(Dutch) video about music app for children with autism.
Here is a dutch website with real good info about i.e. Autism. It contains a list benefits people have when having autism. They fit very well to playing electron.
The biggest difference is in IQ levels and Emotional Intelligence.
Autism is generally an IQ lower than 90 but regular EI. However Aspergers tends to be an average or higher IQ with a low EI.
What are you basing this on?
It is interesting how in the newest DSM that they got rid of the separate diagnosis as it is a opposite side of the strata of the line that we all run on in autistic tendencies. I would be interested in the logic of this as my interactions with autistic people (depending on the severity) and people with aspergers are very different.
I we’re talking DSM-5 there are several reasons for this. Even though i’m willing to agree to “we all run on in autistic tendencies” - or put differently - that they can be considered universal traits in lesser or greater extent, i’m not sure that it has weighted in on how the system for diagnosis has developed.
However, one reason is that there seems to be general consensus that autism and what was previously referred to as aspergers syndrome share the same characteristics in the two general areas of interaction/communication, and behaviors/interests/activites. Assessment is therefore based on to what degree these two areas manifests themselves. Personally i agree that it makes more sense to see these characteristics in terms of a spectrum, rather than discrete categories. The idea of a spectrum seems to fit with your observation as well, if i understand you correctly.
Regarding the stigma around a specific diagnosis, i see several different responses from those diagnosed. For one person it may seem like a burdening label, for others it can be a huge relief knowing that there is a name for your difficulties, and that there are people who understand what that means. I’m not sure there ever will be an end all be all verdict on the benefits/pitfalls on diagnosis, but there’s certainly worth in keeping the discussion alive.
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remember when people were just a little eccentric…? probably not if you’re under 35. now it’s disorder this and syndrome that. bah.
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It definitely can be , but I think it’s just sensible to only share the information that need know as society is a unkind place.
I’m basing this on what psychologists say and my own personal experience
A friend of mine wrote this book that folks on this thread might find interesting–Hans Asperger was a pretty terrible guy, it seems…
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Asperger’s was basically used to describe autistic people with no associated developmental delays or learning disabilities. It became unhelpful to continue to separate this way, as it has become unhelpful in understanding autism, both clinically and in wider society.
As our understanding of autism has improved, so has our need to sub-categorise. Autism is autism, regardless of a person’s IQ, emotional intelligence or social communication.
This doesn’t mean that those who identify as Asperger’s should suddenly stop doing so, it just means that clinicians have stopped using it as a diagnosis, instead bringing everyone under the banner of the autism spectrum.
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I said that exactly. I think you misunderstood me. It’s still under the autism umbrella but depending on the characteristics of the person it becomes a different sub category. It’s a bit like saying for arguments sake someone with a personality disorder. Ok yes , that is helpful. But it is important for the doctor and patient to subcategorise the particular. It allows the people in question to better understand their particular diagnosis as well as get more specialised help and advice. The only stickler I have with what you said is that it is autism no matter EI IQ. It is but that is what defines a particular sub group of diagnosis. The devil is in the detail
Personality disorders are now spectrum disorders as well.
Autism aside, contemporary psychology has moved away from the typology paradigm, for good scientific reasons.
Yes, i’m looking at you, Myer-Briggs test. 
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They are indeed but you are still put into some form of category so you can get specific help to your issue. Everything’s on a spectrum and we are all on it.
We are not all on the autism spectrum though.
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Knowing both younger people diagnosed with ‘various things’ and older people who spent much of their lives undiagnosed, I would always err towards diagnosis.
People I’ve known who’ve received a diagnosis have been able to understand themselves better, to understand how they may differ from society’s expectations of personhood, and how to use and develop ways of working that empower them to live happier and stressful lives.
The common refrain of later-life diagnosis is ‘I always thought I was a fuckup/stupid/etc’ - far from being happy ‘eccentrics’, they’ve always judged themselves (and been judged) according to a ‘normality’ that is largely inaccessible to them. Diagnosis helps them to move past this self blame and to find ways to live more happily (on terms that work for them).
This is turn allows people to speak and act on their own terms, and for society at large to offer greater understanding.
Which is to say, these definitions and diagnoses can actually allow for and enable ‘eccentricity’ better than if we just don’t talk about it.
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I was kinda making the point that being diagnosed Asperger’s doesn’t mean you have a higher IQ than other autistic people, because that is not the case. I think it is very unhelpful to separate Asperger’s from autism, as it gives the impression that they are different things, which they are not. Every autistic person is a different as every neurotypical person, so sub-categorising seems arbitrary.
I know that everyone is different. Definitely so, I am just making the argument that potentially not having sub diagnosis could actually create more of a hindrance. I was just stating that people with Asperger do not have learning disabilities. That would be sub categorised ( as far as I am aware ) differently. I will bear in mind your feelings on diagnosis separation next time I interact with people I know with the diagnosis.
When behavior and abilities deviant from a supposed norm are accepted as inherent to the human neurodiversity there is no more need to feel stupid because one would not be treated like it.
If one thinks such turn is impossible take in mind that homosexuality was once regarded a disease that needed curing, including sterelisation. Or that non white people were once regarded as non human races. All supported by science and medicine theory.
Sorry if I came across abrupt, I’ve had a savage day at work. It’s all good. I get what you’re saying, I just feel that sub-categories should be defined by any associated conditions (such as ADHD or developmental delay) rather than trying to split the definition of autism itself. I think we’re ultimately making very similar points, I just had some leftover argument from work and I took it out on you, apologies for that.
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Don’t worry at all. No harm meant by me. And none dealt. The more we talk about neuro diversity the more it is understood. I am all for that.
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Ahh but it is not a strata, but a fluid multidimensional spectrum, and someone with classic autism can have high-functioning or even savant-like traits, and someone with Asperger’s can have profound learning deficits (sometimes in conjunction with other diagnoses like ADHD or Tourette’s)… I have seen these types of combinations in myself and in many others. Working in the special needs education community I see the fluidity of the spectrum every day.
I must admit when the DSMV came out, I was somewhat disheartened that my diagnosis was incorporated into the overall Autism spectrum, as i had just begun to regard it as a special thing, like a superpower. But I now realize that everyone with ASD has special and unique abilities, even if it’s not immediately obvious.
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And many of the methods used to try and “treat” homosexuality in children are still being used on autistic kids. We really do still have a long way to go. We are slowly heading in the right direction though.
This insight is very valuable.
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Really? Which ones?
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