Wealth of advice from Adult with Autism

[Guest hallyscomet]

Have a good read, for all those doubtful mums worrying about their childs future, whether they will get a job, get married, have a family

 

This great website (www.mugsy.org/wendy) this person has autism and believe it or not she has 5 university degrees and is an AUTISM educator who travels the world educating people,she has a whole list of strategies regarding different situations which might help a few parents,check out her poetry it is unbelievable,who said autistic people do not have imagination or creativity,check this out for yourself.Cheers. <'>

 

Hailey

[BuntyB]

Personally I think that a lot of women on the spectrum are not identified because tehy DO have imagination and are creative. They also can empathise with other people, although it might be hard to show it!

 

Both myself and my daughter have AS. It's taken until now to get my degree since I couldn't cope with Uni and have done it via a weblink instead. My daughter is 9 and wants to be an author. Her work is amazing, but having AS and being such a perfectionist, she believes it is rubbish which is really sad.

 

Shona

[baddad]

Personally I think that a lot of women on the spectrum are not identified because tehy DO have imagination and are creative. They also can empathise with other people, although it might be hard to show it!

I agree with this except for one thing: I don't think it's necessarily a women only phenomena. I think as the 'female brain' is generally more likely to have a more highly developed communication centre, and (as i've said before) there's also a broader range of 'acceptable' behaviours for women, the chances are that more HF women will go undiagnosed, but i also think there's a high percentage of guys on the margins too who have humour/empathy/imagination/creativity etc.

I think it's definitely true that the stereotypes of autism (lack of imagination/empathy etc) are becoming increasingly inappropriate the more we learn of the spectrum, and that it's often more to do with how people are percieved than by how they actually are...It's not that people with ASD's do not experience/respond/act upon their (i.e.) emotions - it's just that they do so differently, and - often - in a distant 'once removed' sort of way. A person with ASD, for example, may be totally aware of what they 'should' do after the event, but be totally unable to do the 'right' thing at the time, because other imperatives (for security, social embarrassment etc etc etc) get in the way. As I commented a week or so ago: I think some people can be very good at apologising, while being totally cr*p at identifying and removing themselves from situations that might evolve into ones where apologies are necessary!

Seems to me that the more we learn about autism, the less we really know, 'cos more and more it becomes apparent that there are no hard and fast 'rules', only a series of possibles that interact completely diffently depending on the individual personality. It's sort of like a 'join the dot's' game, but with a series of random dots... whatever way you join them up, you get a finished picture, but the picture is different every time.

Confusing, isn't it!

L&P

BD

[Zemanski]

there was a programme (in fact 2 on different channels) about cave art, looking at the oldest cave paintings in the world.

 

apparently archaeologists have decided that this particular cave, with hundreds of pictures, hand prints, markings, was all done by the same person and they are suggesting that the person was autistic

 

just think, an autistic person may have invented art

 

now there's true imagination.

 

The second program explained why cave art is used as the marker for the origin of consciousness in humans. Put the two together and the first self-aware human was autistic

 

when professionals talk about autistic people having no imagination they are talking about them not being able to imagine what other people are thinking, not being able to see an alternative point of view or not being able to place themselves in another person's shoes - this isn't the same sort of imagination at all.

 

Zemanski

Edited October 29, 2005 by Zemanski

[smiley]

Wndy Lawson is fantastic to listen to - i've seen her talk on DVD and have been lent a book she wrote. (i think via mugsy, you can listen to her...)

 

Hallyscomet - this is something i am struggling with at the moment, how my little boy will be/feel when he's older. I watch him some days trying sooo very, very hard and still not coming close to 'what's expected' of an NT child of his age. You don't ever want your child to struggle do you?

 

The empathy thing i can understand - when m's consultant was talking about this - at first it made no sense to me. Michael is the most loving child - he's devistated if he's upset someone. Yet he will put himself into a situation that will undoubtedly cause offence - over and over again...that's the part he can't 'read'. Also, going completely off topic - the pead was saying how 'catching' a yawn is a sign of empathy....if M was in a room full of yawining people...he wouldn't yawn.

[lil_me]

I met Wendy earlier this month at a conference, amazing lady with an amazing life story, also got a copy of her DVD of a talk so I can let others see it.

[ceecee]

Sorry just caught up with this thread.I suspected as havea very vivid imaginations and write endless poetry..So i so agree with what Baddad was saying and the rest of you.I often don't understand why i offended someone until after the event.Yes I have empathy but show it in a different way to someone else.People on the spectrum can and do have immagination and also feelings.I think as someone was saying the more we learn things are not so black and white and we all present differently.

 

I am really upset when I have upset someone i don't mean to and I am often unawre until someone informs me.I am unable to tell.I can only second what zemanski said we have imagination but cant tell when we offend or how someone is feeling.As a little girl i had an imaginary friend .

 

Like Baddad said ican and do show emotion.i can be totally over emotional in fact.But often like Baddad said i show emotion differently to an nt person.

Edited December 3, 2005 by ceecee