This video was filmed at The Many Faces of Asperger’s Syndrome live performance event that took place at the Morris County Library in Whippany, NJ in April of this year. I was one of the performers at the event, and you can see a bit of my reading/part of the interview I gave starting at the 1:10 mark. Go watch now! :D
Protip: If you use the phrase “suffers from” in the same sentence as “Asperger’s Syndrome” in an e-mail to me, you’ve pretty much lost any chance of my promoting your book/film/whatever on my blog. Just FYI.
I am more than thoroughly not looking forward to April Fools’ Day tomorrow. Having Asperger’s Syndrome, I’ve struggled for most of my life to understand when someone is joking, and then to “get” the joke. When I was younger, my peers tended to take advantage of that fact and would make jokes about certain things knowing full well that I wouldn’t “get” it. I especially dislike the propensity that people have on April Fools’ Day to make a joke out of something that actually sounds serious, because I’m more likely to look at it literally and think that it really is serious.
I guess my biggest, long-running worry is that I will somehow be made the butt of an April Fools’ joke and not even know it. The thought of it alone is upsetting to me, just because of my past history. I know now, today, that people who are my friends and who care about me would never do anything to deliberately hurt me, but I hope they also know how sensitive an issue this is for me. If there’s an April Fools’ joke to be had—either at my expense or otherwise—I would like to be let in on it ahead of time. That’s all.
I got an email on LinkedIn today from a woman who wants to interview me for her podcast! It’s about entrepreneurs talking about how they became entrepreneurs and giving advice to others. She wants me to talk about A.S.C.O.T. Coaching and my story/my journey of how I started the business, and to (hopefully) inspire other Aspie entrepreneurs out there in their own endeavors. Yay! :)
An article published in the UK newspaper The Independent was recently brought to my attention. The article in question describes a computer “game” that is actually a simulation of what it is like to live with autism.
More specifically, the program focuses on the sensory issues faced by people on the spectrum (light, sounds, and so on), and—going by the description in the article—exaggerates these features of the setting in the game (a playground) to give the user an idea of how the world looks from an autistic perspective.
After taking the time to consider the implications of such a “game,” I have a few thoughts.
[Read the rest of this at my blog, and if you like it, please do pass it along!]
[I originally posted this the other night in a reblog of a post from davymoans who had reblogged it from someone else. The original poster blamed autism for the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut. This was my response, and I feel a need to repost it now.]
When this post came across my dash, I was struck by the defensiveness and the anger in the tone of the OP’s words…not to mention their eagerness to shift the blame for the Newtown massacre onto a population that traditionally is more likely to be the victims of violent crimes than the perpetrators.
Autism—by itself—is not a predictor of violence. As a person and a woman who lives on the spectrum myself, I can tell you that I have met few, if any, people with autism or Asperger’s who are violent. Now, of course there are exceptions and every situation and person is different, so I’m not going to pretend otherwise. But when violent behavior does occur, it is almost always aimed at the person themselves—inward, rather than outward.
The shooter in Connecticut may well have had Asperger’s syndrome or high-functioning autism (neither of which are a “severe case” of autism, by the way). He also was not receiving the proper supports or services that he needed to cope with the issues that resulted from his autism, and he lived in a home where there were numerous weapons available and a mother who was either unable or unwilling to restrict his access to them. (I can’t confirm this, but I have also heard that he was dealing with other mental issues as well, on top of the autism.)
People are devastated over what has happened, angry and sickened at the thought of the lives lost. And people want an explanation—someone or something to blame for it. A scapegoat. That’s what they have found in autism, and while this is not the first time autism has been the scapegoat for a mass shooting, it is both foolish and dangerous to say that autism or anything else was solely responsible for the events in Newtown.
A person doesn’t have to be mentally ill to be completely irresponsible with a gun (and by the same token, mental illness doesn’t mean that a person is going to harm anyone). The fact is, mental illness and gun control both played critical roles in that tragedy, and as such, frank and honest public discussions about both topics are sorely needed.
In any case, the OP has more than taken the wrong tack on this matter—they’re conveying a mindset that, if held by more and more people in the coming months or years (especially people in positions of power) will lead to the persecution of individuals on the autism spectrum. Such ignorance must not be allowed to trample the hard work that so many of us have done, both to survive and to educate the neurotypical community about autism and Asperger’s.
I will not let your fear define me. I will give you knowledge, and I will fight.
And I hope you’ll listen.
I hope you little tree huggers of the world who hate guns and want them to become illegal because of shootings realize that the man who went to sandy hook elementary and shot&killed teachers and students had a very severe case of autism. He used to chase his mother into her room with scissors and harass her verbally and go insane. He went to 14 doctors to find out what was wrong with him and he was only 15. He had anger issues like you wouldn’t believe. The mother couldn’t control him and the doctors said he was fine. So before you say people with mental illnesses don’t cause harm, know your facts or shut the hell up.
That is all.
why “tree huggers”? this has nothing to do with the environment
not everyone is saying guns need to be illegal — they need to be restricted to protect people.
you’re continuing to stigmatise mental illness etc and that won’t help anything either. if you keep painting the population of mentally ill people as “violent” or “ticking time bombs” they will NOT be willing to get help for their illness for fear of being judged and that will continue a cycle which will, in some cases, result in violence.
this is a complex issue that has a lot of aspects to it and the fact that you’re acting like guns are not involved in the issue of GUN violence is completely ridiculous.
but, yes, thank you for bringing your completely uninformed opinion in on this. it was definitely only mental illness that caused this, rather than the fact that someone who was known to be violent had access to a gun in the first place. and of course 26.2% of the american population is destined to be violent because they suffer from mental illness. clearly.
*facepalm* Seriously? The OP thinks they can counter attack people who want to get rid of guns by saying that he has Autism? I’m not seeing the reasoning in that. In fact, I’d say that it is even more reason to be stricter with gun laws! I’m not necessarily saying that all people with mental illnesses shouldn’t be allowed to own a gun. There’s a difference between being capable of murder and, oh, say having trouble paying attention (ADHD for a random example). But if we put more rules and regulations on just who can gain access to guns, then maybe the people (with disorders and without) who do snap have less of chance of getting a hold of one.
And this is exactly what I was scared of happening when I found out that he had a form of Autism. Now people like me (yes, I’ve been diagnosed on the spectrum for those who don’t know by now) are going to have this association with this shooting. People who don’t know any better (like the OP it seems) now are seeing us as capable of murder, as crazies who could be on their last straw at any second, AND THAT IS NOT TRUE. Of course, like the person above me said, this just only makes us more afraid to come out with it and seek help for fear of being treated as some sort of serial killer because of such a stigma.
Look, maybe you dear OP want to keep your guns. Fine. But really, if you’re gonna present a reason why, maybe try something like that it would be for better defense purposes, not because it was the kid had a mental disorder. Yes, it probably was a contributing factor, but pinning the entire blame on Autism is just not accurate. If he never had access to guns, then perhaps this never would have happened…
Oh, for fuck’s sake…
When this post came across my dash, I was struck by the defensiveness and the anger in the tone of the OP’s post. Not to mention the complete and utter disdain this person seems to hold toward individuals with autism, and their eagerness to shift the blame for the Newtown massacre onto a population that traditionally is more likely to be the victims of violent crimes than the perpetrators.
Autism—by itself—is not a predictor of violence. As a person and a woman who lives on the spectrum myself, I can tell you that I have met few, if any, people with autism or Asperger’s who are violent. Now, of course there are exceptions and every situation and person is different, so I’m not going to pretend otherwise. But when violent behavior does occur, it is almost always aimed at the person themselves—inward, rather than outward.
The shooter in Connecticut may well have had Asperger’s syndrome or high-functioning autism (neither of which are a “severe case” of autism, by the way). He also was not receiving the proper supports or services that he needed to cope with the issues that resulted from his autism, and he lived in a home where there were numerous weapons available and a mother who was either unable or unwilling to restrict his access to them. (I can’t confirm this, but I have also heard that he was dealing with other mental issues as well, on top of the autism.)
People are devastated over what has happened, angry and sickened at the thought of the lives lost. And people want an explanation—someone or something to blame for it. A scapegoat. That’s what they have found in autism, and while this is not the first time autism has been the scapegoat for a mass shooting, it is both foolish and dangerous to say that autism or anything else was solely responsible for the events in Newtown.
Mental illness and gun control both played critical roles in this tragedy, and as such, frank and honest public discussions about both topics are sorely needed. For my part, I am so tired of seeing posts on Facebook and elsewhere from gun owners screaming about not wanting their guns taken away. A person doesn’t have to be mentally ill to be completely irresponsible with a gun (and by the same token, mental illness doesn’t mean that a person is going to harm anyone). But don’t ever tell me that your right to own a gun is more important than my right to not feel afraid of you when you’re holding it.
In any case, the OP has more than taken the wrong tack on this matter—they’re conveying a mindset that, if held by more and more people in the coming months or years (especially people in positions of power) will lead to the persecution of individuals on the autism spectrum. Such ignorance must not be allowed to trample the hard work that so many of us have done, both to survive and to educate the neurotypical community about autism and Asperger’s.
I will not let your fear define me. I will give you knowledge, and I will fight.
And I hope you’ll listen.
Hey everybody! A few weeks ago, I was interviewed via Skype for Autism Live’s webcast. In addition to discussing my work as a college coach, I was able to address the potential ramifications for individuals with Asperger’s following the Newtown shootings. I previously posted a video of the full show, but this clip is just my interview. Please do check it out!
Very happy to share this clip, which is me being interviewed for the Autism Live webcast! They broadcast from California, so I did the interview via Skype. My portion of the show starts at the 21:19 mark, so just skip ahead to go to it. If you do watch, please let me know what you think!
I just responded to an e-mail from a woman who was referred to me by a professor that I had in grad school. This woman was writing on behalf of a friend, and looking for someone “familiar with individuals with Asperger’s Sydrome beyond a textbook definition.” One of the things that her friend wanted to know was whether individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome miss people, or long for people with whom they are in a relationship (which sounds ludicrous, but a lot of people genuinely just do not know). This was my answer:
“You wanted to know whether people with Asperger’s Syndrome miss people or long for people with whom they have relationships. I can tell you that, without question whatsoever, they do. It is a tremendous misconception that people with AS can’t experience these things, because what many people do not realize is that we experience them differently, but not any less powerfully, than other people do.
I have missed people so deeply that it felt as though every part of me were aching on a near-constant basis. I’ve felt the ecstasy of love and the agony of longing, and the grief of heartbreak. Even if the ways that I have processed these emotions haven’t seemed “normal” to some, I have still felt them as deeply and profoundly as anyone else. Maybe even more so, because when I feel something—especially romantic attachment to someone—I feel it with my entire being.
That, I think, is sometimes why individuals with Asperger’s are mischaracterized as not feeling anything: Because we actually feel everything, so much so that it becomes overwhelming, and that’s when we retreat inside ourselves—to try and process all of it, as best as we possibly can.”
