The future "racism"

[OzyWho]

One of the primary difficulties faced with people with high-functioning autism (or Asperger's syndrome in some cases) is that their base-line developmental effects are smaller but still in some ways noticeable.

I'm sorry for this probably dumb looking question, but what is "base-line developmental effects"? That combination of words I don't understand, and I tried to google "autism base-line developmental effects" but to no avail.

I personally experienced the negative effects of when most of my middle school staff didn't suspect nor take seriously my developmental disability, and while I could write paragraphs about my overall experience I'll just leave a small bit of evidence that I recall: An independent psychologist had evaluated me, and wrote to the school (for whatever reason(s)) advising that I shouldn't be forced to participate in Gym classes (As per the norm for Maryland schools).

Tbh, at least over the written text - I would never had guessed that you have a, quote: "neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication".
I can't imagine how that'd change if I met you IRL. I'm curious if you can think of something that I'd notice if met you in person?


Also, I can't imagine what does difficulty in social interaction have a do with the gym. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[MartinGG99]

I'm sorry for this probably dumb looking question, but what is "base-line developmental effects"? That combination of words I don't understand, and I tried to google "autism base-line developmental effects" but to no avail.

Sorry, I don't really have a good set of words to describe it in a short summary. I'll explain it in more length now. Basically, while Autism **can** be treated in some respects (such as social support), in many other ways though it will still have an effect on the person.

Take, for example, sensory over-responsitivity/overload. It's well suspected or supported that people with Autism (or even Asperger's Syndrome) possibly experience certain senses a lot more strongly or weaker than most people. This often occurs for when trying to hear. So, eventually, you can encounter stressful situations as shown by this video at 3:20. I'm not entirely sure, but I suspect for people who are lower on the spectrum can experience this more severely.

As far as I know, there isn't a developed & effective way to treat sensory over-responsivity/overload other than to just

a. Have them experience or otherwise learn what to expect in an environment or situation
b. Use some sort of device such as the headphones shown in the video before-hand

Regardless though, even if it's "treated" and you aren't stressed out by the situation, it can still be preety difficult to focus down onto one voice. This happens fairly common for me whenever I'm in cafeterias; unless I'm near a person, I can't tell what they're saying even though I can "hear" them just because I can't single-out their voice. If you want to know more about this "single-out" ability, in psychology its sometimes referred to as the Cocktail party effect.

Keep in mind for most people with autism, this is just *one* of their challenges. While some aspects of autism can be treated with developmental support, others can't. This is also not mentioning that many people with Autism have a vast variety of potential comorbid conditions link.

Also, I can't imagine what does difficulty in social interaction have a do with the gym. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

One potential reason for removing one from Gym class is the above with sensory over-responsitivity/overload. Given that a child with autism is, well, a child, having to deal with complex social pressures in gym (such as playing a team-based game like football) can be really overwhelming. And as with the other children, they are children as well and so they may make the unwise choice of not being supportive of their teammates especially if the see them lose because of someone else (even if that isn't the clear-cut truth, that's presumably how a child could see it).

So, in some respects (and especially if the school is not supporting a good social enviroment), gym classes can be very meaningful in a bad way or in some degree traumatizing. Though I want to caution the word "traumatizing"; that doesn't mean it's like the worst of the worst that one can experience. It can still make meaningful life impacts though. Just not good ones.

Tbh, at least over the written text - I would never had guessed that you have a, quote: "neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication".
I can't imagine how that'd change if I met you IRL. I'm curious if you can think of something that I'd notice if met you in person?

Well here's a few ways that my condition affects me, though some of it is rarely seen:

1. I am typing here. I can formulate vast lengths of what I'm trying to communicate into typed words. If you met me IRL, chances are at certain points I would start doing a lot of stuttering especially if I'm discussing topics that I don't verbally discuss often or haven't before.

I'm also high-functioning (if Asperger's were on the spectrum within the U.S.), so I don't really have as an adverse issue. More often than not past life experience have had just as much of an influence on who I am and how I interact today just as my Asperger's does.

2. Per my earlier cafeteria example in this post, I would have difficulty understanding what you say in certain environments. There is no real way of mitigating this unless we used some sort of communication technology like an earpeice + microphone.

3. Depending on the setting, you may find me walking around a lot. This isn't because I can't sit or whatever; this is just my way of fidgeting.

4. My face (and other non-verbal communication) is more often un-responsive, though that has been improving in recent years as I've studied psychology among other activities in order to better understand myself and how to achieve my goals.

5. For much of my life I had serious difficulty managing anxiety at times. I would say that this would've been apparent, but nowadays not really because I've shifted my mindset towards life in a way that helps me ignore + I understand it better. If I have a very unusual situation that is *unexpected*, that could have serious consequences, that's where my anxiety will become really prevalent. I would tend to want to stick by some sort of text-book interaction or rule because that would sometimes be the only level of expectancy towards the situation that I can get, which is important for managing my anxiety.

6. I don't really do this when interacting with people (because I find it embarassing) but one thing I often do when excited at my computer, for example, is to flap my hands. It sounds absolutely ridiculous, but it's what I do. If I see an exciting battle or explosion and I don't have any pressing commands to do in a strategy-genre game, I'll occasionally just flap my hands due to excitement.

About #6, I have absolutely no clue about the research or prevalence on this. I was once told by my psychologist that it's not uncommon for people with autism to have some sort of unusual reaction to emotions / excitement. Though it's not like I've studied it like I have for other aspects of Autism.