Re:A giant step forward in understanding autism
by mikebonnell on Friday February 17, 2023 @11:10AM
(#34836390)
Thank you for sharing additional context. While I disagree with you strongly, I don't see much value in furthering the discussion here.
Re:A giant step forward in understanding autism
by jklinger410 on Friday February 17, 2023 @11:20AM
(#34836579)
I'm sure we can all agree that there should be different definitions of autism. That low functioning, non-verbal people should not be sharing the same disorder as slightly awkward people.
Since we can agree on that I think we should all work together to change the definitions.
Re:A giant step forward in understanding autism
by jstarfish on Friday February 17, 2023 @11:55AM
(#34837097)
You're approaching this from a scientific perspective. The other approach is political/sociological. Neither of you are wrong.
I get that it can be demoralizing, but I'd suggest it serves your cause better to be able to point to high-functioning cases as success stories to mitigate the stigma, lest the rest of the spectrum be dismissed as retarded beyond redemption (hence, eugenics).
There is a vocal minority, of which your source is a part of, who are trying to "normalize" Autism. In order for it to be "natural neuro-divergence" or "a super power" you have to intentionally omit the negative aspects of the medium-functioning, and completely deny the existence of the low-functioning.
Using woke language to try and assuage the insecurities of high functioning autistic people might make people feel like big strong social justice warriors, but I will die on the hill that they are actually doing grave harm to many disabled people. To use the parlance, they are being problematic. And they should be ashamed of themselves for it.