Peaks and valleys

[DrDanLEdmunds]

When I began training in relational approaches to autism, my mentor made the comment to me that 'you are Aspie with peaks and valleys.' I never knew what that really meant and he never explained well. Another colleague also felt I was in the spectrum. I can understand this but never felt a need for a formal labelling. Am I wrong in not doing so?

 

[Nitro]

I never saw the need for labeling people unless you want them to fit neatly into partitions.

 

[DrDanLEdmunds]

Agreed.

 

[Judge]

When I began training in relational approaches to autism, my mentor made the comment to me that 'you are Aspie with peaks and valleys.' I never knew what that really meant and he never explained well. Another colleague also felt I was in the spectrum. I can understand this but never felt a need for a formal labelling. Am I wrong in not doing so?

No, not IMO. Ambiguous labels like this outside of specific traits, behaviors and comorbid conditions seem like a non-sequitur.

We may share common experiences along with traits and behaviors and even comorbid conditions. But the actual combination, variety and amplitude of them all is what makes us all so individually different. We're really quite an eclectic lot given how broad the spectrum of autism actually is.

Peaks and valleys? Huh?

 

[Nitro]

Psychology is all about interpretations from observation. There are no doubt some patterns to it that help identify root causes,but the cocktails of psych issues will blur the lines a bit.

Most of the external factors can't be taken into account and there is no doubt a lot that genetics has to do with it.

 

[Tom]

I am not sure what context your mentor meant by 'Peaks and Valleys'. But it may have been a mischaracterisation, or just that fluffy stuff shrinky people sometimes say when they don't really understand something. And it is as hard for an NT to understand ASD as a rich person poverty.

ASD is in my opinion very consistant. Its always there.

Perhaps he meant the separate emotional component, our reaction to difficulties. We most all have those periodically. So there's valleys. And then there is for some a kind of hightened satisfaction, almost euphoria like when locked in to a special interest and all 9 cylinders are firing. NTs only have eight, but we have 9.

 

[Mia]

Labeling makes it rather easy to pigeonhole people, so that the people who do so don't have to think. It's a kind of quick stereotyping that is pre-determined and sometimes involves some sort of stigma. Being on the spectrum makes me wary of people who do so, I was labeled 'weirdo' at an early age because I liked fossils.