Aspies For Freedom

Cool done!

JennaP,
???
Is this directed at me, us or at something else?  I am not familiar with "nut jobs" being used as an answer.  I've only heard it used as a slander or a quick response from someone Trolling a forum.

Not that you are a troll....I don't know you personally any more than you know anything about who I am. Please elaborate/explain.

Please explain how you feel Autism is as crippling as cerebral palsy?  I understand that along with autism, other co-morbids can cause a few physical challenges but as for the autism itself, I am having a hard time comprehending your meaning.

That is what Autism speaks is focusing on, still not really mentioning anything else on the spectrum.

"First, the good news: Your child will likely be able to live independently, earning a living and taking care of their needs. That said, social relationships may always be minefields, and as such, will continue to be a source of frustration and, for some, despair. With this in mind, it may be beneficial to have a therapist or counselor familiar with the condition be available to help your child as he ages and encounters increasingly complex relationships that give way to equally complex emotions and situations."

So its not all bad.

Off the top of my head... there are:

- Barnes & Noble's (bookstore chain, always with a Starbucks inside)
- Target department stores (Starbucks inside by front entrance)
- Albertson's grocery stores (Starbucks inside near front entrance)
- inside various libraries, university commons buildings, airports, etc.
- I'm sure there are more.

There are low-functioning Kanner's Autistics who cannot do any functions at all and are severely crippled. That is what Autism speaks is focusing on, still not really mentioning anything else on the spectrum.

Still, its good that you sent that letter. There was also a concert to Cure Autism taking place with big musicians performing.

If I could have the cure I certainly would take it!

my only gripe is that the male toilets in starbucks nuneaton are too small

Hm. You say that "there are no 'high-functioning days' or 'low functioning days'." So, does that mean that when I have a day on which I absolutely cannot talk to anyone, won't eat or drink anything, and things like toasters and idle chitchat give me sensory overload, I am still a high-functioning individual that day or week or however long period of time? What about the days I can deliver a speech in front of my class, even engage in spontaneous social interaction, and do not melt down when the fire alarm rings, and still have time to write proofs from my number theory book during AP calculus, then finish up a sonnet for Advanced Poetry? I was diagnosed AS, and due to IQ scores and relative adaptive skills, I am considered very high-functioning. But there are those days, sometimes even weeks or just small moments in time, that I fit the description of a lower-functioning individual. According to what you have posted, this would be impossible.

Also, Curing autism is vastly different from Helping autistics Adapt - even for "low-functioning" individuals. The only real distinguishing factor between Kanner's autism and Asperger's autism is that for Kanner's there needs to be a speech delay - that is why there is the category of HFA, to include autistics who are considered high-functioning, but not necessariy AS-diagnosed. Even though I did not have a speech delay, I do have an enormous difficulty with speaking oftentimes, especially if the speech is to be produced spontaneously, before writing it down first.

So where do I fit? To the Professionals, it is very clear that I fit in the high-functioning Asperger's category. To my experience, though, and to those who know me best, it is nowhere near that clear. This is why there are so many perils with labeling and categorizing human beings. Too often it creates unnecessary divides that confound more often than they clarify, which was their original purpose.

Yes, autistics with fewer self-help skills and such will need more support than an autistic who is considered more "high-functioning", but the issue here is not in supports to help an individual get along in society, but in the eradication of that individual's autism, which it is the latter that we anti-cure people oppose, and not the former. If I opposed all therapy and supports, I would be mounting a protest against the Director of Special Services of my school, as I am in speech therapy there, and they have loaned me use of an AppleSmart to help me type my thoughts prior to saying them - and these have helped me enormously. The fact that I, or anyone else, needing such supports does not justify the complete alteration or eradication of autism.