The Way We See Low Functioning is Wrong!

[All-Rounder]

A friend just told me about this:
"The people you might see sitting in a chair, rocking back and forth are ones with severe autism. Just remember this. If you ever see someone with autism who is rocking back and forth, and is unable to communicate audibly via their mouth and or hand gestures. Don't be surprised if they are smarter that you and me put together . There is this one guy who is like this. They thought he was unable to think. Turns out that for some reason he lacks the ability to speak like you and me. Yet has the uncanny ability to think and reason far better than most people and has published many books."

I saw a video of a guy who didn't speak, from the outside one would say he looked handicapped. He would speak in ways you see toddlers do when they learn to speak. But when he sat down at the piano, he was a master. It was like an ability he had was just getting unleashed. I though maybe he is unable to think like us, but he has abilities superhumane. I'm so impressed and glad that was a wrong way to think of it. They can think not only like us, but above our level. Which is incredible.
So that means even the kids with severe autism or what we call "low functioning autism" can actually be super geniuses.
Maybe most of them are.
And maybe that's also why there is no high or low functioning now, there is just ASD as a diagnosis. Because maybe we didn't understand that it's not an intelligence level, its actually how severe their lack of social skills is.
Which in turn makes them "look" like they cant think, but it's very untrue.
I'm very excited this is the case.
Spreading the word!!!

 

[the_tortoise]

I completely agree that we should value all types of ability and remember that having severe disabilities doesn't preclude having abilities -- including amazing abilities.

That said, some thoughts:

I believe it is just as wrong to look down on/discount/devalue anyone with severe disability who doesn't have genius talents. People with severe disabilities deserve just as much respect, consideration and acceptance as anyone else whether they have superhuman talents/abilities or not;

Everyone thinks. Doesn't matter what their level of ability or cognitive style is in any given area -- every person, at every level of ability, has thoughts and feelings. Even if an adult has the cognitive and physical abilities typical of an infant, they still think and feel, and their thoughts and feelings matter.

Also, severe movement disorders can cause people with autism (and non-autistic people with other disabilities) to be unable to speak, but still have normal or advanced language development. Speech and language are not the same thing. (And, of course, language and thought are not the same thing....)

 

[pjcnet]

Unfortunately that is not often the case, my adult brothers who have low functioning autism for instance can't count to 5, tell the time, read or write or do most things you'd expect an average person to be-able to do. In fact they require 24 hour care and most certainly wouldn't be-able to survive otherwise, they have some skills, for instance David is very good at drawing and they are intelligent in some ways, but they're far from "super geniuses" and have an understanding of the world similar to that of a 2 or 3 year old, although it's very difficult to compare to a specific age, because in some ways they're different too. I have also met other people similar to my brothers when they've attended day centres, although they have varying degrees of abilities and skills, I haven't really come across any "super geniuses" there either.

It is possible for a few people who are classed as being on the lower functioning end of the autistic spectrum to be called "super geniuses" if they have a particular special interest / skill that they're much better at than an average person, occasionally they might even be incredible at something very specific. Occasionally we get such autistic people who are so amazing at something very specific that they can even make a news story and that makes some people believe that there's a greater number that are similar, but the vast majority are not heard about because even if they have a special interest or skill, it isn't at a "super genius" level. Remember I am only discussing people on the lower functioning end of the autistic spectrum, not higher functioning or even in between which is more often different, sadly we will never hear the view of someone who is truly on the lower functioning end of the spectrum here because they wouldn't be able enough to register and understand the workings of this forum.

 

[Sherlock77]

There are two brothers in the city I live in... One is a gifted playwright and one is a gifted artist of illustrations... One of them is very low functioning person with depression, very little ability to talk much... Both of them have worked together on some book projects related to depression, one (the playwright) took care of the writing end of things... His brother (the artist who has severe depression) drew illustrations for the books

 

[Bolletje]

I don’t think you need to be spreading the word on a forum for autistic people, to be honest. Most of us are quite aware of mainstream warped perception of autism.
I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but this might not be the place.
As for the example of the savant: that’s actually very rare.

 

[Pariah Dog]

I once encountered a teenage boy who I assumed to be low functioning in an alley. Though he couldn't speak or communicate, he didn't strike me as unintelligent.

I was leaving a job in my service truck and starting to drive away. This boy was in a wheel chair pushing himself along, and had a wagon in tow behind the wheel chair. He got up and flagged me down. I parked and got out and asked him what he needed. He walked over and pointed to the wagon and gestured at the wheels. I couldn't really make sense of what he was after. I lifted each side of the wagon and gave each wheel a spin by hand. I told him, using some effort to speak in a cheery way (which is not natural for me) that his wheels are working well and he is all set to go. This didn't seem to satisfy him exactly but he didn't try to request anything further. I told him to have a good weekend and returned to my truck. He returned to his wheel chair (which he didn't appear to have any use for) and resumed rolling himself down the ally.

It dawned on me after I had driven a couple minutes. I thought, "He can't speak, I wonder if he can write?" I wished I had passed him a pad of paper and a pen to see if that would work. But, bygones be bygones.

 

[pjcnet]

There are two brothers in the city I live in... One is a gifted playwright and one is a gifted artist of illustrations... One of them is very low functioning person with depression, very little ability to talk much... Both of them have worked together on some book projects related to depression, one (the playwright) took care of the writing end of things... His brother (the artist who has severe depression) drew illustrations for the books

Assuming one of them truly was on the lower functioning end of the spectrum it would have been the brother who drew the illustrations because someone who can write well definitely wouldn't match this criteria. If both of them had a good understanding of the book project however and it's purpose, then it's unlikely either of them were truly "lower functioning" autistic.

 

[granolaturtle]

Naoki Higashida is mostly nonverbal and has a large amount of written works associated with him.

 

[Sherlock77]

Assuming one of them truly was on the lower functioning end of the spectrum it would have been the brother who drew the illustrations because someone who can write well definitely wouldn't match this criteria. If both of them had a good understanding of the book project however and it's purpose, then it's unlikely either of them were truly "lower functioning" autistic.

I strayed slightly off topic, because the one brother has depression, severe enough that he has trouble communicating and can't function normally, he is the artist

 

[granolaturtle]

I strayed slightly off topic, because the one brother has depression, severe enough that he has trouble communicating and can't function normally, he is the artist

I'm kind of annoyed, though. The response was pure circular reasoning - if a low functioning person does this than they're not low functioning because low functioning people don't do that.

 

[Crossbreed]

@Rexi , as an Aspie father of an ASD3 daughter, I can tell you that both kinds exist,

• Those who have spoken language issues, but are otherwise age-appropriate in their cognitive abilities. (Lack of spoken language is their particular neurological impairment, not cognitive development.)
• Those who actually have infantile cognitive development. (That is why it is called a P.ervasive D.evelopmental D.isorder.)

The latter group has no representation on-line (except as noted by family members).

 

[pjcnet]

I'm kind of annoyed, though. The response was pure circular reasoning - if a low functioning person does this than they're not low functioning because low functioning people don't do that.

It's not ideal and I didn't make the rules or criteria of diagnosis, but unfortunately what someone can or can't do is the difference between being on the lower functioning end of the autistic spectrum or the higher functioning end, I believe there are sometimes levels in between too. I'm not saying that people on the lower functioning end can't sometimes do amazing things and they are often still very intelligent in a different way, remember I have 2 autistic brothers who are on the lower functioning end of the spectrum and I have ASD too at a higher functioning level. All members here are either on the higher functioning end of the spectrum or NT in order to fully comprehend the workings of the forum and to be-able to read/write.

PS: I don't even like the term "low functioning", but there has to be a way to describe the difference between people like my brothers and myself who are very different in what we can or can't do, even though I still have many autistic traits that make my life very difficult indeed, there's many things I can do my brothers most definitely can't. Sometimes being able to do more can be even worse however because unlike my brothers I am left with little support and I am left to fail at things that many people expect me to be-able to do or comprehend because they have absolutely no understanding, where it's soon obvious my brothers have a disability where people make allowances and they obviously have to have very high support (currently my elderly parents are still looking after them).

 

[All-Rounder]

I don’t think you need to be spreading the word on a forum for autistic people, to be honest. Most of us are quite aware of mainstream warped perception of autism.
I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but this might not be the place.
As for the example of the savant: that’s actually very rare.

1 in 10 people with ASD apparently have it. I know Nitro, moderator here, has Savant Syndrome.
I believe my ex girlfriend also had it.

 

[Fridgemagnetman]

1 in 10 people with ASD apparently have it. I know Nitro, moderator here, has Savant Syndrome.
I believe my ex girlfriend also had it.

And the other points?

 

[All-Rounder]

And the other points?

Is that a challenge? Tough subject. Most I could do is define it and give a few examples, which I haven't experienced myself. It would go much like this one, though. I'd keep it quick, so no purpose to do it because that would need much more data and energy, which I'm low on, I've felt ill these days. I did something similar, I have a resource if you want to check it out. I kept it simple and quick to read, which someone complained about. It would be for my own enjoyment and for entertainment, the Savant type, but I'm more passionate in exploring it in others or reading it myself than writing for the time being. I haven't discussed my ex's Savant part as much with her, I think she might have not known it had a name, but she recently discovered she was HFA before she started dating me and she would tell me about her abilities. Honestly she was an angel, it seemed as though she had no things that irritated her, we never had a fight. A specific trait would be she could solve complicated math problems in her head in seconds, and she liked it even if it wasn't so easy a task. We would have delved more into it maybe, but I just thought of it as her abilities because of autism at the time.

 

[pjcnet]

1 in 10 people with ASD apparently have it. I know Nitro, moderator here, has Savant Syndrome.
I believe my ex girlfriend also had it.

Here is a quote from Wikipedia about Savant Syndrome:

The condition is rare. One estimate is that it affects about one in a million people. Cases of female savants are even less common than those of males. The first medical account of the condition was in 1783. Among those with autism between 1 in 10 to 200 have savant syndrome to some degree. It is estimated that there are fewer than a hundred savants with extraordinary skills currently living.

Here is a link to the full article:

Savant syndrome - Wikipedia

I suspect there's even more than 1 in 10 people with ASD that have savant syndrome to some degree and 1 in 200 is much too low, but I also suspect that a much higher proportion are on the higher functioning end of the autistic spectrum, not low functioning which this thread is mostly about. Regarding there being less cases of female savants, well that could be because a lower proportion of females have been properly diagnosed who are on the autistic spectrum, although this is improving. According to the article savants are not really that rare despite the initial sentences, but savants with extraordinary skills are. Obviously Nitro is also on the higher functioning end of the spectrum.

 

[Streetwise]

@Rexi , as an Aspie father of an ASD3 daughter, I can tell you that both kinds exist,

• Those who have spoken language issues, but are otherwise age-appropriate in the cognitive abilities. (Lack of spoken language is their particular neurological impairment, not cognitive development.)
• Those who actually have actual infantile cognitive development. (That is why it is called a P.ervasive D.evelopmental D.isorder.)

The latter group has no representation on-line (except as noted by family members).

hello could you help me ?could you recommend something I could read about low functioning autism !or really pervasive developmental disorder?! I don't know why I'm finding words hard to picture I think it's because of anxiety.
to help you know what to advise something designed for children would be good.
my perception isn't working very well .

 

[All-Rounder]

Here is a quote from Wikipedia about Savant Syndrome:


Here is a link to the full article:

Savant syndrome - Wikipedia

I suspect there's even more than 1 in 10 with ASD that have savant syndrome to some degree and 1 in 200 is much too low, but I also suspect that a much higher proportion are on the higher functioning end of the autistic spectrum, not low functioning which this thread is mostly about. Regarding there being less cases of female savants, well that could be because a lower proportion of females have been properly diagnosed who are on the autistic spectrum, although this is improving. According to the article savants are not really that rare despite the initial sentences, but savants with extraordinary skills are. Obviously Nitro is also on the higher functioning end of the spectrum.

You mentioned some really good points there. Didn't know the proportion between higher/lower functioning would be lower for the low functioning autism people, especially since they could be easier diagnosed, because differences and inabilities are easier noticed.

 

[All-Rounder]

.

Want to tell us more about your own experience with Savant's Syndrome? xP

 

[Crossbreed]

hello could you help me ?could you recommend something I could read about low functioning autism !or really pervasive developmental disorder?!

I'm not really sure what is available to read. (It is a case-by-case basis.) We just had to adapt our parenting style to our ASD2 & ASD3 children on-the-fly.

Our ASD3 daughter has a mental age of 18 mos. We just have to manage her as an 18 month old (in a 23yo body).

Our ASD2 son has a mental age of 6-10yo and no concept of causation or consequences. He was not malicious, but tended to be dangerously impulsive with no effective means of correction. Now 30yo, he lives in a supervised apartment.