The Truth About Autism

As as Aspie girl on the verbal end of the autistic spectrum, I'm very lucky in that I can communicate in ways that society deems 'normal'. However I'm far more comfortable with a keyboard then talking face to face with someone I don't know that well.

David Wolman at WIRED Magazine has written an excellent article on The Truth About Autism: Scientists Reconsider What They Think They Know. Even if you think that you already know about autism then I suggest you read this piece. Finally through the keyboard we are hearing autistic voices in their own words, not how scientists think they must be feeling.

In the article Canadian researcher Laurent Mottron draws a parallel with the not so distant Dark Ages view on homosexuality. In fact being gay was once seen as something to be killed or cured, a view that is thankfully now limited to the more barbaric and religious parts of the world.

Until 1974, psychiatry's bible, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, described being gay as a mental illness. Someday, Mottron says, we'll look back on today's ideas about autism with the same sense of shame that we now feel when talking about psychology's pre-1974 views on sexuality. "We want to break the idea that autism should definitely be suppressed," he says.

Personally I have always disliked the terms 'Low Functioning Autism' (LFA) and 'High Functioning Autism' (HFA), almost as much as I do the term Austistic Spectrum 'Disorder'. It implies that there is something wrong with all of us, with a score system based on IQ tests that are designed for NT input and output systems, like being able to talk or hold a pen.

I think the term Autistic Spectrum is enough and describes how each of us are individuals with a blend of abilities, without turning it into a disorder that must be cured. It's just that our quiet, focused strengths get lost in the noise of the modern world, which is currently designed for maximum sensory overload.

Society and research is also focussing on autism in young children or adults who were sadly born in a pre-technology age. There is now a whole generation of aspies and auties who are thriving in cyberspace. Stick us on an net connection in our favourite online space, and we may surprise you with our intelligence, verbosity and opinions.

Just don't expect us to look you in the eye or enjoy mass congregations...