Throw Away The Master's Tools Analysis

Understand how autistic spectrum conditions can impact on the lives of individuals and those around them

Stereotypes tend to be made by those who lack understanding whether is unintentional or not. Understanding is the key to accepting and valuing all differences. Whether it is about our race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or whatever else makes up an individual’s identity. It is this lack of understanding that normally leads to stereotyped views, prejudice and discrimination. This sadly is mostly the case for those with autistic spectrum conditions and has a large affect on not only the

Let’s say you have a box of crayons. It represents ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), now inside the box you have different colors of crayons. Each color/crayon is a different disorder. The color we want to talk about today is teal, the official color for autism. Stuart Duncan once said, “Autism, like a rainbow, has a bright side and a dark side and even though it can mean rough waters it can be beautiful.” Autism isn’t a label, it’s a diagnoses. People with autism can be just as successful as neurotypical people. People with autism have been the subject of stereotypes and neglect for decades. Only in the last 150 years or so have things started to change. We don’t know what causes autism, but thanks to increased research and awareness we’re making more progress than ever. People with autism face many challenges everyday, autism is a spectrum. It’s not the same for everyone. Due to it being a spectrum it can be hard for people without autism to understand the challenges autistic people face, and how to go about interacting with autistic people. There are lots of autistic people worldwide, it’s time we start making them feel more like people.

Should individuals use person-first language or not? Moreover, individuals who have autism and are at the meeting are not able to reach their goals of how they can rightfully identify themselves. This debate, being a controversial subject, makes it more difficult for autistic members to get their opinions heard. Brown wants people to explain carefully what they are arguing for so that they can help others understand the problem with semantics when it comes to person first language. By allowing other people to articulate their arguments rationally, they can inform others to as why they prefer a certain order of terminology. As Brown mentions, “I urge you to consistently use such phrasing everywhere possible, whenever discussing autism and issues that affect Autistic people, and to develop coherent, rational explanations for why you prefer this terminology, so that you can engage in such mutually respectful and civil exchanges with others” (par. 21). Brown shows how being consistent with one’s words in regard to autism allows for other people to rightfully understand one’s opinion as they intended.

Kyle is a high school student that has autism. The main topic of his discussion was why everyone should include autistic people. Kyle talked about how hard it is to be excluded from different things in his life because he is autistic. He gave three reasons as to why everyone should include autistic people. The first reason was evolutionary benefit of self-centered thinking. The second reason was diffusion of responsibility. The third reason was humanities distaste for deviance. The next person that spoke was Ryan Campbell. Ryan is also a young adult living with autism. He talked about what helps him because he is autistic. He mentioned that routines are very helpful to him. He also said that growing up different therapy support was needed, but support was also needed as an adult. Not everyone is the same. Each person with autism has different strengths and needs. Eye contact is extremely hard for him. The next person that spoke was Susan Oliver. Susan has personal experience with her son that has autism. Her son has an oral of movement difficulty where his mouth moves too fast for him to speak. He also has regressive autism. His case was the first regressive autism at Pittsburgh hospital. Regressive autism is when he loses a lot of his developmental skills fast. By the time he was diagnosed he lost almost all of them. He forgot how to use the restroom, how to eat, how to communicate, along with multiple other things. The next speaker was Bonnie Wilczynski. Bonnie has a son with severe autism. He is on the lower spectrum. When it came to finding a place for her son to go to after he turned twenty-one, no one would take him because of how severe his autism was. So, when things got tough, she ended up creating a place where people with severe autism could live. When she started out she only had her son there. Now she is fully booked and cannot take any more

Autism disorder is an issue facing many people today. It’s an issue widely discussed in the news and social media. In Gale’s data from 2015 defines autism as a general term for a group of complex disorders of the brain development that are grouped together under the broader term of autism spectrum disorder also known as ASD. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of 2014, about 1 in 68 out of 1,000 children were diagnosed with ASD. This was a dramatic increase from 1 in 150 children in 1992. The CDC also

In today’s society, we believe that all humans should be treated equal. We see this every day; on the news, blogs, social networking websites, worldwide campaigns. In her online journal article about life with a child with autism, “Tackling That Troublesome Issue of ABA and Ethics”, published in October of 2012, Ariane Zurcher argues that the issue of ABA therapy should affect either more than those individuals living with autism, or no one at all. ABA therapy is an applied behavior analysis in which patients with autism are motivated to do a certain task; they are often rewarded in hope of having an action come naturally. Zurcher dives into an article by Michelle Dawson, The Misbehavior of Behaviorists: Ethical Challenges to the Autism ABA Industry, which is so often used in Zurcher’s own article to back up her argument regarding ABA therapy. She explains how this argument stems from an inadequate definition of what equality is and how we should not use a therapy technique different from what we would use for a neurotypical individual, “If we really believe Autistic people (and children) deserve the same respect, are truly considered equal as those in the neurotypical population, ABA presents some real problems.” (Zurcher 1; par. 4)

In order to form a strong and knowledgeable opinion regarding whether we should continue to research a cure for autism, it is crucial to understand the basic ideas of the subject of neurodiversity. Neurodiversity is the range of differences in the way the human brain functions and behaves. (“Neurodiversity: Some Basic Terms and Definitions”) This variation in the way each individual processes information and reacts to it that results in diversity in our population. No two people are exactly alike due to the distinctions between each individual's race, religion, gender, and cultural background. These factors cause each individual to have a different and unique personality and outlook on life. This is seen as significant because it guarantees that the human race is not a unit of people that think, act, and live exactly the same. Autism and other conditions such as Dyslexia and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are viewed as components that contribute to neurodiversity and neurodiversity movement because they affect the behaviors and brain function of a person. The

Viewing this documentary, opinions of this individual with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) did, in fact, change the opinion of who they are. ASD can start from when they were born to a mature adult. This film presented lessons on how families and the individuals have gone through a daily lifestyle. One lesson that shown in the movie is that they understand going on however it may take the time to process through their brains.

Just like all other forms of disorders, the diagnosis, handling, and treatment of cognitive disorders is something that should be done with the utmost care. However, it appears as though society does not comply with these standards and does not handle disorders under the umbrella of cognitive illnesses with much of the attention or respect they deserve. The lives of Charlie Gordon in Daniel Keyes’ Flowers for Algernon and Hannah Didier in Nancy Fulda’s Movement shows us how society perceives cognitive disorders such as autism. This is demonstrated through the thoughts and actions of the protagonists themselves, their families, and those within their communities. These stories make it evidence that through the lens of society, those with psychological

Mental illnesses have been changing how Americans view one another. A major disability that wrecks havoc on citizens and their viewpoints is the list of disorders under the autism spectrum. Many styles of aid are available to these people, most beginning with younger, school age children. However, the question stands whether they actually need all the assistance being thrown at them. While students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) should be given the help they need to flourish, their needs are different from others with special needs. Furthermore, while their grades are likely maintain a decently high average, they may not manage all too well socially.

Last week, when a young man arrived early to one of my classes, I witnessed the interesting interplay between what we consider normal and abnormal behavior. The man did not follow social norms. Instead, he played loud music, rocking back and forth in his seat, stimming, talking to himself. Many of my classmates—people who likely consider themselves to be accepting of autism—were visibly uncomfortable, disgruntled, or annoyed. I don’t mean to vilify my classmates, and use this anecdote as a metaphor for the current state of mental health awareness in this country. It is only because I’m familiar with the idiosyncrasies of autism that I was able to recognize his behavior for what it was—a harmless response to what, for him, was an overwhelming

Most media outlets use children to tug at the hearts of the viewers and usually when you mention Autism people automatically think of children. To be honest, before this class I was guilty of this assumption as well. But, the reality is, these children on the spectrum eventually grow up to be adults, and unfortunately people forget or fail to consider what happens when they hit adulthood. The amount of supports are drastically diminished because the services, interventions and attention they used to get in school are now gone. These adults on the spectrum are now expected to find services elsewhere. Which, may not seem like much of a problem, until you realize the amount of programs and services are slim and, even more frustrating, find that there may be waiting lists or criteria you have to meet to be considered for a spot. Group homes are a hallmark example, due to the limited number of homes, people face waiting lists for years before granted a spot. This is a huge problem for those individuals who may need some extra help to live on their own, forcing them to live with family. I heard about these problems when talking with participants at the Hussman Center, they also discussed how difficult it was to find jobs. These are the type of problems society needs to straighten out, we are providing so much effort to help child with Autism but it’s pointless if, when they reach adulthood, they struggle to become an independent contributor to society due to lack of funding and

Autism is a disorder that has common misconceptions. In “Autism-Myths and Reality” Christian Jarrett attempts to uncover the truths based on the rumors and also to show what Autism really is. He also tries to create awareness of language that could be offensive to people with Autism. In this article Jarrett wants to help show people that knowing the truths about this disorder and not trying to simplify it can help show sensitivity towards those with Autism.

After some time of trying to cope with my diagnosis and talking to my counselor and other people who I felt could help, I finally started to accept that I am different than other people and may not fit into the box that society thinks is “normal” and that makes me unique. In 1944, Hans Asperger published a definition of Autism. He studied four boys and noted that they all had the same symptoms, a lack of empathy, little ability to form friendships, and often had one sided conversations. He also noticed that these kids were more prone to being bullied. Anyone with Aspergers or Autism should not be treated differently in general especially within the learning environment.