Comment by mapontosevenths
15 hours ago
The sources they cite in that article aren't medical professionals. Simger is at least a scientist, but she's a sociologist with an opinion, and Silverman is just a writer with an opinion.
Lots of unqualified people claim lots of things, that doesnt mean you ignore the actual doctors when it comes to medicine and ASD is literally defined as a disorder. You can not be diagnosed with it without some negative impact to your life.
They do also quote a few qualified doctors but the doctors use the word "disability" an awful lot and make no such claims.
Even then, the two folks that do argue for the "social model" of disability are still not arguing that it isnt a disability, they essentially just claim it would be nicer for people if we pretend it isn't - then they go on to to talk about how even among the autistic without learning disabilities the suicide rates are 9 times higher. They cite that as proof that its society making it worse, I see it as proof that autism isn't freaking good for you any more than depression is. Humans are social animals and social diseases are still diseases. More to the point, some of us wear helmets and spend 12 hours a day in a ball rocking back and forth. Thats not "societies problem".
The whole thing reminds me of when I was diagnosed and my neuropsych asked me if I wanted it to be included in my file. He explained that many/most of his very high functioning clients preferred it not be in their medical record, as they didn't want the stigma.
I honestly think we are still under-reporting the numbers for the high functioning, and its largely because some people are too scared to accept who/what they are. IMO those people need to face reality, not ask society to play pretend. The actual name of the diagnosis includes the word "disorder" and you literally cant have autism if you dont have problems.
Pretending that you are fine and it s just a personality trait is counterproductive, but if it helps you sleep at night go for it, I guess. Just be careful. Pretending like all your problems are societies fault won't actually change who you are or reduce your symptoms.
Singer invented the term "neurodiversity".
Also note that scientists and doctors are no longer on the frontlines of the change that's sweeping across society. It's activists who realize that identity and community is more important than cold logical arguments.
>Pretending like all your problems are societies fault won't actually change who you are or reduce your symptoms.
No, I don't pretend it's societies fault that I am who I am. It's societies fault for not being inclusive of who I am and not completely normalizing my condition so I feel included.
> Also note that scientists and doctors are no longer on the frontlines of the change that's sweeping across society. It's activists who realize that identity and community is more important than cold logical arguments.
What I'm about to say is very negative, but please don't think it's directed at you. I'm just jaded and have seen some things.
I can respect that you see a problem and want to solve it, and I even agree that it's a problem. The suicide rate, for example, can at least partly be blamed on the way society (especially children) treat people who are different. That said, I can't help but feel that you are missing a few key things.
1) It's a medical condition. Better activism doesn't lead to better patient outcomes. It just puts conflicting pressures on already overtaxed doctors that make it hard for them to treat patients properly. See what's happening to trans folks for an example.
2) Forcing people to use different words to describe you doesn't make them respect you more, it just frustrates them that they can't speak plainly.
Take the medical term "Mongoloid" for example. It was used to describe the people we now call "Intellectually Disabled" until it became an insult. So doctors invented a new term: "Moron." Moron almost immediately became an insult, so they invented "Mentally Retarded." Mentally retarded became an insult, and was actually *outlawed* in 2010 (Literally outlawed, check out Rosa's law). A few weeks ago I heard my niece make fun of my nephew by calling him "mentally challenged" and doing a hand gesture. He was no less offended than he would have been if she'd used any of the other terms.
The history of that sickness is a history of euphemisms: Simpleteon, Cretin, Imbecile, Mongoloid, Retard, Idiot, Defective, etc... The've all been socially acceptable designations at one point, but each time a new one is created it also turns into an insult. It's not the phrasing that is the problem here, and it can't be fixed by adjusting the language we use (although I'm sure we'll keep inventing new euphemisms forever). There's a fundamental aspect of "not being smart" that people find insulting so whatever you call them BECOMES THE INSULT. We can't change that, it's just how humans are.
Similarly, autistic people are *Weird*. We just don't fit in well, and neither scolding the kids on the playground for using the wrong terms or blasting some Joe Six-Pack on twitter are going to change their minds.
Even if we get them to change their words, the words will become insults by virtue of being tied to the "weird people". When you finally convince everyone to call us "neurodiverse" it will mean that neurodiverse has become an insult. When we convince them it's just a "personality type" it we be regarded as a bad personality type.
Changing other people just doesn't work. You have to change what you expect from them if you want to be happy. It's all your really in charge of.