the AS part? Fact is, this is bullshit. Not all aspies are destructive criminals, in fact, I'd guess that most of us aren't. You would NEVER read "the alleged criminal, who is completely normal...".
If you still don't see the problem, try it like this:
"The alleged criminal, who is black..."
"The alleged criminal, who happens to be Jewish..."
If the statement about AS had any relevance, sure, go ahead and put it in. But it didn't. He is not innocent because, oh, well, he couldn't help it, he's got some weird mental condition. The only purpose of that line was to unfairly paint a group of people as mentally unstable, potentially criminal. Gee, thanks guys.
The story was also posted here
no subject
Date: 2003-10-06 08:57 pm (UTC)Some things to consider generally:
1. It's important to note that autistm is a spectrum disorder, you can go from low functioning (classic) autism which is pretty much "very autistic, generally retarded (not always, there are some books out by low functioning autistics, generally using some form of facilitated communication, there's an article about that in the library portion of autistics.org), usually non-verbal" to HFA, and AS and PDD-NOS... You'd be best off checking the DSM-IV for the specifics of what each diagnosis means. I have no need to concern myself with the lower-functioning end of the spectrum, it doesn't apply to me. So I am not in any way qualified to speak about that, nor am I likely to be able to comment on various sites and/or books about that.
2. All of autism IS a big subject, I believe there's a lot of research going on there right now. You might want to concern yourself to something smaller, like:
The role of MMRs in autism (I think that theory is bunk, and if you want to know why, I'll give you my mini-rant on it later)
The use of ABA in "treating" autism (note the quotes, I can link to other people's rants on the subject of treating autism, also remember that ABA does not, as some people think, refer to a specific course of action, it is a catchall phrase for many different types of treatments)
The gender disparity in AS/HFA diagnoses, are females being undiagnosed
Whether FAMOUSPERSON is on the spectrum (I'm wary of most of these, typically postmortem, diagnoses, but I feel there's some validity in calling Einstein HFA and Bill Gates AS)
****
What are you doing this for, anyway? More information means better help! :)
And some other links. These are ONLY links *I* can verify as being fairly accurate, which means they're all geared towards AS or PDD-NOS. If you want links about classic autism, I would suggest you ask the people here for links.
This one seems to be the best site for... well, generally everything. I have a good trust of their links as well, check out the hyperlexia site.
This is more commentary, less science. But I love it, so I'm always willing to tell people about it. AND I trust what he has to say.
You might also want to check google for subjects such as:
Prosopagnosia (aka faceblindness)
CAPD (Central Auditory Processing Disorder)
Scotopic Sensitivity
Sensory overload (be sure to include autism or autistic when searching, else you might get lost)
Savant syndrome
Hyperlexia
*stares* Wow, I typed a lot! Sorry for overwhelming you!
no subject
Date: 2003-10-07 08:35 am (UTC)As for the article.. I don't know. I don't think his autism had a thing to do with his doing this, but neither did his being in love. He was a destructive idiot. *shrugs* I think that whole sentance was bullshit, seriously, but meh.
Wow, I'm being so indecisive. Bwaah!
no subject
Date: 2003-10-07 10:27 am (UTC)Thanks tons for the information. I'd write more, but I've got to get offline and eat so I'll be ready to work by noon. I saved the comment in my email, I shall read it again and look at all the links when I get a chance. Thank you!
no subject
Date: 2003-10-07 11:35 am (UTC)And use footnotes, not endnotes....
Good luck! I *might* be able to answer some questions, at the very least I will probably be able to direct you to the people who can, so feel free to ask.
no subject
Date: 2003-10-07 03:26 pm (UTC)Thanks again! I'll definitely stop slacking off and spend some time researching tonight at work, so if I ever do have questions I may take you up on your offer.