And to Jason, welcome and thanks for posting. I agree with every word you wrote.

Another excellent post, Rachel. You write well, and your sense of humor is just the icing on the cake.

As a side note. I do math synesthetically as combination of colors. I am horrid at addition and subtraction but excel at division and multiplication (color ratios seem easy for some reason). I almost can’t do algebra at all (letters don’t trigger the colors). Oddly, I am excellent at statistics and calculus. I do calculus using my language center and simply read it as if it were just a second language. Baron-Cohen is way off

No doubt that much of the research into autism and Aspergers is beneficial. However, I postulate that the majority of the benefit favors the neurotypical and mostly excludes those of us most directly affected.

Much of the hypotheses put forth by Simon Baron-Cohen seem to focus on development of a pathological description. It is for this reason that I challenge even the entertainment of many of Baron-Cohen’s conclusions. Pathology (even psychopathology) posits an assumed disease state that is abnormal in function and creates an impairment of health.

Conventional thinking suggests that autism is the behavioral result of a neurological difference. Assuming this is correct, the first posit of the pathological approach is satisfied. I instead challenge the suggestion that it causes an impairment of health and thus likely is outside the realm of psychopathology.

Admittedly, I am only working from my own point of view here. My “problems” revolve around sensory integration issues that create an anxiety condition. It is the anxiety that is an impairment, indirectly due to my AS. However, if care is taken in managing my environment, I fair reasonably well. I acknowledge that this may not be true for other aspies.

Autism researchers, including Baron-Cohen, also seem to focus on the social aspects of autism disorders. This is paradoxical to me as I believe that the social differences are caused by the condition and are not the condition itself. Focusing on pathologically describing it is thus similar to giving someone with pneumonia a cough suppressant. It simply focuses on what disturbs society, not what bothers the person afflicted.

Even this analogy is lacking it seems, since it still assumes a disease state. Maybe it is more analogous to bleaching the skin of a dark skinned individual in order make them “fit in better.” Their increased integration alleviates the disease state.

I currently believe that public awareness is the best route to increased social understanding. There is likely a social benefit to public understand of our differences in behavior. I don’t mind my differences as much as I mind the embarrassment of trying to explain to a waitress why I don’t want to sit next to the table with the screaming children and the big plastic bin where they dump dishes. I suffer more from the funny looks when I say something like, “I have trouble with sounds.” Most of my problems seem have to do with society’s lack of empathy for me more so than my lack of empathy for others. If the major concern of the neurotypical is the social behavioral differences, then the problem should be addressed socially, not pathologically.

All that said, I am a scientist (biochemist) myself and deeply support continued research in autism. It is greatly needed. However, I would like to see more aspie contribution in the direction of the research. Some internal insight might help get these Baron-Cohen types spending their effort on something more useful.

THPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!

Sincerely,
Crystal

Okay but really. I completely agree that while he seems to be something of a… let’s say “average” to “above average” observer of Autistic behavior, I don’t think he gets the POINT of that behavior AT ALL.

Oh, and I STINK at math. Well the basics I can do quite well, but my algebra and calculus skills are TEH SUCK. And I aced physics. wtf? Anyway.

Personally, I’m a sorter, for the same reasons that you mentioned you stim… it soothes me, helps me find order in the chaos. I have a “filing cabinet in my brain” that my therapist, despite not being an Autism professional, has learned to utilize quite well in helping me decide where to put certain behaviors in regards to certain people. IE, my empathy system goes “Ashley does not like this, I will not do this around Ashley. Chris prefers to be comforted in this way, I will comfort him in this way. Rachel enjoys this, so when Rachel is down I will do this to help.” etc. Granted, particular things don’t work EVERY SINGLE TIME to achieve a desired goal (making a person feel better, making a person feel loved, acknowledged, etc.), but it’s still a pretty good “system”. Planting me in front of a DVD of people’s facial expressions and attaching words to them like an elaborate flash-card game just seems like a BAD IDEA… because different people have different facial expressions and knowing which means what takes GETTING TO KNOW THEM, and if I’ve got filing cabinets full of generalized facial expressions I am going to be WORSE at reading from one person to another. I think in this way, actually, some of us are BETTER at empathizing than the NT world, because we’re paying more careful attention to an individuals cues. Maybe that’s just em, but that’s how I see it.

Oh, also, I TOTALLY spin in my chair. Like, ALL THE TIME. And trampolines are FRIGGIN’ AWESOME. Just sayin’.