Is autism like deafness?

Gwendolyn · Butterfly Joined: Dec 05, 2007 Age: 28 Posts: 12

I recently read a wonderful (if somewhat out of date) book about the perception of deafness in today's society by writer-neurologist Oliver Sacks, and noticed what I see as parallels between the perception of deaf people and the perception of autists and aspergians.

While being deaf is considered a handicap, many deaf people, mainly those who are fluent in ASL and have been exposed to deaf culture, consider the problem to be not with their hearing but with hearing people's attitude towards them. Sign language is a rich, well developed language, or can be, if a child is exposed to it at the proper time. Children who are, and who find places for themselves in deaf culture, become capable adults, but children who are not exposed to it during the optimum period of language development have trouble developing their minds properly, and often never become native-fluent in either English or ASL. Adults usually prevent children from receiving the proper exposure to sign language because they want to normalize the child, not recognizing that a totally deaf child needs to learn language in a way different than a hearing child.

Deaf people are trying to change societies perception of them, and also to get ASL commonly taught to deaf children, as it is not currently.

What strikes me as similar is the perception of Autism and Asperger's syndrome with the perception of deafness.

Like deafness, autism is a handicap in children, who need special education and therapy, different from the education and learning styles of NTs, but like deaf people, many autists and aspergians say that they would not choose a cure if they had a choice.

What normal adult would not cure a deaf child if they had the choice? And yet (I'm afraid I forgot where I read this) there has been at least one case of a deaf child who, having undergone surgery to give him hearing without his consent, demanded from his parents what right they had to do so.

It is different, of course, for autists. Profoundly deaf people still have a tool for communication, while many severe autists do not. I am in favor of find a cure for total isolation, for overwhelming anxiety, for uncontrollable, life-consuming urges. Just as deaf people who are not exposed to ASL do not learn to communicate well, many autists do not flourish without therapy and coping strategies But just as the deaf experience life in beautiful ways unimaginable to the hearing, from their amazing language, to their differences in perception, and just as they should be accepted as whole human beings-- though different, perhaps from the norm-- so should autists.

Many deaf people say that the only difficulties they encounter in life are from living in a world made for the hearing, but that truth (substituting NT for hearing, of course) is even more poignant for us. While people may misunderstand deaf reality, they still understand what deafness is. But how many NTs understand autism, especially of the high functioning varieties? If I were deaf I could explain my odd speech and my moments of being unable to understand people. Instead people look at me and see an intelligent, lazy, unmotivated woman who is rude and uncouth. My voice is too loud or too soft, and I am continuously asking people to repeat themselves. I say the wrong things, or just stand in the middle of a party pretending I'm not there.

But I don't need to be cured.

Deaf people(as a group) are fighting for their freedom to be seen as a unique culture with a unique language. They are fighting for their rights to be seen as responsible, capable adults. They need provisions because they cannot hear, but that does not mean they should be treated as disabled people. I believe that people with autism need to be given the same chances to live full, meaningful lives as people with autism, not marginalized, or forced to mimic NTs at the loss of our own personalities. It is said that one in 150 people are thought to have autism. The occurrence of profound deafness is one in a thousand. I think that there are enough of us that NTs need to be aware of us.

What do you think?