Guest guest Posted November 7, 2008 Report Share Posted November 7, 2008 This is such a good point. I often just say Rosie has autism and don't explain further - but then people prod - because she has such an atypical presentation. I think that makes sense what you said about glossing over it. A lot of people want to gloss over Rosie's - at school, my parents, etc, because she is in many ways functioning quite high. But this does not change her struggles - nor does it make her in any way " better " than anyone else... > > > I have difficulty saying Allie has high functioning autism. To me, she > > has full blown autism, but she is functioning relatively high. I guess > > in some ways I feel I'm trying to gloss over the autism by calling it > > high functioning and by saying she has plain old autism I'm accepting > > her fully. I dunno, does that make any sense at all? > > > This reminds me of what a lot of autistic self-advocates have said > about functioning labels. A few examples: > > http://ballastexistenz.autistics.org/?p=24 > http://ballastexistenz.autistics.org/?p=50 > http://tinyurl.com/6ojxa8 > http://aspiesforfreedom.org/wiki/index.php?title=Functioning_labels > http://tinyurl.com/5nh6d3 > (Note: the last one is something I wrote a long time ago.) > > It seems to me like the difference between high functioning and low > funcioning is typically defined by rather superficial differences. I > met a 10 year old boy once who was the first person I'd met with body > language like mine, who instantly made sense to me in a way no one else > has. Yet people would think we're not that similar, because I'm verbal > and have mild delays in self-care and he was mostly nonverbal and wore > diapers. And while those differences are big in terms of what kind of > help we need and such, they aren't that important to who you are as a > person, and I felt that we were similar people in the important ways. > (Note that this is different from the 'we're all the same on the > inside' comments many people make. I am very aware that I'm quite > different from most people in ways that are central to my own identity. > It's just that this boy was like me in those important ways, much more > than he was like me in his functional abilities.) > Ettina > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 8, 2008 Report Share Posted November 8, 2008 Yep, it seems often that everyone else has a far more difficult time accepting/discussing Allie's autism than I do. I guess that's why I don't like always referring to her as I do. I posted on our school system's board about her progress and that I thought it was proof that the citizens need to realize we should always assume intelligence of our disabled students. The first thing said to me was, " Well, she probably doesn't have it that bad. " So then I had to make sure I stated yes, she does have full-blown autism, so we cannot dismiss the possibilities of even people perceived as low-functioning. People are so quick to dismiss the abilities of the disabled as it being a fluke, luck, or some reasonable explanation other than accepting people with disabilities are able. It makes me nuts!!! Debi > > This is such a good point. I often just say Rosie has autism and don't > explain further - but then people prod - because she has such an > atypical presentation. I think that makes sense what you said about > glossing over it. A lot of people want to gloss over Rosie's - at > school, my parents, etc, because she is in many ways functioning quite > high. But this does not change her struggles - nor does it make her in > any way " better " than anyone else... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 8, 2008 Report Share Posted November 8, 2008 debi that is of why too many base of the functioning levels of autism off the so called IQ testing and this to me is of the most damaging things at times because a chiild with autism who does not do well on the IQ testing will be assumed to learn at the level the IQ indicates. both fashions are of wrong if it is of low they teach at low if it is of high they set rigid high expectations that the social/emotional age cannot consitently give. I to be of only use the terms in reference to daily living and self care and the ability of functional communication of any fashions. as the way to indicate of HFA or LFA but it has to me nothing to do with intellect. It is that just because with autism there is of so much motor planning, movement issues, and huge outwards ability to communicate effectivley among others in ways that others can interpret of it thus this huge barrier is of to me reflective of more of this and not of the IQ at all so it should be of not an indicator of how they learn or what they know because their intellect migth be of very average to above or in genius levels so the LFA to me should only be reflective of how severe the barriers are for them to care for self independently in areas of daily living and self care and communications , which then should be of targeted areas to be on the IEP as things to work on. some with HFA who is of also just classical autism itself but they have learned to work through those daily living and self help things and have found outlets to communicate effectively, but at the same such as self things are still refelctive of autism in many of the core areas it is of just the person does seem to motor plan, move about, can take care of self and does have soem functional communication to various levels. as for me i to think my languge barriers still impact some of my daily living but not the level it did as a child and teen or young adult. my responses and reactions to live arond me still can beof reflective of my autism. some of my motor planning is of sloppy and some is of very agile so it is of mixed up. the more anxiety and or stress and or out of sync I to be of in that day the more stiff and uncoordinated I to become. the more my language scatters and fragments, the more disorganized my brain becomes. then it builds to the frustrations and agitiations and then the SIB or aggressive responses to self emerge and when this happens it is of just reflective of my true challenges within my autism diagnosis level at that moment. sondra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 10, 2008 Report Share Posted November 10, 2008 > > debi that is of why too many base of the functioning levels of autism > off the so called IQ testing and this to me is of the most damaging > things at times because a chiild with autism who does not do well on > the IQ testing will be assumed to learn at the level the IQ > indicates. both fashions are of wrong if it is of low they teach at > low if it is of high they set rigid high expectations that the > social/emotional age cannot consitently give. > Yes, I've noticed that. A lot of people just can't seem to get that pretty much all autistics have skill scatter relative to non-autistics. Ettina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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