Horrific Article in NY Magazine

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http://nymag.com/news/features/autism-spectrum-2012-11/

Read it and start the complaints. It's basically a denial/shame piece with cherry-picked data. Yes, some people are misdiagnosed, but by framing the article being all about that, it makes the world at large think most people are making it up.

Seriously, let's make the author apologize for it. I'm unbelievably angry.

I mean, a photo of Mitt Romney, the typical NT jock, literally known for bullying other kids, who has no issues, and an army of a family? Seriously, WTF?????

It doesn't seem that horrible.

It's generally pointing out the rampant misuse of the label, i.e., every successful pixel pusher or introverted "star" has a, "does he or she have Asperger's"? Every unhappy wife or partner who posts that their husband or partner has it; people saying they have it without professional evaluation; people seeing it as an identity [rather than a pathological entity]; a way to absolve from responsibility (I'm only socially inept in that way, so it's not my fault! No, it's pervasive and effects all social interaction); any socially inept person can be accused of it, and so on and so forth.

I agree with that.

I am a little peeved that the author calls asperger syndrom "an arcane brain disorder." However after reading the first two pages, I have to say I don't really disagree with the suggestion that, society these days being wildly hypochondriac, many people are are throwing around the suggestion of asperger syndrome to describe every person who does something inappropriate. Obviously autism is far more than that, as acknowledged on the second page:

"But this is not a story about Asperger’s, autism, or the spectrum—those very real afflictions that can bring untold hardship to the people who suffer from them and to their families."

I do think that the rise in diagnoses is a combination of genuinely increased prevalence (it really does seem to be more common now, and obviously so, perhaps related to our increasing dependence on technology for communication) and increased awareness of what it is. On the other hand, that doesn't mean that everyone has it. The author of this article doesn't seem to be making any terrible statements, despite the imperfect language being used to express the idea. I'll read the rest of the article later and see what I think. (Gotta go back to work now.)

Any article split over 7 pages is not worth wasting time on.

I think it's offensive

They sound jealous.

Honestly, articles like these make me not want to seek assessment (which begins this afternoon, as it were). Makes me feel as though I'm simply jumping on some popular bandwagon despite having no conscious awareness of it. That said, I completely understand the authors perspective...why are so many people who more than likely don't even know a single person with Asperger's Syndrome, let alone actually able to list the symptoms, so quick to attach names to it?

I'm glad I am not the only one who felt uncomfortable with the article. It made me question myself wondering what if I was just one of those people who are just quirky or eccentric or just a loner and I was wrongly labeled. I also get sick of people saying someone has AS over something they do. It just makes it look like you need to have so many certain personalities/faults to make it autism.

I was rather displeased with this article; it basically trivialized our whole experience. I never realised that our disorder had since become some stupid slang phrase that people throw around whenever they want, that really bothered me. Especially the part about that Ben Neugent guy, when he said, "That guy seemed kind of Asperger's-y" seriously? I can't believe anyone would slander us like that! Asperger's is a lot more than "not being attentive to someone's needs", and to insinuate that it is by the blatantly caviler use of a phrase like "Asperger's-y" is insulting. I also didn't like the way they used quotations from the online self-assessment quiz for visual effect, the visual argument it was making felt like they were saying that test has no validity and is to be mocked. Sure, it's not a real diagnosis, but for a lot of people, myself included, it is a step in the right direction and a place to stay until they can afford a real diagnosis, and to write it off as nonsense I find offensive. I'm getting really sick and tired of the way people trivialize disorders, especially to the point where they become mis-representative slang expressions.

Strange things are happening in the US. It's interesting, though. But kind of crazy. Asperger's is far less known where I live, at least to make it a social phenomenon.

Edit: The article lost me when it stopped talking about the actual illness and started on the social phenomenon aspect. I don't think anyone in that description have actual Asperger's, those points that were mentioned are very distant to me and I would think also many others with Asperger's. So I don't see it as relevant to my problems. I just hope the article emphasized the struggles with Asperger's well enough, because those side of it really need to be respected, it's not in any way mild when the problems can get so utterly severe. It is very serious, and it needs to be recognized as that so that the necessary help and attention is given.

Humans love having convenient excuses to dismiss or belittle things so they don't have to think about them.

Doesn't matter though really, does it? They're going to do the dismissing and belittling either way. The only difference is whether they feel justified in doing so or not.

I'm just so tired of the Aspergers=jerk equation touted everywhere. Thanks, people.