Comments on: ComputerWorld Hints: Cure Autism

By: Alexa

Alexa — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 19:28:13 +0000

“My son has Asperger’s and he is in no way malicious. Quite to the contrary he makes every effort to interact with other people everywhere we go. It turns out that it is actually the ‘normal’ people who are rude and unable to communicate with him. He has been mistreated more often then not.

“Based on the my son’s experiences with the general public I have to say that Asperger’s is in no way a handicap. My son is very articulate and seeks social interaction. The ‘normal’ people on the other hand seem to have a hard time being friendly to a kid they don’t know. Is it because he talks like an adult? Or is it because he invaded their space without being invited to do so?…Or is it because he invaded their space without being invited to do so?”

IRL invading someone’s personal space without being invited to do so *is* often done by malicious, rude people on purpose and IRL having one’s personal space invaded *is* mistreatment. How is the person whose space he violates supposed to know that he’s not an NT invading his or her personal space on purpose?

I saw this link on another forum, and it applies here too: http://feministing.com/2008/01/02/real_dolls_real_pimping_1/#comment-220432

“Alek, I just want to second what Mina said about women having, for our own safety, to be sensitive to creepy vibes from men. For a while there was a janitor in my office who was, well, creepy. I suspect he has some form of mild retardation, but the fact is, he never did to the men what he did to the women; he would come up behind me way too close and start talking right in my ear; he would wander into my female colleagues’ offices and sit down even if they were in the middle of working; he would insert himself into conversations between women. And there was something else…an undefinable but creepy vibe.

“”Now, maybe he’s just socially awkward. But what if he’s not? If he doesn’t follow social norms about how close to stand how do I know if he’ll follow social norms about touching? If he follows me down the hall when I’ve given off clear signals that I don’t want him to, where else will he follow me?

“I’d rather be rude than be followed; I’d rather be rude than be groped; I’d rather be rude than be assaulted.”

By: Hip

Hip — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 21:47:04 +0000

As a matter of fact, I myself have enjoyed a mild Asperger type personality from an early age, and a familiar with both the extraordinary gifts this condition can bring, as well as certain difficulties. I was well aware even when I was an infant that I was not of the mainstream, and sense that this would be both an advantage and an disadvantage.

As for friendships, autism can sometimes bring an amazing amount of empathy and deep intuitive understanding, which I think can be the basis for these deep friendships. Such empathy can create the most intimate of relationships, including romantic ones.

Nevertheless, there are those with autism whose internal suffering is immense, and not to try to help would be immoral. There is no cure of course – that might take 50 years or more, since we cannot even stop the common cold virus.

What you should be aware of is that it is currently coming to light that a whole array of neurological and mental state conditions are caused by viruses and other microbes. Anxiety disorders, phobias, anorexia, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, schizophrenia, bipolar, etc, all turn out to have connections to viral causes.

But ironically, it would take someone with an brilliant Asperger mind to fully appreciate the complexities of this!

By: Sadderbutwisergirl

Sadderbutwisergirl — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 16:01:14 +0000

Hip-Autism is not an epidemic and is not a disease. Therefore, we would prefer that you not spread curebie hype here. Thank you very much.
Astrid Bidanec-Very good point made. Autism does not necessary cause someone to be anti-social. If an autistic person doesn’t socialize very much, it is because s/he prefers not to and should not be expected to do it all the freaking time! Overall, humans are only moderately social. Therefore, they shouldn’t be expected to socialize all the freaking time! And this doesn’t only apply to autistic people. There are also NT people who prefer not to socialize and for the most part, they are left pretty much alone. I say live and let live and not put a label (social/anti-social) on an entire group just because they have a common neurotype.

By: Astrid Bidanec

Astrid Bidanec — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:51:56 +0000

Bravo! Well said.
My son has Asperger’s and he is in no way malicious. Quite to the contrary he makes every effort to interact with other people everywhere we go. It turns out that it is actually the ‘normal’ people who are rude and unable to communicate with him. He has been mistreated more often then not.
Based on the my son’s experiences with the general public I have to say that Asperger’s is in no way a handicap. My son is very articulate and seeks social interaction. The ‘normal’ people on the other hand seem to have a hard time being friendly to a kid they don’t know. Is it because he talks like an adult? Or is it because he invaded their space without being invited to do so?
Who knows. But I do agree that people with Asperger’s can have very deep bonds with friends.

By: Hip

Hip — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:53:34 +0000

I contracted a mystery respiratory virus (a sore throat virus), which produced autism-like mental symptoms in me, as well as many other symptoms.

I am wondering if this mystery virus might in part explain the worldwide rise in autism. The virus is easily passed to other people in normal household contact, or in normal social contact, so it could well be one of the causal factors behind the autism epidemic.

For more info on this autism-like virus, see here:

http://chronicsorethroat.wordpress.com

I am posting this, as I wish to help in the process of bringing to light the likely causes of the autism epidemic.