Article: Autism Treatment Shifts Away from ‘Fixing’ the Condition

[LadyS]

Autism Treatment Shifts Away from ‘Fixing’ the Condition

I can only speak from my own observations but this article does seem to ring true and is a hopeful one. I know it takes time for viewpoints and attitudes to shift across a population. Any meaningful change takes time. But I've already seen some good changes here and there. Hopefully change reverberates faster than expected with attitude shifts towards younger generations.

From personal experience I can confidently say that if I had come out with a diagnosis 15 years ago, there would have been less openness and understanding to the idea with the people who i know in my life.

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

I like the thesis of the article. "Thinking about autism as part of the neurodiversity that exists across humankind, . . ." I believe acceptance and working towards personal goals to live a full life will benefit both the NT and ND. In my case of social dysfunction I cannot think of any practical difference between my difficulties and those of a painfully shy NT. The intervention that may have allowed me a happier time exploring relationships at an appropriate time of life could also be valuable to a NT who may understand social communication but may have learned to be fearful of social interaction.

Wouldn't the world be much better with everybody being able to work towards their potential to have their needs met?

I remain convinced that we do have choices for how we respond to our internal states, and modulating the most negative responses is not trying to be NT.

 

[LadyS]

Wouldn't the world be much better with everybody being able to work towards their potential to have their needs met?

This right here is where I've seen the attitude shift. Now we're seeing more NTs and alike, seeking therapy for a variety of issues like anxiety, depression, addiction (which once was considered a personal choice and now a condition), etc. It's no longer considered a character weakness or personal problem that's kept under wraps. Even celebs and athletes advocating and marketing for tele-mental health.

When the attitude shifts from NT ("nothing wrong with us") vs ND ("something wrong here"), to "none of us are perfect", it's now become a wider conversation about working towards everyone's potential.

 

[Alexej]

Thank you @LadyS
An interesting read, and nice to see it in a respected journal

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

When the attitude shifts from NT ("nothing wrong with us") vs ND ("something wrong here"), to "none of us are perfect", it's now become a wider conversation about working towards everyone's potential.

That would be so very nice! Can you imagine as we learned about our roles in relationships as teens and young adults if we approached people, unafraid, with honest respect and affection? I know I am being naive because there is so much ego involved in that socialization. I remain saddened that I could not approach shy young women for companionship who I noticed. But, I remain happy that I eventually fell for and married a shy woman.

 

[Thinx]

This is the same article someone else posted, was it @Duna ?

Great that trying to make us hide in plain sight is being recognised as an ineffective therapeutic strategy.

I guess I wouldn't say we are likely to be the same as a shy NT, though, in that, our brains are actually different, and that will make the strategies needed different. I do think we could probably be helped better though, with supportive approaches that don't put us in a position of deficit.

 

[LadyS]

This is the same article someone else posted, was it @Duna ?

Great that trying to make us hide in plain sight is being recognised as an ineffective therapeutic strategy.

I guess I wouldn't say we are likely to be the same as a shy NT, though, in that, our brains are actually different, and that will make the strategies needed different. I do think we could probably be helped better though, with supportive approaches that don't put us in a position of deficit.

Oh yes you are very correct! My apologies! To admins: feel free to delete. Didn't realize this was already shared!

 

[Duna]

This is the same article someone else posted, was it @Duna ?

Great that trying to make us hide in plain sight is being recognised as an ineffective therapeutic strategy.

I guess I wouldn't say we are likely to be the same as a shy NT, though, in that, our brains are actually different, and that will make the strategies needed different. I do think we could probably be helped better though, with supportive approaches that don't put us in a position of deficit.

Yes, it was me who shared that article, but the thread title wasn't very specific, therefore hard for others to see. No reason to apologize @LadyS

When I was a kid and only a handful of specialists knew a conditions like Asperger's exists, people thought I was shy. Then they thought I was shy plus had language problem (moved to another country when I was eight). Then they were very surprised that more often than not I was the first to speak up in situations nobody else.knew what to say, or to act when nobody else knew what to do.
My problem is that though I know how to initiate all kinds of things, I have no clue on how to initiate a conversation with others. If people don't make the first step towards me in a social context (that is: other than asking questions about a specific topic) it's unlikely I will ever interact with them socially.

Every try to "cure my shyness" ended in the therapist saying that I do have a problem, but that it's not being too shy (or social anxiety, for that matter).

Like @Thinx wrote: There's need for another approao,and I doubt a one-helps-all sokution will be the answer.