tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353442983052145851.post8620496369447463973..comments2024-03-14T18:26:18.208-07:00Comments on autism's gadfly: Do Bram Cohen and Craig Newmark have Asperger's?jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14972394536850151087noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353442983052145851.post-24412821248157887252010-08-18T07:35:52.639-07:002010-08-18T07:35:52.639-07:00On the other hand I DO share some of your frustrat...On the other hand I DO share some of your frustrations with many people in the Neurodiversity movement, who get angry at anyone who believes that looking for cures and treatments is evil and unaccepting! When our son who is heavily traited started having seizures around 2, I was very worried he would come out of one and be non-verbal and lost to us. Who would want that? Even "high functioning" or "Asperger's" is no walk in the park. Though I believe people on the spectrum have a special perspective on the world and a unique temperment that does not need to be "cured" or changed, there are many things that go with it that are miserable and debilitating. Bram has recently started taking anti-convulsant herbs on the theory that they could control micro-seizures in the frontal lobe, and it seems to be helping at least sensory issues and touch sensitivity. Its hard to have a relationship when touching hurts, and its annoying to have to use special silverwear, and find clothes that don't rub against your skin, and not be able to deal with sounds, etc. He has concentration issues, and extreme sleep disturbances, and atypical physiology that makes it difficult for him to do physical things that he'd otherwise be good at. He has selective impairments in certain cognitive things, like judging the passage of time in any reasonable way, and trouble visually scanning for something that borders on a form of near blindness. He can't pick out a needed object from a group of objects without touching each one and picking them all up, sometimes. Not to mention the fact that he was horribly lonely well into his twenties and still gets very misunderstood socially. None of this is fun, and there is nothing wrong with wanting to fix or even "cure" these things. I can see why, suffering from what you do, that you would get angry when people marginalize you for admitting that there are things that go with being spectrum that are not merely different, but a form of suffering that needs to be taken seriously.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353442983052145851.post-63186156835882174362010-08-17T21:18:54.080-07:002010-08-17T21:18:54.080-07:00I get so tired of people who have never met Bram, ...I get so tired of people who have never met Bram, questioning his diagnosis (which has since been acknowledged by our CBT therapist who specializes in ASD's. True Bram is extremely functional now, but he had to overcome numerous extreme difficulties before he could manage a relationship, and found someone who actually had a special love for people on the spectrum, and had worked with people on it for many years. He still struggles with serious sensory integration problems, and other tertiary traits common on the Autism Spectrum. To say he's not autistic simply because years of hard work enabled him to overcome most of his severe social difficulties, and achieve some modicum of a normal life is absurd. It took years of analysis, practice, and pain for him to become as functional as he is, and many people on the spectrum can also eventually achieve success without compromising their unique talents. Its a SPECTRUM.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353442983052145851.post-67877786578614242632010-08-15T09:02:58.090-07:002010-08-15T09:02:58.090-07:00"pathology and then drown your sorrows in boo..."pathology and then drown your sorrows in booze? interesting"<br /><br />Quite common Jonathan in AS from my experience. Most in my support group of a couple of dozen folks are either self medicating or on prescription medication. Lots of medication is prescribed for depression, obsession, anxiety etc. Some, who have little to know medical support or don't have the inertia or means to meet with medical personnel result in self medication. Many folks we serve in my state's mental health association are people with AS that are homeless and have medicated themselves with alcohol. Perhaps you have a better support system than Socrates. Typically those with better support systems don't tend to self medicate as much. Its one of the reasons I joined the MHA board in my community. I want to help others form a more substantial support network.Kent Adamsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353442983052145851.post-46162929276982327882010-08-13T21:55:19.644-07:002010-08-13T21:55:19.644-07:00Socrates you are always taking the ND stance with ...Socrates you are always taking the ND stance with me that it is not autism that has fucked up my life that it is me and you have agreed with your geriatric hatemongering pal clay adams that i could get married, serve in the navy, etc, if not for my attitude. <br /><br />But is okay for you to blame all your troubles on autism and claim it is a pathology and then drown your sorrows in booze? interestingjonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14972394536850151087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353442983052145851.post-63218679451777849092010-08-13T11:05:10.093-07:002010-08-13T11:05:10.093-07:00"Lay of the JD"
Why? Would the Truth be...<i>"Lay of the JD"</i><br /><br />Why? Would the Truth be too much for him?<br /><br />I suggest there are Autistic traits - hyper-fine focus, attention to detail, visuo-spatial differences that exist widely and totally outside of any pathology...<br /><br />I have these - I also have DSM autism - it's a f'ing disorder that's f'ing up my life. It's bad, and a f'ing PhD in something no-one else understands or cares about is no f'ing compensation.<br /><br />And yes, I'm drunk.Socrateshttp://the-newrepublic.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353442983052145851.post-6963400275115691882010-08-13T09:40:19.573-07:002010-08-13T09:40:19.573-07:00http://letters.salon.com/env/feature/2009/04/27/au...http://letters.salon.com/env/feature/2009/04/27/autistic_culture/permalink/ee58838b781e09ca82755df95be4a8e0.html<br /><br />This letter is associated with the following article:<br /><br />Sunday, April 26, 2009 04:24 PM ET <br />"I am not a puzzle, I am a person"<br />People with autism don't need to be "cured," argues the burgeoning "autism culture" movement. Not all parents or medical experts agree.<br /><br />Letter:<br /><br />"Would they rather be seen as just plain jerks?<br /><br />"So these people with Autism don't want to be seen as having a disability?<br /><br />"Okay, I will think of them as normal people who are just rude, self centered jerks!..."<br /><br />—Griswold09Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353442983052145851.post-29682861177511808852010-08-12T23:42:59.877-07:002010-08-12T23:42:59.877-07:00Here we go again.
Prior to 1973 homosexuality wa...Here we go again.<br /> Prior to 1973 homosexuality was listed as a psychiatric disorder in the DSM. Are you suggesting that people who were attracted to the same gender and engaged in sexual relations with that same gender could not declare themselves homosexual without receiving psychiatric diagnosis?<br /> ASD, as it is currently called by the psychiatric community, is defined in the DSM by a grab-bag of symptoms most of which are behavioral. If one wanted to adopt the current in-vogue DSM definition of Aspergers (separate from autism this year, but, probably, magically autism next edition) then one is free to read it and draw one's conclusions about its applicability to one's own condition.<br /> However since I believe that 1) psychology and psychiatry is a mush of pseudo-science and 2)that Aspergers is defined by the DSM as a disorder, why would I, or anyone who believes, as I do, that they do not have a disorder seek a "professional diagnosis?"<br /><br /> Oh, and when homosexuality was removed from the DSM in 1973, did all those people who had been diagnosed as homosexuals instantly stop being "disordered?" If so, what was the exact minute their disorder disappeared?Waltnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353442983052145851.post-90262573853934004152010-08-12T10:07:53.184-07:002010-08-12T10:07:53.184-07:00read this too: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10...read this too: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10929032Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353442983052145851.post-61989551009089040572010-08-12T09:35:43.086-07:002010-08-12T09:35:43.086-07:00Socrates: You might want to lay off the Jack Dani...Socrates: You might want to lay off the Jack Daniels for a day or two before you talk to Silberman. It might look bad if you weren't sober on a video. <br /><br />I agree he needs to read the DSM. Also, he needs to read stuff on the internet about Bram Cohen and Craig Newmark before embarking on writing a book, talking up their ASD traits and what they have contributed to society.jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14972394536850151087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353442983052145851.post-50724812133177356012010-08-12T07:48:00.529-07:002010-08-12T07:48:00.529-07:00I think Mr. Silberman needs to talk to me, too.
I...I think Mr. Silberman needs to talk to me, too.<br /><br />If he just concentrates on Ne'eman, The Plank and Cubby then it's going to be a pile of bulls---.<br /><br />And he needs to read the DSM.Socrateshttp://the-newrepublic.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.com