Email from my uni - Please write and complain.
05 Feb 2009, 10:38 pm
I rather helpfully received this email informing me about the delights of "Asperger Syndrome"; helpfully entitled "Mental Health Week: Asperger's Syndrome":
Quote:
Aidan's JCR News
Mental Health Week: Asperger's Syndrome
* posted Today
* by ----
* -
Hello everyone,
We're going to start with nagging of a slightly different kind today - although we've been asking for lots of involvement in PostSecret, some people are taking the mick in quite a vulgar way. Please don't put up "secrets" that are offensive simply for the sake of it, and please don't actually put them up yourself. If you want a secret on the board, just put it in the box and so long as it's not about anyone at college (and to make another qualification, as long as it isn't obviously a joke) then it'll go up. Some people are really putting themselves out there about things that are quite serious and personal to them, and it's pretty awful to take the piss out of it.
So enough telling off, thanks again for those getting properly involved. Today's email's going to be about Asperger's Syndrome (AS), which is a mild form of autism that affects quite a lot of people, and is a disorder that isn't widely understood. People suffering from AS often have difficulties making sense of the world, processing information and relating to other people. It is important to note that AS is often seen as a 'spectrum disorder' as the condition affects people in many different ways and to varying degrees. People with AS usuaslly find it incredibly difficult express themselves emotionally and socially, and often:
* have difficulty understanding gestures, facial expressions or tone of voice
* have difficulty knowing when to start or end a conversation and choosing topics to talk about
* use complex words and phrases but may not fully understand what they mean
* can be very literal in what they say and can have difficulty understanding jokes, metaphor and sarcasm.
* have difficulty understanding or interpreting other peoples thoughts, feelings or actions. The subtle messages that are put across by facial expression and body language are often missed.
Additionally, people suffering with AS can find it difficult to make and maintain friendships, struggle to understand unwritten 'social rules', and often behave in ways that may seen inappropriate to other people.
Asperger's Syndrome tends to affect males more than females, and it is thought that around 1 in 100 people suffer from autism spectrum disorders. There are no real known cures or treatments for AS, and as the range of symptoms vary from person to person AS can be very difficult to diagnose. As there are no specific treatments for AS, a lot of people view diagnosis as unnecessary, but it can help the people around those suffering from AS to better understand the person's behaviours and needs.
If you have any specific questions about Asperger's Syndrome or autism spectrum disorders generally, you can contact the Autism Helpline on 0845 070 4004 (open 10am-4pm, Monday-Friday).
Tomorrow, eating disorders! Only a couple more days of mental health emails, thanks for putting up with the incessant messaging.
Stay classy,
Welfare Com Xx
Mental Health Week: Asperger's Syndrome
* posted Today
* by ----
* -
Hello everyone,
We're going to start with nagging of a slightly different kind today - although we've been asking for lots of involvement in PostSecret, some people are taking the mick in quite a vulgar way. Please don't put up "secrets" that are offensive simply for the sake of it, and please don't actually put them up yourself. If you want a secret on the board, just put it in the box and so long as it's not about anyone at college (and to make another qualification, as long as it isn't obviously a joke) then it'll go up. Some people are really putting themselves out there about things that are quite serious and personal to them, and it's pretty awful to take the piss out of it.
So enough telling off, thanks again for those getting properly involved. Today's email's going to be about Asperger's Syndrome (AS), which is a mild form of autism that affects quite a lot of people, and is a disorder that isn't widely understood. People suffering from AS often have difficulties making sense of the world, processing information and relating to other people. It is important to note that AS is often seen as a 'spectrum disorder' as the condition affects people in many different ways and to varying degrees. People with AS usuaslly find it incredibly difficult express themselves emotionally and socially, and often:
* have difficulty understanding gestures, facial expressions or tone of voice
* have difficulty knowing when to start or end a conversation and choosing topics to talk about
* use complex words and phrases but may not fully understand what they mean
* can be very literal in what they say and can have difficulty understanding jokes, metaphor and sarcasm.
* have difficulty understanding or interpreting other peoples thoughts, feelings or actions. The subtle messages that are put across by facial expression and body language are often missed.
Additionally, people suffering with AS can find it difficult to make and maintain friendships, struggle to understand unwritten 'social rules', and often behave in ways that may seen inappropriate to other people.
Asperger's Syndrome tends to affect males more than females, and it is thought that around 1 in 100 people suffer from autism spectrum disorders. There are no real known cures or treatments for AS, and as the range of symptoms vary from person to person AS can be very difficult to diagnose. As there are no specific treatments for AS, a lot of people view diagnosis as unnecessary, but it can help the people around those suffering from AS to better understand the person's behaviours and needs.
If you have any specific questions about Asperger's Syndrome or autism spectrum disorders generally, you can contact the Autism Helpline on 0845 070 4004 (open 10am-4pm, Monday-Friday).
Tomorrow, eating disorders! Only a couple more days of mental health emails, thanks for putting up with the incessant messaging.
Stay classy,
Welfare Com Xx
I have many issues with this:
- [li](i) This being part of "mental health" week - since when has Asperger's been a mental illness!?[/li]
[li](ii) The reference to this being a mild form of "autism" - given the audience that this is targeted at their reaction will be less than delightful[/li]
[li](iii) The many assumptions that this explanation may conjure.[/li]
[li](iii) The fact that this may involve the inadvertent outing of those who have the condition and the total lack of consultation of those who have it about the sending of this email[/li]
I would also like to point out the total contempt that the university has for those with the condition, for example the university disability service is patronising towards those who go and seek help. Furthermore I would like to mention that the university provides very few (if any) opportunities for those on the spectrum to integrate/ gain the full opportunities that the university claims to provide.
I implore you all to write a complaint about this to my university (please PM to let me know if you do so, even better if you can spread this further please do so!).
(PM for address)
Really this whole thread is in protest about the general attitude my university takes to "disabled" students (including a department trying to kick out a student from lectures for being epileptic (if any of you mention this in you letters it was the classics department)). I will be seeing someone in the university about this in a weeks time - hopefully your responses will have some impact. I hope you all keep them polite and effective.
Thanks in advance.
Last edited by Kangoogle on 06 Feb 2009, 8:14 am, edited 2 times in total.
05 Feb 2009, 11:01 pm
pakled wrote:
I feel a bit dodgy about getting involved in this. The fight should properly be your own. You could take the opportunity to turn this into a 'teachable moment' as we say over here, and give them the skinny on what it's like, and maybe start some dialog.
Do what you will...
Do what you will...
I am more than prepared to fight the fight on this - though some letters sent before I show up in someone's office would be more than helpful. I should also point out that there are plenty of Aspies who dare not even come out to the university because they are scared as to what will happen to them (frankly I don't blame them).
05 Feb 2009, 11:06 pm
You could try writing an anonymous letter to the person who wrote that explaining what AS is really like and how that post/letter/whatever it was makes you feel. If that doesn't work, then maybe resort to the angry approach... But I dunno... its up to you really. Like pakled, I don't know how comfortable I would be getting involved. I generally try to avoid conflict because once I get angry... bad things happen
_________________
2101729 Kalantir-Bar-Orc-Mal-Cha escaped the dungeon
05 Feb 2009, 11:10 pm
kalantir wrote:
You could try writing an anonymous letter to the person who wrote that explaining what AS is really like and how that post/letter/whatever it was makes you feel. If that doesn't work, then maybe resort to the angry approach... But I dunno... its up to you really. Like pakled, I don't know how comfortable I would be getting involved. I generally try to avoid conflict because once I get angry... bad things happen
If you like then I can write an outline of a letter for you to send. Certainly the person who I have suggested sending letters to is vaguely on our side at the very least, though to do something she needs evidence. I will see her in person at the end of next week.
Writing an anonymous letter to the person who sent it would be completely pointless, they have no power asides the ability to send emails.
05 Feb 2009, 11:42 pm
Kangoogle wrote:
Email from my uni - Please write and complain.
I would go easy on them. As demonstrated in another thread, it's not easy to explain in a single page. At least they're trying.Quote:
"explaining AS to the average person" http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt79598.html
I can forgive them for putting this in "Mental Health Week." Just like I can forgive people for lumping Women with minorities. To the clueless, it's close enough.
I'm sort-of with "pakled" in that I wouldn't know how to approach it. This thread might give you good ideas, but you probably wouldn't want me to get in there and cloud the issue with my rantings. If you happen to like any of my rantings, feel free to use them for a worthy, non-profit cause.
Kangoogle wrote:
If you like then I can write an outline of a letter for you to send.
That could work. I suppose you would offer a suggestion, as some people attempted in that thread, "explaining AS to the average person." I still haven't figured out how to do that in a single page.
05 Feb 2009, 11:49 pm
It looks about right to me. If autism means socially and emotionally aloof, then one can say that Asperger's usually is mild, considering how people with such interact with others (even if said interaction totally sucks).
It's not a mental illness, but it is a mental disorder (the difference between the two being that illness can be treated, and it can also be caused by emotional events).
05 Feb 2009, 11:50 pm
Tahitiii wrote:
Kangoogle wrote:
Email from my uni - Please write and complain.
I would go easy on them. It's not easy to explain in a page. At least they're trying.Quote:
"explaining AS to the average person" http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt79598.html
I can forgive them for putting this in "Mental Health Week." Just like I can forgive people for lumping Women with minorities. To the clueless, it's close enough.
I really cannot forgive the university at all - this would not be in mental health week at all if the people actually responsibly for dealing with disabilities did their jobs properly, rather than offloading this onto "elected" students.
Quote:
I'm sort-of with "pakled" in that I wouldn't know how to approach it. This thread might give you good ideas, but you probably wouldn't want me to get in there and cloud the issue with my rantings. If you happen to like any of my rantings, feel free to use them for a worthy, non-profit cause.
No actually - feel free to give your inputs here.
Quote:
Kangoogle wrote:
If you like then I can write an outline of a letter for you to send.
That could work.If you want me to give you an outline, feel free to send me a PM. I am loathe to post here with one at this stage as all it would end up with as a volley of identical letters, which would have far less impact.
05 Feb 2009, 11:55 pm
Danielismyname wrote:
It looks about right to me. If autism means socially and emotionally aloof, then one can say that Asperger's usually is mild, considering how people with such interact with others (even if said interaction totally sucks).
It's not a mental illness, but it is a mental disorder (the difference between the two being that illness can be treated, and it can also be caused by emotional events).
It's not a mental illness, but it is a mental disorder (the difference between the two being that illness can be treated, and it can also be caused by emotional events).
Its completely wrong that this email was sent out widely without any consultation of students with Aspergers. Also given the students who have received this email, they are going to get completely the wrong end of the stick. Frankly as a student here, I am furious (and this is going to have far less of an impact on myself compared to some others here).
Even worse, this email is only being sent out because my university are too incompetent to do anything for disabled students, well asides discriminate against them anyway.
06 Feb 2009, 12:04 am
Danielismyname wrote:
It's not a mental illness, but it is a mental disorder (the difference between the two being that illness can be treated, and it can also be caused by emotional events).
It is neither an illness nor a disorder. I also resent words like "condition" and "syndrome." My experience is just different. Like being left-handed. The whole NT bias is wrong. Still, ya gotta start somewhere.
06 Feb 2009, 12:14 am
Tahitiii wrote:
Danielismyname wrote:
It's not a mental illness, but it is a mental disorder (the difference between the two being that illness can be treated, and it can also be caused by emotional events).
It is neither an illness nor a disorder. I also resent words like "condition" and "syndrome." My experience is just different. Like being left-handed. The whole NT bias is wrong. Still, ya gotta start somewhere.Well, all of the medical sites say that it's a disorder, mental and neurological, and it can also be called a syndrome; since they're the ones who define what it is and isn't, they have precedence over whatever an individual thinks. I'm left-handed, and I can say that whatever ASD I have is easily a disorder, and if someone thinks it's not, they're blind to reality.
Kangoogle,
I can't see what your problem with it is; it's just a copy and paste from any depiction of Asperger's you'll find on the 'net. It has some errors, i.e., it takes a leap of logic where it states AS itself is a spectrum (it's not yet), but that's a common mistake people make (in reality, AS is a part of the spectrum, which makes it a spectrum disorder). Plus, it misses out on a lot of symptoms, but that's to be expected if they're just focusing on how it appears on the surface.
06 Feb 2009, 12:19 am
Danielismyname wrote:
Tahitiii wrote:
Danielismyname wrote:
It's not a mental illness, but it is a mental disorder (the difference between the two being that illness can be treated, and it can also be caused by emotional events).
It is neither an illness nor a disorder. I also resent words like "condition" and "syndrome." My experience is just different. Like being left-handed. The whole NT bias is wrong. Still, ya gotta start somewhere.Well, all of the medical sites say that it's a disorder, mental and neurological, and it can also be called a syndrome; since they're the ones who define what it is and isn't, they have precedence over whatever an individual thinks. I'm left-handed, and I can say that whatever ASD I have is easily a disorder, and if someone thinks it's not, they're blind to reality.
Kangoogle,
I can't see what your problem with it is; it's just a copy and paste from any depiction of Asperger's you'll find on the 'net. It has some errors, i.e., it takes a leap of logic where it states AS itself is a spectrum (it's not yet), but that's a common mistake people make (in reality, AS is a part of the spectrum, which makes it a spectrum disorder). Plus, it misses out on a lot of symptoms, but that's to be expected if they're just focusing on how it appears on the surface.
It has lots of problems - for example I can confirm that no consultation was made with students registered as having Aspergers with the university. Given the general ignorance and attitudes of the average student here, it is almost certainly going to be to our detriment. There are going to be plenty of people who are going to have to work even harder to explain themselves as a result (plus frankly there are some extremely scared aspies in college who may not be going out of their rooms for days as a result of this email - some of these people literally have a routine of getting a tray, eating it in their room and bringing it back as it is!)
06 Feb 2009, 12:26 am
Quote:
pakled wrote:
I feel a bit dodgy about getting involved in this. The fight should properly be your own. You could take the opportunity to turn this into a 'teachable moment' as we say over here, and give them the skinny on what it's like, and maybe start some dialog.
Do what you will...
Do what you will...
ditto
06 Feb 2009, 12:37 am
garyww wrote:
Most 'modern' practioners call it a 'condition' and have dropped the 'disorder' altogether and the next DSM will reflect this.
Its not massively relevant whatever AS is called - the point is that email was sent around without consultation and the university is more than happy to ignore (even encourage) acts of discrimination against Aspies.
06 Feb 2009, 5:24 am
Kangoogle wrote:
I should also point out that there are plenty of Aspies who dare not even come out to the university because they are scared as to what will happen to them (frankly I don't blame them).
Have you asked whether these sudents would be willing to note their objections to the email? What kind of other students attend the university that make these ones scared to come out to it? Is there a significant bullying problem there?
Kangoogle wrote:
Even worse, this email is only being sent out because my university are too incompetent to do anything for disabled students, well asides discriminate against them anyway.
Aside from the issue with the email, have you tried using any official complaints procedure concerning the wider discriminatory issues you mention?
