Guest guest Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 , your response to this thread pinpointed a common (unfortunately) phenomenon of " Stockholm Syndrome in 'cured' autistics/aspies " that imho deserves to be brought to public attention. Would you consider making it (edited, expanded or rewritten as you see fit) available on your website as yet another one of your essays? It's an excellent response to those who try to rebuke our quest for civil rights and dignity by citing those poor indoctrinated souls as " good/real autistics who want to be cured/to become normal/to fit in " . Thank you, -Lana > > > Well I came here looking for a place where I could belong. So far > > it's looking like more of the same. > > Well, this is a place that is full of autistic adults that make no > apologies for being who and what they are, and who think that they are > every bit as good as normal people, just as they are. This is a place full of people who do not think that fitting in with the foreign NT world is the be-all and end-all of our existence. And as I see it, no, you have not found a place that you can fit in here. > > You have been belligerent and combative since you first got here. Your first post to the list took another member to task for reposting > something that did not meet your personal standards of how a repost > should look, and it has gone downhill from there. You have displayed virtually every one of the anti-autistic bigotries that many of us on this list are trying to combat. You have, in a matter of speaking, given aid and comfort to the enemies that would seek to force every last one of us into institutions or behavioral indoctrination programs, and to prevent all future births of our kind, by any means necessary, including selective abortion. While some people are working for autistic equality and civil rights, you are here essentially arguing that we don't have a problem, that all we have to do is fit in like they want us to, and all will be well. In short, you are arguing against the rights of every one of us here. Should you be surprised that you get a chilly reception? > > > I found the diagnosis of AS > through the intense therapy work being done by the option institute. > > I have taken many personal growth workshops over the past 18 years > and I felt that I always got left behind. By the time I'd get close> > to breakthrough the teachers would have already given up. In my > search for answers I found the work of The Option Institute. I> > recognized that here was a program that would not give up on people > no matter what. In the course of examining what they offered and how > they came into being I heard about Autism. I started reading out of > curiosity. In two weeks I read every book in the local library on > autism. I finally understood my struggles. > > A lot of us have managed that without indoctrination at any kind of > institute-- or in many cases, despite it. Perhaps all of that intense > therapy has made you believe that growth is the same as becoming more normal and fitting in. Certainly, that does seem to be the case; this seems to be an obsession of yours, to the point that any program that> purports to achieve this, no matter how destructive to autistics it might be, gets your praise. > > I do hope that you are able to get past the effects of all of this > " therapy " one day, and realize just what these programs have done to your spirit and your concept of self. There are members of this list that had rather advanced cases of Stockholm Syndrome, from all of the " therapy, " just as you probably do. If I had tried to reach any of those people, and tell them that they were seeing a skewed view of things because of the " therapy, " they would have told me about how wonderful the program was, and how it helped them, just as I am sure that you will. Now, these same people see things more clearly, and are speaking out against the sorts of " therapy " that they had to endure. > > > I came to this list only to find people attacking the very programs > proven to help autistics fit in and be able to belong. > > That sentence right there shows the problem. " The programs proven to > help autistics fit in and be able to belong. " Nothing about learning to> accept themselves, learning to be happy, anything like that. Just " fitting in. " That is, indeed, the thrust of most " therapy " programs.> Fitting in, at any cost. It does not matter if the autistic is> miserable; he is going to be made to fit in. That's what ABA is all> about. Train away the behaviors that make him different... never mind> that the behaviors are a result of how he thinks, how his brain works... > who and what he really is matters not, because fitting in is > everything. No matter what the problem, the answer is even more fitting > in. > > It is obvious that these programs are designed by normal people, who are > relatively obsessed with fitting in, and who cannot imagine being happy and NOT fitting in. Normal people don't understand, often, when I suggest that autistics can be helped to learn and grow without being made to fit in. Not fitting in is not part of their world-view; the thought of it is bizarre and frightening to them. nd unfortunately, they are the ones designing the therapy programs, and the normal mothers (who share this fear of not fitting in) are the ones the programs are designed to please. The needs of the autistic are never seen from anything but an NT perspective (where fitting in is all-important). > > Autistics certainly can fall victim to indoctrination like anyone else. I have seen it several times myself. It is quite clear, from what you have written in the past, and especially in this letter, that you have been indoctrinated by the " intense therapy " programs you've been in. > The NTs that run those programs seek to impose an NT-like worldview on their victims, since they mistakenly think that this is " the " way for anyone to be ( " normal " must mean " right for everyone " ), and it is clear that they have succeeded. This is unfortunate. In time, most of our kind that has been through that learn that it was a bunch of nonsense, and that it was an obstacle to truly accepting oneself and being happy. > Of course, nothing will convince you of that; people at your stage of this process will often fight tooth and nail to defend their > indoctrinated views against all who challenge it. > > > I feel like I> > am personally being attacked by these people. > > > > It's not so much the debate as it is defending me and my > > opportunities. > > Opportunities to be just like everyone else. Some opportunities. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 scap_64 wrote: > Would you consider making it (edited, expanded or rewritten > as you see fit) available on your website as yet another one > of your essays? Yes, and your other, recent response to him was of an equally high caliber of writing. Only a minimum of editing would be needed. Clay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 > scap_64 wrote: > > Would you consider making it (edited, expanded or rewritten > > as you see fit) available on your website as yet another one > > of your essays? > Yes, and your other, recent response to him was of an > equally high caliber of writing. Only a minimum of > editing would be needed. Ummm, I meant that to , of course, and btw, there was a small typo, a left-out letter, as I recall. > Clay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 And heck, I may as well pick up message #15500 since it's ripe for the taking. (It's one of my " things " , y'know. ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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