PRO-TIP: When you learn that a person is a bigoted moron, just stop acknowledging their existence!
I’ll argue the flip side. I have a son who is 13 and firmly L2/L3. This is where a lot of autistic people sit and specifically online they are grossly under-represented because they don’t have the capacity to socialize even from a computer or phone.
My older son is what used to be Asperger’s which I would define as your L1.
I continue to hate the fact that they flattened their taxonomy with DSM V. Asperger’s != Autism.
So I get and chuckle at the memes but when people think of autism they are thinking of my autistic son not the Asperger’s one.
The representation of autistic people in the media, and in social media like this, is not an accurate representation of autistic people
I had a similar conversation with a date a few weeks ago. I told her that I am getting tested for autism in a few weeks.
“You don’t seem autistic.”
Then spent the next 15 minutes talking about Magic: The Gathering cards. She was very to forgiving and said, “Oh. I get it now.”
And to his horror, Luke proceeded to name every train ever made.
By SERIAL NUMBER AND PATENT!
Sorted by the number and weight of the bolts used on assembly.
So… You guys want to talk about fire alarm systems?
HOLY COW THERE’S DEEP LORE REGARDING FIRE ALARM SYSTEMS?! O.O
Do you have a favorite fact? Or like, one particular thing about the subject that really surprised you? Do you have a fire alarm system in mind as “the best” or “worst” in terms of performance and detection? :D
As someone who works with fire alarm systems, it amazes me that there are people who learn about them voluntarily.
HOLY COW THERE’S DEEP LORE REGARDING FIRE ALARM SYSTEMS?! O.O
There’s deep lore about pretty much anything, if you’re willing to dig for it.
/subscribe fire_alarm_system_fun_facts
I would also ooke to know these things!
Actually, I would like that. As soon as I learned about common home fire alarms using radioisotopes to create a gap in an electric circuit that can be closed by ionized smoke particles, I was fascinated. I know there are some fancy ones that use optics instead so the can detect particles of any kind. The heat sensitive ones seem cool for cooking areas so there are fewer false alarms. I imagine by now there are ones thats use FLIR/thermal cameras.
All that is just detection. Even the communication is really cool. The loud beeping sound is simple but effective. I like the ones that release a spicy mist to wake deaf people. Flashing lights go without saying. Then there’s networked alarms. Do they go straight to the Fire Department or are they like security systems that get filtered by a third party first?
The auto-response features (if that’s what they’re called) like fire sprinklers are interesting also. I read that they typically release dirty water because it’s been sitting in the pipes for so long. Sure, dirty water is hardly an issue during a fire. It could be raw sewage and still be better than nothing. Still, I wonder why they’re not on a loop integrated with the rest of the fresh water system. The advanced response systems like halon are kinda scary. Probably not something I’ll see in my lifetime. I’m sure it’s better than the alternative, though. The foam for airplane hangers is pretty neat. Wouldn’t want to be in there, though.
I wonder what the cutting edge stuff is now.
I’ve worked on inert gas systems before, they’re pretty scary, because if you screw up, it can be tens of thousands of dollars of gas dumped.
Sprinkler systems typically use steel pipe, which isn’t safe for drinking water, which is why the water smells like rusty ass.
Yes. But more importantly, would you like to talk about British cars of the 1960s - 1980s?
we’re waiting!
Let me talk to you about why we need more trains
I wanna hear about maglev trains in evacuated tunnels. I know it’s a fantasy because of the costs, but I like to imagine it could be real.
Maglev in general is cool, too. At least they’re real. They’re still heavily limited by costs, though.
I’ll absolutely listen to anything about high-speed rail in general.
That failing, I’m good with standard-gauge , passenger rail, too.
Wasn’t that Musks failed hyperloop thing?
I do have to admit the idea is pretty cool though. Not sure how they could be used practically for anything that would justify the cost though. Like cargo transit? At least then you can cut more safety requirements compared to human passengers. But then you have the question of why go to that effort to move cargo faster than a train anyway
Do you know how many different types of trains there are?
No, but one friend of mine absolutely does.
(And, yes, she’s autistic.)
AI least six, I’m positive of that.
Six… or Seven?
This 6-7 joke proudly presented to you by Autism.
Okay so we have steam train, petrol/gasoline train, electric train, … Wind train ? Manually driven train, …
You forgot funiculars, the cable operated train, and the ones above can be broken down more…
I fell for the trap, didn’t I?
And to the horror of software developers: Agile release trains. Which are neither agile, not real trains. Nor fun to be in.
Oh, the death march?
Are sled dogs a new type, or do they fall under manual?
Define ‘type’.
“Everyone’s a little bit autistic”
“You’re too normal to be autistic”
Litterly my coworkers used that first one… It annoys me so much. “We are all not normal here”
0 is on the number line.
“Yes Janine. We all pee everyday. But can you understand the difference between peeing everyday and peeing so often each day that it disrupts other parts of your daily life?”
I swear I’m gonna use this next time I hear “everyone is a bit autistic”.
What if it disrupts other people’s lives more than my own?
If your peeing disrupts other people’s lives there’s a chance you’ll be arrested at some point. Unless you’re a politician or rich of course.
In my day, I was (self diagnosed as) Asperger’s (obsesses on somewhat socially acceptable things like math and physics, gets good grades, very awkward), and seeing as there was zero effective treatment available, a formal diagnosis was counter productive. I did like speed a lot in my twenties though. I eventually worked out good coping mechanisms and aside from an absurdly low social battery, I do well in my way.
Which I bring up to raise the point that perhaps this ‘spectrum’ thing is pretty counter productive for the profoundly disabled on the far end. Seems like people on my end (functional but could use help) are sucking the oxygen out of room to their detriment now that there are useful treatments for us. Is there some sort push to separating the two again ?
Genuinely want to know, I feel some guilt for downgrading their suffering (even though I think, intellectually, it’s a way of cheaping out on their care that I have no control over).
If helping someone with mild symptoms took away from those with more severe symptoms, I’d see a point. But I haven’t come across any evidence of that.
It’s important to remember that there is more going on than what we see. I can get by well enough for most daily living tasks, but when I’m at my limit I’m treated like I should be able to handle it like a neurotypical. I hate having to explain to my managers at work what it’s like to shut down from overstimulation. I hate having to be seen as “unreceptive” to changes just because it takes time and understanding for me to adjust to new routines.
I’m trying my best, but to separate “mild” autism from “severe” autism diminishes the struggles that many of us go through, especially for those of us who didn’t receive diagnosis or treatment as children. I’ve had to learn how to navigate this bizarre world on my own, but just because I can “pass” sometimes doesn’t mean I’ve mastered it.
I see this sentiment even in my own coworkers, which is sad because we all work with autistic children. I have a learner who’s exceptionally bright. He asks questions that could only be properly answered by a college professor. Sometimes when discussing him, my coworkers will ask, “Why is he even here?” I have to explain that just because someone’s intelligent in some ways, that doesn’t mean they’re caught up with social and emotional intelligence. The kid has difficulty regulating himself, while he’s made massive progress in social skills while at our school - I’ve seen him grow from a kid who only wants to play alone and who would get annoyed when others tried to play with him, to one that happily joins in on games with others and even tolerates when another kid has a drastically different play style.
He’ll be getting ready to graduate and go off to public school soon, which will be bittersweet for me. I was a lot like him as a kid, and I can already imagine some of the difficulties he’ll face - many of which will come from adults who see his intelligence and assume he can do more than he’s capable of. So when I work with him, I make it a point to tell him that not everyone will understand what he’s going through, while teaching him functional communication to get his needs met regardless. I’m sure this little bird will fly high some day, we don’t have to teach him how to soar. But before he can get there, he has to learn how to land himself safely - that’s where I (and the rest of his teachers) come in.
Given how they are a cluster of conditions where most people have some subset of noticable conditions, I’m not sure there is a clear way to differentiate them.
Also, the last person I saw who brought up this argument about how functional they are and how it was unfair to people who are less functional was in the same comment also simultaneously talking about how they’re depressed or suicidal from extreme loneliness and strongly wished to be cured of their autism. That hardly seemed functional to me if you are struggling so much with life even if you can pretend to be functional enough to hold some jobs. I think many people have a strong tendency to downplay their own suffering. You can see the same behavior from people who’ve been victims of abuse who frequently will deny they’ve ever been abused, but if you ask them to describe what happened, they’ll describe abuse and then just try to say it really wasn’t that bad or that such is normal.
Also, we already have terminology to refer to lots of those traits commonly associated with autism. Nonverbal, hypersensitive, speech-processing disorder, and more. If there’s a reason to communicate those things, you can do so with or without mentioning autism.
I believe that there should be way more than 2 conditions which are currently just called autism. You seem to have one, my son is non-verbal and physically unable to complete basic tasks like eating a bowl of cereal, others feel uncomfortable if someone touches their face, others need to constantly fidgit, some require music to feel comfortable, some are obsessed over a certain topic like boats or trains or Lego or whatever. All are currently “autism” but don’t seem to be related. I wish they got rid of the "spectrum"and studied the separate types as separate conditions.
My neice is non-verbal. I’m on “the spectrum”. It’s not the same. Plenty of overlaps, but it’s not the same. I appreciate awareness for the topic at all, but also hope it doesn’t detract from treating the most serious symptoms
My sympathy and respect for your situation, and your son’s.
Right?, it’s not at all the same thing. Non-verbal and academically good with bad socialization are totally different in needs. There is a line through both conditions, and it could be useful in helping both, but making it seem like it’s just a smeared out spectrum from bad to good does no-one any favors.
Agreed. I feel like if we separate them doctors and scientists could study causes and care more effectively. What you need is totally different from my son, why are they combined? Yes the common cold, the flu and TB all result in coughing but don’t have the same treatment. They seem more related then “autism”.
The difficulty of diagnosing autism shows this. If you get strep throat, take a test and it’s either positive or negative. No one can say “yeah, it says I don’t have strep throat but…”
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That and also not being diagnosed at all because the psychiatrist gives you the reasons listed in the dialogue at the bottom. Yeah…
To be fair, the psychiatrist is deciding whether or not to diagnose you with a disorder. And it’s only a disorder if it causes significant negative impacts to your function in daily life. If you’re managing to cope with it so well that your life is entirely on-track, then you might have a condition, but you don’t have a disorder.
I tried multiple times to come up with a purely positive comment since there’s enough negativity out there, and these sort of situations is why I tend not to use any form of social media, but this is the best I can do.
You felt the need to comment about a situation you have literally zero knowledge of, about a psychiatrist you have zero knowledge of, and about my experience you also have zero knowledge of.
To have the difficulties (as defined in the DSMV-TR for the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum) in this society is inherently disabling and a struggle to navigate. Period, end of story. That I’m not on the ground crying and nonverbal 24/7 does not invalidate this. The internal struggles are the same. She, as well as too many others, invalidate the whole concept of Autism by falsely claiming everyone struggles with these things. That was the whole point. They don’t. If you do struggle with these things then ipso facto, you’re Autistic by definition.
As far as levels or “significant negative impact,” it’s subjective and best decided by those that are dealing with those negative impacts as to the severity of them.
I love this so much, as long as you can like work you don’t have a disorder.
It’s like narcissistic people, they don’t have a mental illness because it doesn’t hurt them (only others).
What a wonderful world we live in sometimes.
There is a /j and a /s missing in there somewhere.
It’s a bit more nuanced than able to work == disorder free and I think you know that and are exaggerating. It is true however that the ideology is to not diagnosing a person unless there’s a level of insight. What good does it do to label a narcissist when they don’t suffer from it or suffer from a different condition even if that secondary condition is brought on by narcissism? A diagnosis should help a person and benefit them, not pass moral judgment.
True.
About the narcissist, it could help the people around the person afflicted, if they are in a position of power for example. But I guess it’s not a clear cut.
Yeah, I get where you’re coming from but this are the limitations of the context of therapy: it is beyond the scope to help others aside from the patient unless that is the intent of the patient but this requires insight and empathy and those are no strengths of a typical narcissist. A propos people in power and personality disorders: there are ethical guidelines preventing mental health specialists to diagnose people with disorders (like the Goldwater rule). In my own opinion we should do away with these guidelines: not educating the public does more social harm vis-a-vis democratic decline then any other implications these guidelines prevent.
This with depression
Don’t be depressed commit war crimes against the government instead
My life summarised in two panels.
