To find this view re autism frustrating

I could have written the same about myself! 👋🏼
What are your skills that are rare and unusual xx

Actually its a myth that Einstein was a late speaker and the age varies
If i had a pound for everytime somone told me einstein didnt speak untill
Insert age i would be very rich.

Really though these conversations always come down to on key problem. Asperger’s never should have been merged into Autism. At most it should have been given a new name.

Completely agree. We could also bring back that useful term ‘introverted’, recognise that there is not one correct form of ‘normal’ brain, stop being so narrow minded culturally and be less obsessed with shallow versions of socialising and networking. I am interested in the cultural element of autism. The explosion in the label says more about Britain’s modern cultural direction than it does the evolutionary capability of our species imo. If people are fully capable of communicating and merely feel socially awkward then look at the culture around them rather than announce they must have ‘something wrong’ with them individually. Different regions in Britain are more tolerant of introversion and less conformist than others, never mind if you look ant the different cultures on the continent. It’s not coincidence that it’s increased at the same time as computers have made many skills obsolete and are now threatening to make intelligence obsolete too, while economics has shifted to relying on inheritance and who you know rather than skills and work.

I also used to work with youngsters who were nonverbal with various degrees of capability in communication, some with none at all and I nappies at 18. It’s not the same. Many members of my family are socially awkward or anxious. For myself it’s funny growing up slightly accepted as an introvert and then being steadily shifted out and told there’s now something wrong with all of us!

It can be for the small minority. I know someone who’s amazing with computers. Has a first class masters in mathematics. Aced every exam. Amazing at problem solving. Has what was termed Asperger’s. Has overcome the anxiety that went with it.

Because autism is such a big spectrum they really need to categories it. I suspect i have autism I'm diagnosed bpd and like the majority of women with bpd its likely a misdiagnosis. My life is challenging but I can talk, use a toilet, live independently and I think its unfair to people with very high needs autism to be in the same category as people who can live independently, have jobs and their own families. It should be like bipolar where its seperates in categories

I was put off an assessment cos of the long waiting list but in the end I decided to go for it. I reasoned it might take 2 years but in 2 years I'll either still be wondering or have the answers.
It took a long time but I'm so glad I did it. I got my diagnosis in April and its changed my perspective on so many things.

Agree. Einstein likely did have autism, he didn’t speak until he was five for example. Isaac Newton also had it, many highly intelligent and creative souls have. It can be a wonderful thing in ways, I’ve learnt to appreciate smaller things in life through my autistic DS for example. We also celebrate smaller milestones with him than you’d expect for a boy his age.

It’s also sad and can be debilitating e.g the fact he has no friends because he still hasn’t mastered social skills at 6. He doesn’t act in a ‘usual’ way and can be terrifying at times when he elopes. He’s rapid, I’m glad I’m fit and a runner else I’d have no chance with him. He has run into roads, thinks nothing of running off when out and about including near bodies of water. Many instances where something horrific could have happened and we were lucky.

On the flip side, he’s very intelligent and that’s beautiful to observe. I also admire the fact that if he’s shit bored, he has no time for it and will walk away. I would love to do this.

Wow the medical misogyny just keeps on coming!!
Said book has also been highly criticised as the author has no expertise in cancer or autism and criticises diagnosis in both,the author always seems to try to haul it into these threads.

I don't think it is a gift! I think it's hindered me and my life tbh, especially socially which then has knock on effects on other aspects of your life too

To receive a diagnosis of autism, you need to have been assessed as having demonstrable deficits in multiple separate areas of functioning, including communication. By a multidisciplinary team. Communication is an incredibly broad area that goes far beyond the back and forth of conversation. 90% of autistic girls remain undiagnosed at 18. They are 20 times more likely to attempt or succeed in taking their own lives compared with their NT peers. There is no overdiagnosis. The experiences of girls and women has persistently been dismissed and downplayed, or put down to other things, by the medical profession. I can assure you that my dd has been caused 'genuine adversity' by her autism. Our whole family has.

Thank goodness you have said this, so I don't have to.

My 'high functioning' 9yo dd whose experience Frith wants to erase has not attended school since December. She has also used suicidal language on multiple occasions, damaged property, other people, and herself. It's been a miserable year.

I read a book Over diagnosis recently where the author noted autism is primarily a problem with communication. Girls now diagnosed with autism and so called “masking” do not have a problem with communication. She argued that these new diagnoses are being constructed and newly created in the interest of “equality” and these over diagnosis carry a cost for those people with genuine adversity related to autism. Girls were being “undiagnosed” as they didn’t have it.

Einstein wasn't autistic. If people want to reframe their own disability as a gift or a superpower, they can, obviously do that. More power to them.

But it's a disability and causes anguish to many people, and families.

I agree they shouldn’t have merged, but just wanted to point out that my DS, who has the Asperger’s type of autism, is unlikely to ever be able to live independently either.

The good doesn’t outweigh the bad for him.

Even within subgroups, it’s still a spectrum.

Kinda depends on your worldview and whether you have it or not?? And what level your talking about....

For example, if you are high level functioning, doing ok and an optimist, then that's not an invalid opinion surely? Aren't there blind people who are content?

Why bother yourself over someone's opinion? You don't need to agree.

He was believed by everyone around him, to almost certainly have been on the spectrum but was of course, undiagnosed.

I agree about the term “gift” being a disservice. It doesn’t really reflect lived reality. Many autistic people will never be independent, and I fail to see anything positive about that.

YMMV in terms of how disabling autism can be, but even those with what was previously called Aspergers go through a lot of struggles. I am high functioning, and have had high levels of anxiety throughout my life. It is exhausting to deal with, and experiences with other people only feel as though they are confirming my anxiety. Job interviews have been dreadful as even though I am smart, I know my autism will naturally be off putting to people. I have had too many situations where I don’t say anything and am still judged. The suffering I go through makes me dread for those who have it worse.

I can’t imagine myself being anything else, but I imagine that a lot of my struggles would be gone if I was born neurotypical.

I agree that Aspergers should have been renamed as it distorts the perception of autism.

A friend’s son is autistic and he is neither gifted, nor would his parents consider his suffering a gift. He can verbalise some of his needs using stock phrases but is largely uncommunicative. He cannot write his name or even hold a pencil. He does not know his last name. He was toilet trained but started regressing at age 7. He spits in people’s faces and tries to gouge their eyes. He cannot bear sunlight or even moderate noise levels. He cannot be around other children or pets unsupervised. He doesn’t sleep. That’s not even scratching the surface.

To say that autism is a gift actively harms those who are profoundly affected, and their families.

I have autism. It’s not a gift and I’m not particularly more intelligent than the average person. It’s a silent curse that bleeds into my social interactions, makes me self conscious and hyperaware. I would give anything to be “normal”. Over the years I have learned how to mask in day to day life but people close to me know that I have really struggled. As a child I didn’t understand why I was so alienated and disliked - I remember a girl in my class in primary school had invited every girl in the year to her party except me (I’m appalled at her parents for even allowing that to happen) and it was devastating. I still have no close friends now. Jobs are extremely difficult for me as I struggle to understand social cues in the moment. It’s an exhausting conscious effort to pretend to be someone you’re not just to stay afloat.

Anyone who thinks of it as a gift is either neurotypical or has the intelligence to excel regardless of their traits.

Two late teen DS’s with ASD - socially one masks & has very high anxiety- the other is very socially awkward and has PDA, both need a lot of understanding, patience and down time and both get burnt out from trying to cope.
A lot.

My child is very gifted. He can create amazing artwork out of his poo. On the walls,furniture,anywhere really.

He’s also very talented vocally, he can make so many sounds and so loud.

11 years of nappies and no end in sight.

I’m absolutely thrilled at being the carer for the rest of my life.

Seriously? Autism is fucking shit and I wouldn’t wish it on worst enemy.

It does wind me up. I think they need to break up the spectrum more specifically. Someone like your niece or my brother should not be referred to with the same medical term as someone who is a bit awkward and likes making lists.

I agree many autistic people are “gifted” I certain areas but I don’t believe autism is a gift.

ie if you were to write a list of pros and cons of autisim in a particular person, there may be a few pros (e.g. extremely analytical, good with numbers, amazing memory etc). However, I’m sure these would be more than outweighed by the “cons” -
ie the difficulties that person experiences in day to day life and the social side of things.

therefore, overall it’s not a gift and not many people would choose to have it. However, there are some positives and there’s nothing wrong with celebrating them

Asperger’s never should have been merged into Autism. At most it should have been given a new name.

Agree 100%.

I spent an entire career teaching severely autistic children in a special school. The support groups that had been a lifeline to many of the parents, now exclude them, because they've been taken over by those whose autism doesn't disable them in such a fundamental way. Anyone going to the groups local to the school and mentioning how horrendous their home life is, is talked over, argued with and made to feel that they're giving autism a bad name.

Trying to merge the two types was a huge mistake. Simply renaming Asperger's would have avoided pitting those adults whose intellect and cognition is less affected, against the parents of those profoundly affected in multiple areas.

For many amazing people autism makes them who they are.. in the same way that other disabilities make people who they are. But it’s not a gift, it’s the hand you have been dealt.