Welcome back! This week I will be talking about my thoughts on the whole Autism/Aspergers spectrum/not a spectrum topic. I know I know, my last message said that I would not be looking into the topic again for a while, but what I meant was that I would not be looking more into the article, or other information on this issue, for a while. Not stop talking about it. See the kind of verbal gymnastics I did there to try and weasel out of trouble? Impressive right? But enough weaseling, or mental gymnasticking (thats a word right?) let's get back to talking about my opinion.

Here is the majestic weasel, an animal known for being used to describe someone who is trying wriggle out of blame for something they may/may not have done.

On the question of the term, some of you say that the term neurodiversity is better sounding, more encompassing and accurate term than spectrum is, and perhaps you are right. Although admittedly, I did not think of the term “spectrum” in the same sense as the colour spectrum, in my view the article makes some good points (from what I have read of it). It does sort of make you think of a sliding Autism/Asperger scale doesn't it? That you are either this much Autistic/Aspie or this much. Either you are a little Autistic/Aspie or a lot, but in my opinion you are either Autistic/Aspie, or you’re not. There is not such thing as “a little Autistic/Aspie” (think of it like this: someone is either a moron or they are not, no one is “a little moronic”. Though in comparison of that person’s moronic actions to another, you’d probably think otherwise).

We, the Autistic/Asperger community, however, must be the ones to decide on a new term if we are to replace the old one. It will have to be one that hits all the marks we deem important, like inclusivity (including all the people whom we want to part of our community, whether it is just those with Autism/Asperger’s or people who are wired differently in general), encourage others acceptance of us and the diversity that resides within our community. I was just spitballing there, but you get the idea. We will need to put a lot of thought into what our new term would be, if we do decide to change it (doesn't that phrase sound disgusting to you? Although it could be worse, it could be “I’m just spitting hot nuegies here).

The phrase “spitballing” or “hot nuegie” is almost as gross as seeing this fly up close, and not wanting to eat it. Except it’s not up close, it’s the size of a small dog, and it is in fact your dinner.

You have probably realized from some of my former posts  that I am advocating for some rather serious changes to some of the names already assigned to us, and doubtless I’m not the only one doing it to. But I think that now is the time we start to seriously consider whether we want to keep the same labels already assigned to us, considering that we, the Autistic/Asperger community, probably were not even asked on how we felt about the terms assigned to us (do you understand what I’m trying to say? I hope so, because while I know what I am trying to say, I’m not always sure how to word it right. Sigh, the curse of being a literally misunderstood artist, it is a cross I must bare).

That’s it for this week. Next week we will for sure for sure move on to a new topic (and no, it won’t be my thoughts on my thoughts. That’s for another date). But until next time, this continues to be, The Audacious Aspie.     

Sources used:

https://theaspergian.com/2019/05/04/its-a-spectrum-doesnt-mean-what-you-think/

Welcome back! This week, we continue our look at the article from the ASPERGAIN (again, there call-caps, not mine) and how the whole spectrum definition might be skewed. Last we left off, I talked a bit about the names of some of the colours of the Autism/Asperger rainbow (Pragmatic, Social Awareness and the rest), along with a possible replacement name for it: instead of spectrum, perhaps we could call them a trait, or an ability, or a skill (The more positive sounding, the better in cases like these). But, enough stalling for now, let's get back to the main event!

Don’t you hate it when people stall? It’s like “common man! I wanna get to the next part already!” I had a buddy of mine right? He stalled for so long right? He stalled for so long, we missed most of the when we finally got in the theater. Another buddy of mine right? We was trying to get to an event right? And he...

So, to harken back to last weeks post abit, if you check all or most of the boxes listed on the article, you are on the...Autistic/Aspie trait list (almost said spectrum). According to the article. But if you check off only one or two of the boxes, than the article says that it’s not Autism/Aspergers  you have, but something else entirely. E.g.: you struggle with communication alone? You have communication disorder. Problems with only movement/control? Dyspraxia/developmental coordination disorder, or you could shorten it to DCD (an amalgam that sounds like CDC, but switch the letters around). Sensory processing issues? Sensory processing disorder. And you get the rest.

Hence the problem with the phrase “we’re all a little autistic” (other than the obvious ones. Oh you are, are you? So tell me, what are YOUR obsessions? Bare in mind that obsessions are not something that we simply enjoy, but something that we enjoy intensely and will attempt to learn EVERYTHING about it. Literally, everything). If you just hate fluorescent lights, or feel awkward in some/all social situations, you are not a little Autistic/Aspie, you just hate fluorescent lights or feel awkward in some/all social situations (that said, you should still probably see your GP, incase you need some form of assistance).

Or another name for GP (General Practitioner, hope I spelled that right), is family doctor. But what if you don’t have a family? What if you are a family of one? Are they then known as a PD, personal doctor? This is an important question folks.

The article put it in another, I think interesting, way: it’s the equivalent of saying “you are dressed ‘a little rainbowy’ when you are wearing only red’” (Aspergian, It’s a spectrum doesn't mean what you think). And, for those of you who may not know this, and at the risk of already repeating what was already said in the last post about the article (the article on it’s own repeats itself in some areas), not every person who is Autistic/Aspie has the exact same traits, and the exact same strengths. While one person may be able to handle themselves very well in social situations, hitting all the right notes and picking up most, if not all, of the social cues. Another person may need a lot of help in the same social situation, a kind of guide or coach. While one may have very few repetitive behaviours, and know what kind are socially acceptable, others may have quite a bit of repetitive behaviours, and/or may not know or understand which ones are okay to do in public. You get the idea.

Well, that does it for this week's post. Next week I will either do one last segment on the article, or move onto another topic to keep things entertaining (and to keep things suspenseful as always, I won’t tell you which one I’ll do! Oh, it’s not that suspenseful? Because in the end you’ll find out anyways and it won’t really affect your world that much? Can you pretend to be in suspense? It’d really help my ratings. Might even get you day or so off work if the boss thinks you are suffering some kind of extreme stress! Or get you simply kicked out from a public space, but that's the risk you take.). But until next time, this continues to be, The Audacious Aspie.     

Sources used:

https://theaspergian.com/2019/05/04/its-a-spectrum-doesnt-mean-what-you-think/

Welcome back! This week we continue to look at the article from THE ASPERGIAN A NEURODIVERGENT COLLECTIVE (their all-caps, not mine. Probably trying to be all dramatic and such) AND THE TOPIC OF...sorry, forgot I left caps-lock on, and the topic of the article: spectrum; does it really mean what we think it means? Last week I was going on about how the author is using the colour spectrum as an example of the Autism/Aspergers spectrum, but it’s also not like the Autism/Aspergers spectrum (and how I was not able to cover that last week but hope to do so this week). So just how exactly is the colour spectrum not like the neurological spectrum? Well let's take a look-see.

You know how a black hole is a hole that sucks in everything, including light (hence the name black hole), this looks like a pic of what a white hole would look like: a hole that spews out everything, including light. Lots and lots of light.

Firstly, according to the author, we talk about the spectrum as if it’s a gradient, rather than an actual spectrum. You can either be a “little autistic/aspie”,  “a-lot autistic/aspie”, or somewhere in between (alternatively, the author notes, “a-lot autistic/aspie” is also known as “tragic autistic/aspie”. Something we may have all heard of before). But, like all other stereotypical ways used to define minority groups, this is a rather simplistic way of categorizing a diverse group. It's not like your traits get worse as you move up on the spectrum (or for the nerdy/geeky, it’s not like you levelling up your character but instead of getting more powerful skills/powers, they just get worse).

Apparently, according to the article, the whole spectrum thing is so far off that even the DSM-V is against it. Calling Autism/Aspergerss an “uneven profile of abilities” (THE ASPERGIAN: A NEURODIVERGENT COLLECTIVE). Must be why there is a saying of “if you’ve seen one person with autism, you’ve met on one person with autism” (or so the article says, this is the first time I’ve heard of it). Autism/Aspergers’s, the article claims, is not one condition but a myriad of related neurological conditions, impossibly intertwined that professionals have stopped trying to sort them in neat boxes (weather the article means actual professionals or “professionals” is unclear, but probably the former).

Ever wonder how many boxes they came up with to try and fit us in? My guess is thirty, but chances are I’m not even close.

Instead, the article says, the spectrum is really more like a rainbow of traits, rather than a spectrum of traits. The colours being: Pragmatic language, Social awareness, Monotropic mindset, Information processing, Sensory processing, Repetitive behaviours and Neuro-motor differences (I won’t post the meaning of all the phrases above here, as that would take more time than I want to. If you want to see the meanings, then I suggest you visit the article here. Yes, I am that lazy). How do you know you’re Autistic/Asperger? If you check all, or most of the boxes on the list, than you, dear reader, are on the spectrum. At least as far as the article is concerned, still might want to get tested by a professional rather than a random site online, unless you like webMD.

Ever heard of webMD? I ran a test where I put in some symptoms (runny nose, sneezing, eye blinking), that happens when I get allergies, and I got a list like this: ADHD, Epilepsy, intoxication and more, in that order. I guess allergies didn't even make the top ten.

Well that does it for this week’s post. Next week we will continue to peer through this article, and maybe find out what what we are supposed to call the Autism/Aspergers’s, if not a spectrum (just looked at the article now, and it is a loooooong one, probably won’t cover all of it). But until then, this continues to be, The Audacious Aspie.    

P.S. After getting some feedback and doing some research, I now regret writing my posts about CASDA and it’s proposal. I was unaware that they worked with Autism Speaks, and therefore wrote a couple of posts promoting their plan in my error. Next time I will do better.

Source used:

https://theaspergian.com/2019/05/04/its-a-spectrum-doesnt-mean-what-you-think/

Welcome back! This week, we will be looking at a topic that, in this particular case, has less to do with light than with people who are Autistic/Aspie: The Spectrum (hey, don’t look at me, the person who made the article used a lot of rainbow images). And it begs the question which, I believe, we should all be asking ourselves and others in the Autistic/Asperger community: What does the term “it’s a spectrum” mean to you? What does it mean to our community at large? What should it mean? And perhaps: Should we keep using the term? Now that I have filled you all existential dread, on with the show!  

The best way to keep your audience engaged is by causing them to doubt the very meaning of their existence. Once you accomplish that, you’ll have them hook, line and sinker like a fish caught on a fishing pole, seriously contemplating it’s poor life decisions up to this point.   

The start of the article makes a good point, how everyone knows that Autism/Asperger’s is a spectrum (though there might be some contention to this if I remember correctly), and that when mentioning Autism/Asperger’s, the word “spectrum” is never far behind. The article even lists some phrases of what the author means, some of which may seem familiar: “My son is on the severe end of the spectrum” (The Aspergian, “It’s a spectrum” doesn't mean what you think), “we're all a little autistic-it’s a spectrum.” and finally “I’m not autistic but I’m definitely ‘on the spectrum’.”. It’s a roundabout way of saying “I don’t think that word means what you think it means”.

But what, really, is a spectrum? Apparently to the author of the article, it’s not Autism/Asperger’s. An example given is a colour chart, showing all the pretty colour’s of the spectrum (backed on either side by pitch blackness, but no grey or white to be seen. Someone's a shadest). What exactly are we supposed to be looking at? How different the colours are all different from each other, and yet still on the same spectrum (the visible light spectrum as the author has chosen to use). They also blend together in a kind of hazy, relaxing way, but if you can stop staring at it for now and jolt yourself  awake, we can continue on with the lesson.

And furthermore, if you could stop gushing over the picture of this sleeping fox, we can move on with the rest of the show. This might help: It survives by tearing other animals, usually small ones, and eating them. Bones, muscle and all. Thought that would do it.

You may notice a couple of things that the article mentions, namely: That one colour is not more than another colour, and example given is that red is not more blue than blue! Now you may notice that that's kind of the point, and it would be a little disconcerting if red really was more blue than blue, but that's not the point that we should be looking at. The point that we should be focusing on is that red, like blue, is a colour. Red is not any less a part of the spectrum than blue is. When talking about colours, we don’t use spectrum-related phrases when describing a colour. For instance, we don’t say “I like colours that are high up on the spectrum list” or “should we go with a low spectrum colour for the kitchen?”. Than again, ten years ago the words and phrases like “legit”, “LOL” and “who wants to see a live action pokemon movie?” never existed until now, so it might become a thing the next decade or so.

Well, that does it for this week's post! Next week we will be finding out why Autism/Asperger’s is not really a spectrum at all (or maybe it is and I just read parts of it wrong. Oh well). But until next time, this continues to be, the Audacious Aspie.        

Source used:

https://theaspergian.com/2019/05/04/its-a-spectrum-doesnt-mean-what-you-think/