How come journos keep saying that autism occurs in 1 in 100 people, when they really mean autism and Aspergers and all the other syndromes lumped on the spectrum? I mean, they say it's 1 in 100 and that the majority have intellectual impairment, but in the next breath they say that Aspies have normal or above average intelligence, when we make up the majority? Isn't that a complete contradiction?
Yup, that one stumped me too. Think it could have been worded much better.
If all autistic people have an impairment in our ability to reason, then how does Dr Knownothing explain the fact that AS or autistic traits have been identified in many of the world's most eminent scientists, mathematicians and philosophers? :roll: Was Kant really a thickhead? Newton a few bricks short of a load? Einstein a dumbkopf? Wittgenstien a dunce? A. J. Ayer a simpleton? Spinoza a spaz? Simone Weil a slow learner? Borcherds just pretending to be a maths professor? I think it could be Dr Knownothing who has the problem!
Lili, having problems with executive functioning (including some aspects of reasoning) does not make people stupid or 'thickheads'. Several people on this forum have reported having such problems, but none of them strike me as idiots or as stupid.
It could be possible that we need less activity in the executive function part of the brain to be able to solve problems and such. It could also be possible that maybe the part of our brains that does executive function is located elsewhere in the brain. We are neurologically different from NTs, so it could be possible that our brains are made a different way and we need less brain power to function and/or have different arrangements of the brain.
Not saying my statement is true, I'm just saying it's a possibility.
Speaking strictly for myself, I know I have executive dysfunction. I can however solve problems very well so the article is not entirely accurate. I have problems making decisions, plans, and organizing. I don't have a problem with reasoning or thinking rationally but I act irrationally sometimes. A few months ago I bought a new lawnmower. After I started to drive away I had the urge to return it but couldn't decide so I drove around the store like 5 times before I decided to keep it and went home.
I read somewhere that people who are good at maths have less brain activity than those who are less able!
I need a good definition for executive function. I think like the terms "empathy" and "theory of mind", executive function is just going to be picked up by the media and misused to make people with autism look even more undesirable as spouses, employees, people.
I have trouble doing things sometimes just because I feel that I do not have enough information to make a good judgement at the time. I do not understand what all this "instantaneous" decision making can always be a good thing anyway. I remember hearing that some African tribe elders will take longer to make a decision on something that they consdier important. How someone reacts under pressure is not always important since the way NT's rule the world disasters are always happening. I am always trying to think of ways to prevent disaster by calculating the possibilities of what could go wrong and putting in measures to prevent that. That should be valued. Only I do not always predict the human malevolency factor.
I haven't found anything to be able to make planning easier, like you said Theosoph, it does some to affect the ability to make choices too.
Have you tried pictures? I know it is mostly seen as something done with kisd on the Spectrum but I have found that simple photos or pictures on cards can be extremely helpful 
Have tried having a visual reminder of the actual object, such as a form to fill in, right in front of me on the desk, but with a combination of inertia, executive functioning, extreme focus in other areas, I haven't found a solution yet.
I have found that a picture itself is not enough. A timer/reminder combined with a picture seems to work a lot better, because each on their own I tend to ignore or forget about :oops:
http://www.geocities.com/growingjoel/ef.html
This website has some suggestions for coping with executive dysfunction. I actually started doing some of the things even before I read it. I pay all my bills online now. My house used to be cluttered and the sink was always full of dirty dishes that would sit there for days. Now I use routines to keep my house clean.
To me executive dysfunction is the worst part of having AS. I think I could get somewhere is life if it wasn't for that and I wouldn't feel like I have a disability. Those of you who don't have it are lucky.
Greetings,
One thing that pisses me off is the fact that 'executive dysfunction' is really another name for AD/HD.
Not really, as it relates primarily to sequencing problems and problems organising oneself, switching attention (as opposed to distractibility). ED co-occurs with many other issues, including Schizophrenia, so it is not strictly speaking 'another word for ADHD'.
Whoa Theosoph, what is that on your avatar?
That's a freak caught in an embarrassing moment. Sort of the way I feel about myself.
I like to make lists or flow charts for multiple step processes.
I do not know if I have executive dysfuction. I think maybe mild depression and low self esteem just makes me want to sit around and surf the net all day. I want to do more projects but I always feel that I'll screw it up and disappoint myself.
It's not that I do not have goals. Sometimes it just seems like why bother. If I had all these friends phoning me to say "wow, how is your new project going? When will it be finished to show off", I might feel more motivated. Because I am not so interesting in impressing friends I do not have. Sometimes thinking about the project is more interesting than actually doing it or finishing it. Often I lose interest once it gets past a certain planning stage or somehow it just is not coming out how I imagined it.