Autism, Another Way of Seeing It
There are alternate ways of seeing conditions or situations. Even ones where we assume we are getting the whole picture based on what our eyes and ears are telling us. However, there is an old saying which goes, "You should believe half of what you see and none of what you hear." This could be truer than most anybody realizes when it comes to other possible dimensions regarding autism, and what parents, specialists in the medical field, caregivers, and some doctors are beginning to understand and report.
There are a number of books which have been out for a while which shed insightful, first person perspectives on this sometimes mild, sometimes debilitating, increasingly common condition which affects, if the statistics are correct, one out of every 88 children born today.
The author of one particular book, at the time of the writing of it, was certified in social work, had been a practicing therapist for the past 33 years, and the mother of a 20 year old autistic son. She shares the harrowing, sometimes painful, and increasingly rewarding odyssey of her life with her son and its personal and social ramifications. She is honest in relating both the agony and the ecstasy.
It is generally known that autistic people have an increased sensitivity to sound, touch, and other people's emotions. She says that she is also not completely convinced that autism is solely a problem, it could be a gift. It could be a constellation of sensitivities and abilities that we cannot begin to comprehend. She goes on to ask such novel questions such as, "Could they lack the skills and virtues we reflexively value and who have talents and sensitivities beyond our understanding? What if we are seeing the imperfect vanguard of a new way of being? What if they are the beginning of a kinder, more spiritual, more empathic reality? What if there is a new population of people who cannot go to war, cannot compete, cannot lie, and cannot be unkind? What if they cannot "work" but they can create art? What if they have special talents but lack some of the characteristics by which we define ourselves as human?"
Children and adults with this ‘condition' are not mannequins with missing parts who unfeelingly go about their business in an automatic, mindless fashion. Many autistics move their limbs in a mechanical way, but this type of repetitive movement and certain patterns and shapes seem to soothe them. As of now, nobody can systematically put together all of the pieces of this puzzle. It seems that the temperament of those ‘on the spectrum' is quite the opposite of a true emotional tune out. Extreme sensitivity and a different set of abilities which we are at this time unable to accurately gauge seems to be the reality.
What scientists consider ‘normal' sensory perception encompasses a wide range of differences. It could be that the autistic person is able to take in what we lack the sensitivity to grasp, at the same time, lack the ability to filter out what we reflexively ignore. So, while searching for a cause and a cure, what is ultimately discovered may humble all of us.
There are a number of books which have been out for a while which shed insightful, first person perspectives on this sometimes mild, sometimes debilitating, increasingly common condition which affects, if the statistics are correct, one out of every 88 children born today.
The author of one particular book, at the time of the writing of it, was certified in social work, had been a practicing therapist for the past 33 years, and the mother of a 20 year old autistic son. She shares the harrowing, sometimes painful, and increasingly rewarding odyssey of her life with her son and its personal and social ramifications. She is honest in relating both the agony and the ecstasy.
It is generally known that autistic people have an increased sensitivity to sound, touch, and other people's emotions. She says that she is also not completely convinced that autism is solely a problem, it could be a gift. It could be a constellation of sensitivities and abilities that we cannot begin to comprehend. She goes on to ask such novel questions such as, "Could they lack the skills and virtues we reflexively value and who have talents and sensitivities beyond our understanding? What if we are seeing the imperfect vanguard of a new way of being? What if they are the beginning of a kinder, more spiritual, more empathic reality? What if there is a new population of people who cannot go to war, cannot compete, cannot lie, and cannot be unkind? What if they cannot "work" but they can create art? What if they have special talents but lack some of the characteristics by which we define ourselves as human?"
Children and adults with this ‘condition' are not mannequins with missing parts who unfeelingly go about their business in an automatic, mindless fashion. Many autistics move their limbs in a mechanical way, but this type of repetitive movement and certain patterns and shapes seem to soothe them. As of now, nobody can systematically put together all of the pieces of this puzzle. It seems that the temperament of those ‘on the spectrum' is quite the opposite of a true emotional tune out. Extreme sensitivity and a different set of abilities which we are at this time unable to accurately gauge seems to be the reality.
What scientists consider ‘normal' sensory perception encompasses a wide range of differences. It could be that the autistic person is able to take in what we lack the sensitivity to grasp, at the same time, lack the ability to filter out what we reflexively ignore. So, while searching for a cause and a cure, what is ultimately discovered may humble all of us.
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