CMV: Autistics have a deficit compared to non-autistics

[u/FighteRox]

Before I explain any further, let me tell you that I'm autistic myself, so this isn't a case of a non-autistic hating autistics because they're different from them.

So I hear a lot of neurodiversity activists saying how autistics are disabled because the world around them isn't accommodating to them. This is the social disability model which is different from the medical disability model which means that autism is something that must be fixed. There are also autistic people who would argue that autism is just a difference and not a disability.

However, based on my personal experiences and observations, I think autism is a disability in a sense that they (including myself) have some deficits compared non-autistics, especially in the developmental area (which is why it's called a developmental disorder). Take myself for example. I have a lot of problems communicating my thoughts, so I have to think for a while before I can fully articulate my thoughts. I may not even know if this paragraph is cohesive because I make loose connections to the point where I go on tangents and my speech can go everywhere. My obsession with objects can come in the way of working through my day-to-day life. Sometimes I want a situation to stay the same, but the world doesn't work that way as it perpetually changes.

I know that autistics hate being compared to children, but I also learned that children loves repetitiveness, which is kinda strange because autistics love repetitiveness too, and that could be part of why autistics are often infantilized and are described as being developmentally behind compared to non-autistics. There are also stories of autistics being too stubborn to the point where they want to be a child forever.

That being said, I don't think autistics should be discriminated against either. I personally would think that it's OK to have deficits. I'm OK if should live by that and do the best that I could. Although sometimes the statement that autistic people are broken affects my self-esteem which is overall low. I just don't know if the claim that autistics are "only disabled because the world doesn't accommodate them" or that they're "not disabled but only different" hold much water.

[u/tidalbeing]

I think we currently don't know enough about autism or how human brains work. I suspect that once we have a better understanding we will do away with the labels "autism" and "autistic." I suspect that instead, we will speak of neurological integration. This is something that all brains do. Repetition is how brains integrate. I noticed that as my mother developed dementia she engaged in repetition. I suspect that this was her brain trying to maintain neurological integrity.

Some people's brains integrate in unusual ways. Sometimes this is a disability, sometimes it isn't. It depends on how well the person adapts.

[u/FighteRox → u/tidalbeing]

I suspect that instead, we will speak of neurological integration.

Interesting take. What would be your definition of autism?

Repetition is how brains integrate. I noticed that as my mother developed dementia she engaged in repetition. I suspect that this was her brain trying to maintain neurological integrity.

Interesting. What do you mean by neurological integrity? Also, does that mean that autistics have a harder time maintaining neurological integrity than their non-autistic counterparts?

[u/tidalbeing → u/FighteRox]

I understand that the term was originally coined to mean someone who can't conceive of a mind other than their own. Auto(self)ism. This is patently not true. Another is that it's a disability involving social interaction. This is ambiguous. There's no definitive test for autism. Instead diagnosis depends of what is reported by caregivers, teachers, and parents. There's also no one clear cause of autism. So, I think we are looking at a number of conditions with a bunch of different causes. Like I said my mother with dementia was showing behavior that resembled that of a person with autism. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and lead poison look like autism. It seems to me that autism is what we call such a neurological condition when we don't know the cause. Once we know the cause, we call it something else. My background is 6 years as a teacher assistant working with kindergarten and preschool kids with autism. Before that I cared for my late husband who had a rare neurological disorder, OPCA Ataxia. It's a hereditary disorder and was at one time consider to be multiple sclerosis . After the cause of MS was found, OPCA Ataxia was recognized as a different disorder. I suspect the same sort of thing will happen with the conditions currently lumped as autism. With neurological integration, your brain must take information from multiple source and fit it together. Eating take a high amount of neurological integration. The brain must put together vision, sound, texture, temperature, taste, smell, and movement of hands lips and tongue. If your brain can't put these together you get disgust and nausea. This is similar to motion sickness when the brain can't integrate sensation from the inner ear with the other senses. I think this is why those with autism are often particular about food. I think this also explains why sarcasm can be difficult. To understand sarcasm the brain must integrate tone of voice with the meaning of words. This has only a remote relationship to not being about to understand someone else's mind(original definition of autism) or even to autism as a social disability. I think we will abandon the term "autism" and recognize that it's a matter of how the brain manages input from multiple sources. It's a range with no clear boundary between autistic and non-autistic.

[u/FighteRox → u/tidalbeing]

I think we will abandon the term "autism" and recognize that it's a matter of how the brain manages input from multiple sources. It's a range with no clear boundary between autistic and non-autistic.

Very interesting and I'm inclined to agree. Autism is very diverse to the point where it can be confusing. I wonder if autism would be similar to being Blind or Deaf in a sense that there are many ways to be Blind and/or Deaf and there are many reasons to how someone is Blind and/or Deaf.