Our behaviour hasn't changed, our idea of sanity has
Is autism a disease, a disorder, a disability or a trait? The spectrum is very broad. What we see as normal, is always based on some kind of social agreement says Malou van Hintum
This week is autismweek (1st week of April). Autism is a severe, crippling disability; check out ?De regels van Matthijs? (Matthews laws) and it gives you a rough indication what some people go through. Mathijs? life became a burden and he eventually ended up killing himself. (note; the filmmaker intended to do a full year in the life of Matthijs... that got cut short to 5 months due to circumstances and eventually his suicide).
Autism is a trait state advocates of Proud to be Aut. Aspies for Freedom in turn state they want to work towards an autism culture. ?We know that autism is not a disease, and we oppose any attempts to cure someone of an autism spectrum disorder, or any attempts to make them normal against their will.
Talent
Autism also defines Gijs of whom his mother Maddy Hulshof writes in her book ?Dirigeren van de oceaan? (Directing the ocean). ?While raising Gijs you can pay attention to Gijs? deficits so that he can grow and function in this world? she states on her website.
Autism as an impressive feat was noticeable with Gijs Horvers, who got his Asperger?s diagnosis just before his 30th birthday. He works as an autismfriendly coach and is affiliated with Autisme ten top (excellence in autism) whose creed is ?Investing in talent for people with autism pays off?.
Autism is a daily struggle with frustrations and misunderstanding for Rob Minnaert, father of 3 daughters on the spectrum, as well as being married to someone with autism.
Imitation
Autismtv.nl streams a new show dedicated to this disorder daily during this entire ?autismweek?
A report by the Gezondheidsraad (health council) concludes there are about as many variations of autism as there are people on the actual spectrum. Yes, people with autism are just like people. Some are disabled and limited, like Jeroen (a 15 year old boy who one can classify as having low functioning autism who was featured in a documentary), some are brilliant like for instance Daniel Tammet (Savant writer). People with humor as well as people that see more doom and gloom.
What they share is that, because of a different way of perception and information processing, they struggle in daily life. A lot of people with autism imitate social interaction, something that isn?t easy to start with since every situation is different. But doing this feat over and over again isn?t that easy for everyone on the spectrum.
Study
Where do we draw a line? When do we think autism is a disablility and when do we commend someone being eccentric and when is someone ?really ok?? We can state that the Jeroen?s are surely patients that suffer from this condition. He?s on the low end of the spectrum. But where do we draw a line?
In the past hermits and outcasts were the people that were to be left alone. Nowadays every job requires social and communicative behavior and skills and small talk is important. It?s the grease that keeps the social machine running.
In the past men could hide behind a newspaper or lock themselves in the study. Nowadays they have to behave like social and empathic beings. The feminine nature in our private life has probably added to a few ASD diagnosis because it exposed some social ineptness (amongst other things).
Mirror
Human behavior hasn?t changed a lot over time, but our appreciation and perception has. Especially that grey area between ?healthy? and ?insane?. Do we magnify problems beyond proportions? Is the group increasing because people exaggerate? Or does the increase of people wih psychiatric problems and diagnosis mirror the evergrowing demand our western society demands?
Add up that because of improvements in the medical and psychiatric fields, behavior is more easily recognizable. In the past children with autism and normal intelligence but a clear communication defecits were locked away in an asylum because they were being seen as low functioning. Now these children can participate and communicate with pictos.
This isn?t a matter of medical expertise, this is a matter of progress and civilization. And let?s not forget people like Allen Frances, that state we have to get back ?normal? again.
