Why do folks treat Autistic people like this?

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stevenjacksonftw7
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18 Jan 2013, 12:53 am

Let me bring up ten examples of how it would be reasonable to jump to this conclusion, and this counts Asperger's Syndrome as well.

1. It was apparently a big thing when an Autistic girl joined a cheerleading team which left them all surprised (there's nothing surprising about it since a lot of Autistic people can learn social cues, social skills, non-verbal social cues or communication skills).
2. Temple Grandin's success is over-shadowed by her being Autistic. I doubt that many neurotypicals could even compare to her as an Animal Doctor and Professor at Colorado State University, a bestselling author, an Autism activist and a consultant to the livestock industry on animal behavior. Why doe the media only focus on how she's "Autistic" when she was highly successful for anybody? I love how they are praising Autistic people, but it's time to quite doubting their abilities!
3. Ever since Daryl Hannah disclosed that she's Autistic, some folks (not all) on the media have been looking at her differently all of a suddenly.
4. They've looked at the Adam Lanza incident as if people with Asperger's Syndrome are a problem, which is something that they've been wanting to do from day one.
5. Heather Kuzmich has been looked at as some kind of animal by people since she has Asperger's Syndrome.
6. Alexis Wineman has only been discussed for being 'Autistic' for some odd reason for the last while. I'm pretty sure that her success as Miss Montana is more remarkable.
7. Whenever an Autistic person scores a touchdown on the Football field, hits a home run or scores a basket on the Basketball team they act as if it's like a wild animal or like an intellectually disabled person figuring out how to score. Teams treat them like garbage by not giving them a chance as soon as they find out about this label, and they just want to get their teams some publicity by giving them a brief chance which is why they keep them. Autistic people do sometimes have issues with motor coordination, but usually it isn't horrible to the point where they couldn't catch a ball, tackle somebody or play a sport. There's even a famous swimmer (it's on Wikipedia) named Jessica Applegate who has had a ton of success in the athletes, and a famous wrestler with Cerebral Palsy (which impairs the motor coordination in an even more severe fasion) who was highly successful.
8. Whenever a tantrum happens that gets recorded, the media seems to focus on how the person is Autistic than on how the tantrum happened.
9. Whenever an Autistic person has success with music, the 'Autism' seems to dominate the subject rather than the 'success' part.
10. Whenever an Autistic person gets lost, they seem to feel the need to bring up (or suggest) how Autistic people are incapable of taking care of themselves.

I'm pretty sure that people want it to be known that they have Autism (or Asperger's Syndrome) so people can understand them a bit better, but they still want to be treated normally and not like some freak, alien, child, 'brain-dead person' or animal. I like how Autistic people get publicity, but how long are they going to keep suggesting that it's remarkable when an Autistic person even learns these things? I have ADHD, and I would want people to know that I had it, but I would still want to be treated like a normal human being without people treating me like an intellectually disabled or with them looking at me differently. Sometimes they should be treated differently in more severe cases, but not like wild animals. People with mild Autism/Asperger's Syndrome would rather be judged off of their talents anyways (and on who they are), not on their disability. Some Autistic people (not all) would blow people away in anything, and I find that to be remarkable. So why do Autistic people get treated like this by the media and by other folks in general?



aspiemike
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18 Jan 2013, 1:09 am

What you write there seems to indicate that people have a total lack of faith and belief in those they perceive as disabled. The belief is that we are lucky and we will never amount to anything is what those examples show.



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18 Jan 2013, 10:14 am

stevenjacksonftw7 wrote:
7. Whenever an Autistic person scores a touchdown on the Football field, hits a home run or scores a basket on the Basketball team they act as if it's like a wild animal or like an intellectually disabled person figuring out how to score. Teams treat them like garbage by not giving them a chance as soon as they find out about this label, and they just want to get their teams some publicity by giving them a brief chance which is why they keep them. Autistic people do sometimes have issues with motor coordination, but usually it isn't horrible to the point where they couldn't catch a ball, tackle somebody or play a sport. There's even a famous swimmer (it's on Wikipedia) named Jessica Applegate who has had a ton of success in the athletes, and a famous wrestler with Cerebral Palsy (which impairs the motor coordination in an even more severe fasion) who was highly successful.


In your seventh point....the reason is because of selection bias. Those are rarely cases where someone was participating in activities, and then just happened to pick up an AS DX.

The way the current system works, It's entirely possible to "slip through the cracks" of the DX process if you're in the right activities.


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19 Jan 2013, 12:02 am

This topic is a little personal to me, as meny know I drive a race car and the racing is well covered by related media and followed by 1000's of fans. For meny of the reasons the OP listed above I have kept my diagnosis to myself within that circle for fear. I know it would be golden materal to the media and announcers who are always looking for ways to glorify regular people but I can compete as good as most any NT and I want to feel like I earned any accolades the normal way and respected that way too. Yes AS is both a hinderince and an asset all at once.

One or more of the tracks I may run has an annual autism fundraseing/awareness night and I often wonder what what stupid stuff they might do if they knew there actually was a "somewhere in the middle of the spectrim" driver in that nights feature lineup, I also wonder if I might be barred from running too if found out, of if other drivers will wreck me becouse in their mind i'm an inferior person and really who wants to lose to an autistic.

On the other side to meny NTs what we often live through may appear really hard and to acheave what appears to be to them the impossable can be respect worthy. I think meny people are on to me anyway just they don't know what exactly what it is so they can't act on it.

Thats my personal thoughts on that topic is someone who competes in that type of enviroment.



2wheels4ever
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19 Jan 2013, 1:44 am

rapidroy wrote:
This topic is a little personal to me, as meny know I drive a race car and the racing is well covered by related media and followed by 1000's of fans. For meny of the reasons the OP listed above I have kept my diagnosis to myself within that circle for fear. I know it would be golden materal to the media and announcers who are always looking for ways to glorify regular people but I can compete as good as most any NT and I want to feel like I earned any accolades the normal way and respected that way too. Yes AS is both a hinderince and an asset all at once.

One or more of the tracks I may run has an annual autism fundraseing/awareness night and I often wonder what what stupid stuff they might do if they knew there actually was a "somewhere in the middle of the spectrim" driver in that nights feature lineup, I also wonder if I might be barred from running too if found out, of if other drivers will wreck me becouse in their mind i'm an inferior person and really who wants to lose to an autistic.

On the other side to meny NTs what we often live through may appear really hard and to acheave what appears to be to them the impossable can be respect worthy. I think meny people are on to me anyway just they don't know what exactly what it is so they can't act on it.

Thats my personal thoughts on that topic is someone who competes in that type of enviroment.


There is a NASCAR Sprint Cup driver who lends his voice to a "1 in 150" organization on a radio spot who identifies as the uncle of someone with autism; as he lists a few statistical odds he implicates himself as "a boy who was obsessed with race cars" and leads me to believe he may have a place on the spectrum as well. This driver may indeed be masking out of that same fear.

The flip side to "going showbiz" is media and'or fans would have a prediliction to attribute "Rain Man" or Superman-like qualities to the person and expect them to win all the time, and when they lose, have it being equated to a piece of machinery that's been left to fall into ruin


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19 Jan 2013, 4:40 am

Because its like praising an animal for being able to do tricks at least that is how I think they think of us!


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19 Jan 2013, 4:59 am

AspieOtaku wrote:
Because its like praising an animal for being able to do tricks at least that is how I think they think of us!


I agree

It always angers me when they make these 'amazing discoveries' that animals have abilities they didn't think them capable of.
Like monkeys displaying behaviour that humans do - but why wouldn't they?? We descended from them!
They've also recently discovered that crabs feel pain - no s**t! Amazingly enough I'd already sussed this out for myself as they're sentient beings! You just know that even with this knowledge that crabs feel pain, NTs won't stop cooking them alive in boiling water :cry: So what exactly was the point of their discovery?

I wouldn't be surprised at any animal being able to do anything because I never considered them inferior to me in the first place and therefore don't put limitations on my expectations of them.

NTs on the other hand have to work exceedingly hard to gain my respect and I see most as a complete waste of anyone's time.

When an animal kills an NT I'm usually quite pleased about it as they usually deserved it!

So it's not hard to see why NT's often treat people with autism/ASD's in this manner - they essentially consider us to be inferior to them, which is the biggest joke ever! Lol

Yep, keep thinking you're superior NTs and I'll keep laughing! :lol:



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19 Jan 2013, 5:09 am

aspiemike wrote:
What you write there seems to indicate that people have a total lack of faith and belief in those they perceive as disabled. The belief is that we are lucky and we will never amount to anything is what those examples show.


I agree and what people fail to realize, for whatever reason, is we're not lucky at all, if anything we have a harder time living our lives because we lack the capability (at least I do, I don't know about most others) to hold down a job, and to fit into a social system like they can, and this world just isn't set up to help us achieve most forms of living.
What people also don't seem to understand is, it makes it harder on us to deal with other people when there are those who would accuse us of being "killers", "psychopaths", "lunatics", etc. because of the condition we have.


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19 Jan 2013, 5:12 am

Jaden wrote:
aspiemike wrote:
What you write there seems to indicate that people have a total lack of faith and belief in those they perceive as disabled. The belief is that we are lucky and we will never amount to anything is what those examples show.


I agree and what people fail to realize, for whatever reason, is we're not lucky at all, if anything we have a harder time living our lives because we lack the capability (at least I do, I don't know about most others) to hold down a job, and to fit into a social system like they can, and this world just isn't set up to help us achieve most forms of living.
What people also don't seem to understand is, it makes it harder on us to deal with other people when there are those who would accuse us of being "killers", "psychopaths", "lunatics", etc. because of the condition we have.


They're the host culture though unfortunately, so under no obligation to change.



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19 Jan 2013, 5:53 am

'Because people are ignorant. Many people assume that anyone with any condition is incapable of doing normal things, let alone certain things that most NTs can't do.



Last edited by JellyCat on 19 Jan 2013, 10:05 am, edited 1 time in total.

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19 Jan 2013, 6:20 am

nessa238 wrote:
Jaden wrote:
aspiemike wrote:
What you write there seems to indicate that people have a total lack of faith and belief in those they perceive as disabled. The belief is that we are lucky and we will never amount to anything is what those examples show.


I agree and what people fail to realize, for whatever reason, is we're not lucky at all, if anything we have a harder time living our lives because we lack the capability (at least I do, I don't know about most others) to hold down a job, and to fit into a social system like they can, and this world just isn't set up to help us achieve most forms of living.
What people also don't seem to understand is, it makes it harder on us to deal with other people when there are those who would accuse us of being "killers", "psychopaths", "lunatics", etc. because of the condition we have.


They're the host culture though unfortunately, so under no obligation to change.


Change very seldom comes voluntarily, and more often than not, only after tragedy befalls the minority by the majority. Ultimately the majority learn nothing and history repeats.


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19 Jan 2013, 6:24 am

Jaden wrote:
nessa238 wrote:
Jaden wrote:
aspiemike wrote:
What you write there seems to indicate that people have a total lack of faith and belief in those they perceive as disabled. The belief is that we are lucky and we will never amount to anything is what those examples show.


I agree and what people fail to realize, for whatever reason, is we're not lucky at all, if anything we have a harder time living our lives because we lack the capability (at least I do, I don't know about most others) to hold down a job, and to fit into a social system like they can, and this world just isn't set up to help us achieve most forms of living.
What people also don't seem to understand is, it makes it harder on us to deal with other people when there are those who would accuse us of being "killers", "psychopaths", "lunatics", etc. because of the condition we have.


They're the host culture though unfortunately, so under no obligation to change.


Change very seldom comes voluntarily, and more often than not, only after tragedy befalls the minority by the majority. Ultimately the majority learn nothing and history repeats.


Also change comes about from political activism on the part of the minority

Sign me right up for a bit of that! :twisted:



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19 Jan 2013, 6:26 am

nessa238 wrote:
Jaden wrote:
nessa238 wrote:
Jaden wrote:
aspiemike wrote:
What you write there seems to indicate that people have a total lack of faith and belief in those they perceive as disabled. The belief is that we are lucky and we will never amount to anything is what those examples show.


I agree and what people fail to realize, for whatever reason, is we're not lucky at all, if anything we have a harder time living our lives because we lack the capability (at least I do, I don't know about most others) to hold down a job, and to fit into a social system like they can, and this world just isn't set up to help us achieve most forms of living.
What people also don't seem to understand is, it makes it harder on us to deal with other people when there are those who would accuse us of being "killers", "psychopaths", "lunatics", etc. because of the condition we have.


They're the host culture though unfortunately, so under no obligation to change.


Change very seldom comes voluntarily, and more often than not, only after tragedy befalls the minority by the majority. Ultimately the majority learn nothing and history repeats.


Also change comes about from political activism on the part of the minority

Sign me right up for a bit of that! :twisted:


lol indeed, I tend to try to get the word out as well.


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nessa238
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19 Jan 2013, 6:35 am

Jaden wrote:
nessa238 wrote:
Jaden wrote:
nessa238 wrote:
Jaden wrote:
aspiemike wrote:
What you write there seems to indicate that people have a total lack of faith and belief in those they perceive as disabled. The belief is that we are lucky and we will never amount to anything is what those examples show.


I agree and what people fail to realize, for whatever reason, is we're not lucky at all, if anything we have a harder time living our lives because we lack the capability (at least I do, I don't know about most others) to hold down a job, and to fit into a social system like they can, and this world just isn't set up to help us achieve most forms of living.
What people also don't seem to understand is, it makes it harder on us to deal with other people when there are those who would accuse us of being "killers", "psychopaths", "lunatics", etc. because of the condition we have.


They're the host culture though unfortunately, so under no obligation to change.


Change very seldom comes voluntarily, and more often than not, only after tragedy befalls the minority by the majority. Ultimately the majority learn nothing and history repeats.


Also change comes about from political activism on the part of the minority

Sign me right up for a bit of that! :twisted:


lol indeed, I tend to try to get the word out as well.


I've often thought the only way to get any real change would be via terrorist type activity

It was good enough for Nelson Mandela when in the ANC



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19 Jan 2013, 9:28 am

This kind of thing happens across many disabilities. See, they tend to have two stereotypes of disabled people. Either we're incapable and useless (or for mental illnesses, add 'violent' to the mix), or we're heroes who have 'overcome' our disabilities. They don't think you can just live with a disability. You're either engulfed by it, or you overcome it.



nessa238
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19 Jan 2013, 10:08 am

Ettina wrote:
This kind of thing happens across many disabilities. See, they tend to have two stereotypes of disabled people. Either we're incapable and useless (or for mental illnesses, add 'violent' to the mix), or we're heroes who have 'overcome' our disabilities. They don't think you can just live with a disability. You're either engulfed by it, or you overcome it.


I think it's also why a certain proportion of non-disabled people who become disabled commit suicide - it's because they can't deal with the drop in status as compared with when they were non-disabled. I've often thought this - they can't cope with becoming what they look down on.