[012]
EmmaWoodhouse18
Current Version
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For starters, part of the problem is that, as far as percentages go, there are far more people with high-functioning autism or Aspergers than people with low-functioning autism. Yet, you would never know this from the portrayals in the media, which tend to focus on low-functioning people, and especially not from the more well-known autism advocacy organizations like Autism Speaks, which focus so much on [=LF=]s that it\'s often to the detriment of those who are [=HF=] (often dismissing their very real concerns - such as un- and underemployment, for example - with \
to:
For starters, part of the problem is that, as far as percentages go, there are far more people with high-functioning autism or Aspergers than people with low-functioning autism. Yet, you would never know this from the portrayals in the media, which tend to focus on low-functioning people, and especially not from the more well-known autism advocacy organizations like Autism Speaks, which focus so much on [=LF=]s that it\\\'s often to the detriment of those who are [=HF=] (often dismissing their very real concerns - such as un- and underemployment, for example - with \\\"well you can talk and you can live on your own, stop complaining\\\"). This can be frustrating for high-functioning people who don\\\'t fit the profile many people have in their heads based on stuff like \\\'\\\'RainMan\\\'\\\'. For example, people with Aspergers have no verbal delays - yet, they might be assumed to have them if one is taking their idea of what autism is from portrayals of [=LF=] people. This can be frustrating if the Aspie in question is talented at or aspiring toward a career in something that requires strong writing or speaking skills.
Part of the issue with the \\\"cure\\\" mentality is that autism varies a lot even in people with similar diagnoses. How it manifests itself in high-functioning people, for example, varies \\\'\\\'quite a bit\\\'\\\'. I have Asperger Syndrome, and most of what Candie writes applies to me only a little bit or not at all. For example, while I often have issues with interpreting social situations, I wouldn\\\'t say I\\\'m totally unable to read facial expressions. I struggle, but I have it better than a lot of people on the spectrum. Likewise, my issues with sense-filtering are almost nada; I\\\'m a bit more sensitive to loud noises, but just in the sense that, say, somebody blasting loud music at strange hours bothers me a little bit more than it does most people. I might be more likely to call the landlord, but we\\\'d all be irritated. Normal sounds never bother me.
(One area in which I do have more trouble than a lot of autistic people I\\\'ve met is time management, but I think a lot of my difficulty with that was because I was diagnosed in my 20s rather than earlier in life (where I might have been able to fix it before it could get out of control), and a lot of people earlier dismissed it as being \\\"lazy\\\" or \\\"rude\\\" or having an \\\"artistic temperament.\\\" Part of the problem is that the executive functioning issues are less well-known to people who don\\\'t have an intimate understanding of autism, because the portrayals of Aspies in pop-culture usually don\\\'t show any of that.)
Anyway, it\\\'s easy if you\\\'re not autistic to look at someone you know who is struggling and think \\\"We need a cure!\\\" but there\\\'s a common saying in the community of \\\"if you know one autistic person, you know one autistic person.\\\" Some people really need or want cures, but some of us, particularly those of us who are largely able to lead normal lives, feel it\\\'s an important part of who we are, and get frustrated with other people who usually don\\\'t have autism telling us how we should feel about this. As for how I feel, I support a cure for people who feel they need it, or who are extremely low-functioning. But for me? Other than some inconveniences that I either have or think I can alleviate with therapy and practice, I think it has mostly enhanced my life - in terms of giving me a way of looking at the world that is different from other people. And what little increased sound sensitivity I have is \\\'\\\'invaluable\\\'\\\' to my career as a composer and musician. If I could select to get rid of some aspects I probably would, but I wouldn\\\'t want to cure ALL of it - and I would be worried even with the former option of it possibly taking away things I like about myself.
Part of the issue with the \\\"cure\\\" mentality is that autism varies a lot even in people with similar diagnoses. How it manifests itself in high-functioning people, for example, varies \\\'\\\'quite a bit\\\'\\\'. I have Asperger Syndrome, and most of what Candie writes applies to me only a little bit or not at all. For example, while I often have issues with interpreting social situations, I wouldn\\\'t say I\\\'m totally unable to read facial expressions. I struggle, but I have it better than a lot of people on the spectrum. Likewise, my issues with sense-filtering are almost nada; I\\\'m a bit more sensitive to loud noises, but just in the sense that, say, somebody blasting loud music at strange hours bothers me a little bit more than it does most people. I might be more likely to call the landlord, but we\\\'d all be irritated. Normal sounds never bother me.
(One area in which I do have more trouble than a lot of autistic people I\\\'ve met is time management, but I think a lot of my difficulty with that was because I was diagnosed in my 20s rather than earlier in life (where I might have been able to fix it before it could get out of control), and a lot of people earlier dismissed it as being \\\"lazy\\\" or \\\"rude\\\" or having an \\\"artistic temperament.\\\" Part of the problem is that the executive functioning issues are less well-known to people who don\\\'t have an intimate understanding of autism, because the portrayals of Aspies in pop-culture usually don\\\'t show any of that.)
Anyway, it\\\'s easy if you\\\'re not autistic to look at someone you know who is struggling and think \\\"We need a cure!\\\" but there\\\'s a common saying in the community of \\\"if you know one autistic person, you know one autistic person.\\\" Some people really need or want cures, but some of us, particularly those of us who are largely able to lead normal lives, feel it\\\'s an important part of who we are, and get frustrated with other people who usually don\\\'t have autism telling us how we should feel about this. As for how I feel, I support a cure for people who feel they need it, or who are extremely low-functioning. But for me? Other than some inconveniences that I either have or think I can alleviate with therapy and practice, I think it has mostly enhanced my life - in terms of giving me a way of looking at the world that is different from other people. And what little increased sound sensitivity I have is \\\'\\\'invaluable\\\'\\\' to my career as a composer and musician. If I could select to get rid of some aspects I probably would, but I wouldn\\\'t want to cure ALL of it - and I would be worried even with the former option of it possibly taking away things I like about myself.
Changed line(s) 1 from:
n
For starters, part of the problem is that, as far as percentages go, there are far more people with high-functioning autism or Aspergers than people with low-functioning autism. Yet, you would never know this from the portrayals in the media, which tend to focus on low-functioning people, and especially not from the more well-known autism advocacy organizations like Autism Speaks, which focus so much on [=LF=]s that it\'s often to the detriment of those who are [=HF=] (often dismissing their very real concerns - such as un- and underemployment, for example - with \
to:
For starters, part of the problem is that, as far as percentages go, there are far more people with high-functioning autism or Aspergers than people with low-functioning autism. Yet, you would never know this from the portrayals in the media, which tend to focus on low-functioning people, and especially not from the more well-known autism advocacy organizations like Autism Speaks, which focus so much on [=LF=]s that it\\\'s often to the detriment of those who are [=HF=] (often dismissing their very real concerns - such as un- and underemployment, for example - with \\\"well you can talk and you can live on your own, stop complaining\\\"). This can be frustrating for high-functioning people who don\\\'t fit the profile many people have in their heads based on stuff like \\\'\\\'RainMan\\\'\\\'. (For example, imagine if you have Aspergers - and thus, no verbal delays - and are an aspiring writer, yet when people hear you\\\'re on the autism spectrum, they just assume you must be a bad writer because the autistics they see in movies struggle with language.)
Part of the issue with the \\\"cure\\\" mentality is that autism varies a lot even in people with similar diagnoses. How it manifests itself in high-functioning people, for example, varies \\\'\\\'quite a bit\\\'\\\'. I have Asperger Syndrome, and most of what Candie writes applies to me only a little bit or not at all. For example, while I often have issues with interpreting social situations, I wouldn\\\'t say I\\\'m totally unable to read facial expressions. I struggle, but I have it better than a lot of people on the spectrum. Likewise, my issues with sense-filtering are almost nada; I\\\'m a bit more sensitive to loud noises, but just in the sense that, say, somebody blasting loud music at strange hours bothers me a little bit more than it does most people. I might be more likely to call the landlord, but we\\\'d all be irritated. Normal sounds never bother me.
(One area in which I do have more trouble than a lot of autistic people I\\\'ve met is time management, but I think a lot of my difficulty with that was because I was diagnosed in my 20s rather than earlier in life (where I might have been able to fix it before it could get out of control), and a lot of people earlier dismissed it as being \\\"lazy\\\" or \\\"rude\\\" or having an \\\"artistic temperament.\\\" Part of the problem is that the executive functioning issues are less well-known to people who don\\\'t have an intimate understanding of autism, because the portrayals of Aspies in pop-culture usually don\\\'t show any of that.)
Anyway, it\\\'s easy if you\\\'re not autistic to look at someone you know who is struggling and think \\\"We need a cure!\\\" but there\\\'s a common saying in the community of \\\"if you know one autistic person, you know one autistic person.\\\" Some people really need or want cures, but some of us, particularly those of us who are largely able to lead normal lives, feel it\\\'s an important part of who we are, and get frustrated with other people who usually don\\\'t have autism telling us how we should feel about this. As for how I feel, I support a cure for people who feel they need it, or who are extremely low-functioning. But for me? Other than some inconveniences that I either have or think I can alleviate with therapy and practice, I think it has mostly enhanced my life - in terms of giving me a way of looking at the world that is different from other people. And what little increased sound sensitivity I have is \\\'\\\'invaluable\\\'\\\' to my career as a composer and musician. If I could select to get rid of some aspects I probably would, but I wouldn\\\'t want to cure ALL of it - and I would be worried even with the former option of it possibly taking away things I like about myself.
Part of the issue with the \\\"cure\\\" mentality is that autism varies a lot even in people with similar diagnoses. How it manifests itself in high-functioning people, for example, varies \\\'\\\'quite a bit\\\'\\\'. I have Asperger Syndrome, and most of what Candie writes applies to me only a little bit or not at all. For example, while I often have issues with interpreting social situations, I wouldn\\\'t say I\\\'m totally unable to read facial expressions. I struggle, but I have it better than a lot of people on the spectrum. Likewise, my issues with sense-filtering are almost nada; I\\\'m a bit more sensitive to loud noises, but just in the sense that, say, somebody blasting loud music at strange hours bothers me a little bit more than it does most people. I might be more likely to call the landlord, but we\\\'d all be irritated. Normal sounds never bother me.
(One area in which I do have more trouble than a lot of autistic people I\\\'ve met is time management, but I think a lot of my difficulty with that was because I was diagnosed in my 20s rather than earlier in life (where I might have been able to fix it before it could get out of control), and a lot of people earlier dismissed it as being \\\"lazy\\\" or \\\"rude\\\" or having an \\\"artistic temperament.\\\" Part of the problem is that the executive functioning issues are less well-known to people who don\\\'t have an intimate understanding of autism, because the portrayals of Aspies in pop-culture usually don\\\'t show any of that.)
Anyway, it\\\'s easy if you\\\'re not autistic to look at someone you know who is struggling and think \\\"We need a cure!\\\" but there\\\'s a common saying in the community of \\\"if you know one autistic person, you know one autistic person.\\\" Some people really need or want cures, but some of us, particularly those of us who are largely able to lead normal lives, feel it\\\'s an important part of who we are, and get frustrated with other people who usually don\\\'t have autism telling us how we should feel about this. As for how I feel, I support a cure for people who feel they need it, or who are extremely low-functioning. But for me? Other than some inconveniences that I either have or think I can alleviate with therapy and practice, I think it has mostly enhanced my life - in terms of giving me a way of looking at the world that is different from other people. And what little increased sound sensitivity I have is \\\'\\\'invaluable\\\'\\\' to my career as a composer and musician. If I could select to get rid of some aspects I probably would, but I wouldn\\\'t want to cure ALL of it - and I would be worried even with the former option of it possibly taking away things I like about myself.
Changed line(s) 1 from:
n
For starters, part of the problem is that, as far as percentages go, there are far more people with high-functioning autism or Aspergers than people with low-functioning autism. Yet, you would never know this from the portrayals in the media, which tend to focus on low-functioning people, and especially not from the more well-known autism advocacy organizations like Autism Speaks, which focus so much on [=LF=]s that it\'s often to the detriment of those who are [=HF=] (dismissing their very real concerns - such as un- and underemployment, for example - with \
to:
For starters, part of the problem is that, as far as percentages go, there are far more people with high-functioning autism or Aspergers than people with low-functioning autism. Yet, you would never know this from the portrayals in the media, which tend to focus on low-functioning people, and especially not from the more well-known autism advocacy organizations like Autism Speaks, which focus so much on [=LF=]s that it\\\'s often to the detriment of those who are [=HF=] (often dismissing their very real concerns - such as un- and underemployment, for example - with \\\"well you can talk and you can live on your own, stop complaining\\\"). This can be frustrating for high-functioning people who don\\\'t fit the profile many people have in their heads based on stuff like \\\'\\\'RainMan\\\'\\\'. (For example, many people who are Aspies or have [=HF=] autism don\\\'t have verbal delays at all, but imagine how frustrating that stereotype of \\\"autistics struggle with language\\\" can be if you\\\'re autistic and an aspiring writer - people might dismiss you as unable without even reading your writing.)
Part of the issue with the \\\"cure\\\" mentality is that autism varies a lot even in people with similar diagnoses. How it manifests itself in high-functioning people, for example, varies \\\'\\\'quite a bit\\\'\\\'. I have Asperger Syndrome, and most of what Candie writes applies to me only a little bit or not at all. For example, while I often have issues with interpreting social situations, I wouldn\\\'t say I\\\'m totally unable to read facial expressions. I struggle, but I have it better than a lot of people on the spectrum. Likewise, my issues with sense-filtering are almost nada; I\\\'m a bit more sensitive to loud noises, but just in the sense that, say, somebody blasting loud music at strange hours bothers me a little bit more than it does most people. I might be more likely to call the landlord, but we\\\'d all be irritated. Normal sounds never bother me.
(One area in which I do have more trouble than a lot of autistic people I\\\'ve met is time management, but I think a lot of my difficulty with that was because I was diagnosed in my 20s rather than earlier in life (where I might have been able to fix it before it could get out of control), and a lot of people earlier dismissed it as being \\\"lazy\\\" or \\\"rude\\\" or having an \\\"artistic temperament.\\\" Part of the problem is that the executive functioning issues are less well-known to people who don\\\'t have an intimate understanding of autism, because the portrayals of Aspies in pop-culture usually don\\\'t show any of that.)
Anyway, it\\\'s easy if you\\\'re not autistic to look at someone you know who is struggling and think \\\"We need a cure!\\\" but there\\\'s a common saying in the community of \\\"if you know one autistic person, you know one autistic person.\\\" Some people really need or want cures, but some of us, particularly those of us who are largely able to lead normal lives, feel it\\\'s an important part of who we are, and get frustrated with other people who usually don\\\'t have autism telling us how we should feel about this. As for how I feel, I support a cure for people who feel they need it, or who are extremely low-functioning. But for me? Other than some inconveniences that I either have or think I can alleviate with therapy and practice, I think it has mostly enhanced my life - in terms of giving me a way of looking at the world that is different from other people. And what little increased sound sensitivity I have is \\\'\\\'invaluable\\\'\\\' to my career as a composer and musician. If I could select to get rid of some aspects I probably would, but I wouldn\\\'t want to cure ALL of it - and I would be worried even with the former option of it possibly taking away things I like about myself.
Part of the issue with the \\\"cure\\\" mentality is that autism varies a lot even in people with similar diagnoses. How it manifests itself in high-functioning people, for example, varies \\\'\\\'quite a bit\\\'\\\'. I have Asperger Syndrome, and most of what Candie writes applies to me only a little bit or not at all. For example, while I often have issues with interpreting social situations, I wouldn\\\'t say I\\\'m totally unable to read facial expressions. I struggle, but I have it better than a lot of people on the spectrum. Likewise, my issues with sense-filtering are almost nada; I\\\'m a bit more sensitive to loud noises, but just in the sense that, say, somebody blasting loud music at strange hours bothers me a little bit more than it does most people. I might be more likely to call the landlord, but we\\\'d all be irritated. Normal sounds never bother me.
(One area in which I do have more trouble than a lot of autistic people I\\\'ve met is time management, but I think a lot of my difficulty with that was because I was diagnosed in my 20s rather than earlier in life (where I might have been able to fix it before it could get out of control), and a lot of people earlier dismissed it as being \\\"lazy\\\" or \\\"rude\\\" or having an \\\"artistic temperament.\\\" Part of the problem is that the executive functioning issues are less well-known to people who don\\\'t have an intimate understanding of autism, because the portrayals of Aspies in pop-culture usually don\\\'t show any of that.)
Anyway, it\\\'s easy if you\\\'re not autistic to look at someone you know who is struggling and think \\\"We need a cure!\\\" but there\\\'s a common saying in the community of \\\"if you know one autistic person, you know one autistic person.\\\" Some people really need or want cures, but some of us, particularly those of us who are largely able to lead normal lives, feel it\\\'s an important part of who we are, and get frustrated with other people who usually don\\\'t have autism telling us how we should feel about this. As for how I feel, I support a cure for people who feel they need it, or who are extremely low-functioning. But for me? Other than some inconveniences that I either have or think I can alleviate with therapy and practice, I think it has mostly enhanced my life - in terms of giving me a way of looking at the world that is different from other people. And what little increased sound sensitivity I have is \\\'\\\'invaluable\\\'\\\' to my career as a composer and musician. If I could select to get rid of some aspects I probably would, but I wouldn\\\'t want to cure ALL of it - and I would be worried even with the former option of it possibly taking away things I like about myself.
Changed line(s) 1 from:
n
For starters, part of the problem is that, as far as percentages go, there are far more people with high-functioning autism or Aspergers than people with low-functioning autism. Yet, you would never know this from the portrayals in the media, which tend to focus on low-functioning people, and especially not from the more well-known autism advocacy organizations like Autism Speaks, which focus so much on [=LF=]s that it\'s often to the detriment of those who are [=HF=] (dismissing their very real concerns - such as un- and underemployment, for example - with \
to:
For starters, part of the problem is that, as far as percentages go, there are far more people with high-functioning autism or Aspergers than people with low-functioning autism. Yet, you would never know this from the portrayals in the media, which tend to focus on low-functioning people, and especially not from the more well-known autism advocacy organizations like Autism Speaks, which focus so much on [=LF=]s that it\\\'s often to the detriment of those who are [=HF=] (dismissing their very real concerns - such as un- and underemployment, for example - with \\\"well you can talk and you can live on your own, stop complaining.\\\" Some even whine how this makes [=HF=]s unable to \\\"speak for\\\" autism in general, even though groups like Autism Speaks are staffed by people who \\\'\\\'don\\\'t have autism at all\\\'\\\'). This can be frustrating for high-functioning people who don\\\'t fit the profile many people have in their heads based on stuff like \\\'\\\'RainMan\\\'\\\'. (For example, many people who are Aspies or have [=HF=] autism don\\\'t have verbal delays at all, but imagine how frustrating that stereotype can be if you\\\'re autistic and an aspiring writer - people might dismiss you as unable without even reading your writing.)
Part of the issue with the \\\"cure\\\" mentality is that autism varies a lot even in people with similar diagnoses. How it manifests itself in high-functioning people, for example, varies \\\'\\\'quite a bit\\\'\\\'. I have Asperger Syndrome, and most of what Candie writes applies to me only a little bit or not at all. For example, while I often have issues with interpreting social situations, I wouldn\\\'t say I\\\'m totally unable to read facial expressions. I struggle, but I have it better than a lot of people on the spectrum. Likewise, my issues with sense-filtering are almost nada; I\\\'m a bit more sensitive to loud noises, but just in the sense that, say, somebody blasting loud music at strange hours bothers me a little bit more than it does most people. I might be more likely to call the landlord, but we\\\'d all be irritated. Normal sounds never bother me.
(One area in which I do have more trouble than a lot of autistic people I\\\'ve met is time management, but I think a lot of my difficulty with that was because I was diagnosed in my 20s rather than earlier in life (where I might have been able to fix it before it could get out of control), and a lot of people earlier dismissed it as being \\\"lazy\\\" or \\\"rude\\\" or having an \\\"artistic temperament.\\\" Part of the problem is that the executive functioning issues are less well-known to people who don\\\'t have an intimate understanding of autism, because the portrayals of Aspies in pop-culture usually don\\\'t show any of that.)
Anyway, it\\\'s easy if you\\\'re not autistic to look at someone you know who is struggling and think \\\"We need a cure!\\\" but there\\\'s a common saying in the community of \\\"if you know one autistic person, you know one autistic person.\\\" Some people really need or want cures, but some of us, particularly those of us who are largely able to lead normal lives, feel it\\\'s an important part of who we are, and get frustrated with other people who usually don\\\'t have autism telling us how we should feel about this. As for how I feel, I support a cure for people who feel they need it, or who are extremely low-functioning. But for me? Other than some inconveniences that I either have or think I can alleviate with therapy and practice, I think it has mostly enhanced my life - in terms of giving me a way of looking at the world that is different from other people. And what little increased sound sensitivity I have is \\\'\\\'invaluable\\\'\\\' to my career as a composer and musician. If I could select to get rid of some aspects I probably would, but I wouldn\\\'t want to cure ALL of it - and I would be worried even with the former option of it possibly taking away things I like about myself.
Part of the issue with the \\\"cure\\\" mentality is that autism varies a lot even in people with similar diagnoses. How it manifests itself in high-functioning people, for example, varies \\\'\\\'quite a bit\\\'\\\'. I have Asperger Syndrome, and most of what Candie writes applies to me only a little bit or not at all. For example, while I often have issues with interpreting social situations, I wouldn\\\'t say I\\\'m totally unable to read facial expressions. I struggle, but I have it better than a lot of people on the spectrum. Likewise, my issues with sense-filtering are almost nada; I\\\'m a bit more sensitive to loud noises, but just in the sense that, say, somebody blasting loud music at strange hours bothers me a little bit more than it does most people. I might be more likely to call the landlord, but we\\\'d all be irritated. Normal sounds never bother me.
(One area in which I do have more trouble than a lot of autistic people I\\\'ve met is time management, but I think a lot of my difficulty with that was because I was diagnosed in my 20s rather than earlier in life (where I might have been able to fix it before it could get out of control), and a lot of people earlier dismissed it as being \\\"lazy\\\" or \\\"rude\\\" or having an \\\"artistic temperament.\\\" Part of the problem is that the executive functioning issues are less well-known to people who don\\\'t have an intimate understanding of autism, because the portrayals of Aspies in pop-culture usually don\\\'t show any of that.)
Anyway, it\\\'s easy if you\\\'re not autistic to look at someone you know who is struggling and think \\\"We need a cure!\\\" but there\\\'s a common saying in the community of \\\"if you know one autistic person, you know one autistic person.\\\" Some people really need or want cures, but some of us, particularly those of us who are largely able to lead normal lives, feel it\\\'s an important part of who we are, and get frustrated with other people who usually don\\\'t have autism telling us how we should feel about this. As for how I feel, I support a cure for people who feel they need it, or who are extremely low-functioning. But for me? Other than some inconveniences that I either have or think I can alleviate with therapy and practice, I think it has mostly enhanced my life - in terms of giving me a way of looking at the world that is different from other people. And what little increased sound sensitivity I have is \\\'\\\'invaluable\\\'\\\' to my career as a composer and musician. If I could select to get rid of some aspects I probably would, but I wouldn\\\'t want to cure ALL of it - and I would be worried even with the former option of it possibly taking away things I like about myself.
Changed line(s) 1 from:
n
For starters, part of the problem is that, as far as percentages go, there are far more people with high-functioning autism or Aspergers than people with low-functioning autism. Yet, you would never know this from the portrayals in the media, which tend to focus on low-functioning people, and especially not from the more well-known autism advocacy organizations like Autism Speaks, which focus so much on [=LF=]s that it\'s often to the detriment of those who are [=HF=] (dismissing their very real concerns - such as un- and underemployment, for example - with \
to:
For starters, part of the problem is that, as far as percentages go, there are far more people with high-functioning autism or Aspergers than people with low-functioning autism. Yet, you would never know this from the portrayals in the media, which tend to focus on low-functioning people, and especially not from the more well-known autism advocacy organizations like Autism Speaks, which focus so much on [=LF=]s that it\\\'s often to the detriment of those who are [=HF=] (dismissing their very real concerns - such as un- and underemployment, for example - with \\\"well you can talk and you can live on your own, stop complaining.\\\" Some even whine how this makes [=HF=]s unable to \\\"speak for\\\" autism in general, even though groups like Autism Speaks are staffed by people who \\\'\\\'don\\\'t have autism at all\\\'\\\').
Part of the issue with the \\\"cure\\\" mentality is that autism varies a lot even in people with similar diagnoses. How it manifests itself in high-functioning people, for example, varies \\\'\\\'quite a bit\\\'\\\'. I have Asperger Syndrome, and most of what Candie writes applies to me only a little bit or not at all. For example, while I often have issues with interpreting social situations, I wouldn\\\'t say I\\\'m totally unable to read facial expressions. I struggle, but I have it better than a lot of people on the spectrum. Likewise, my issues with sense-filtering are almost nada; I\\\'m a bit more sensitive to loud noises, but just in the sense that, say, somebody blasting loud music at strange hours bothers me a little bit more than it does most people. I might be more likely to call the landlord, but we\\\'d all be irritated. Normal sounds never bother me.
(One area in which I do have more trouble than a lot of autistic people I\\\'ve met is time management, but I think a lot of my difficulty with that was because I was diagnosed in my 20s rather than earlier in life (where I might have been able to fix it before it could get out of control), and a lot of people earlier dismissed it as being \\\"lazy\\\" or \\\"rude\\\" or having an \\\"artistic temperament.\\\" Part of the problem is that the executive functioning issues are less well-known to people who don\\\'t have an intimate understanding of autism, because the portrayals of Aspies in pop-culture usually don\\\'t show any of that.)
Anyway, it\\\'s easy if you\\\'re not autistic to look at someone you know who is struggling and think \\\"We need a cure!\\\" but there\\\'s a common saying in the community of \\\"if you know one autistic person, you know one autistic person.\\\" Some people really need or want cures, but some of us, particularly those of us who are largely able to lead normal lives, feel it\\\'s an important part of who we are, and get frustrated with other people who usually don\\\'t have autism telling us how we should feel about this. As for how I feel, I support a cure for people who feel they need it, or who are extremely low-functioning. But for me? Other than some inconveniences that I either have or think I can alleviate with therapy and practice, I think it has mostly enhanced my life - in terms of giving me a way of looking at the world that is different from other people. And what little increased sound sensitivity I have is \\\'\\\'invaluable\\\'\\\' to my career as a composer and musician. If I could select to get rid of some aspects I probably would, but I wouldn\\\'t want to cure ALL of it - and I would be worried even with the former option of it possibly taking away things I like about myself.
Part of the issue with the \\\"cure\\\" mentality is that autism varies a lot even in people with similar diagnoses. How it manifests itself in high-functioning people, for example, varies \\\'\\\'quite a bit\\\'\\\'. I have Asperger Syndrome, and most of what Candie writes applies to me only a little bit or not at all. For example, while I often have issues with interpreting social situations, I wouldn\\\'t say I\\\'m totally unable to read facial expressions. I struggle, but I have it better than a lot of people on the spectrum. Likewise, my issues with sense-filtering are almost nada; I\\\'m a bit more sensitive to loud noises, but just in the sense that, say, somebody blasting loud music at strange hours bothers me a little bit more than it does most people. I might be more likely to call the landlord, but we\\\'d all be irritated. Normal sounds never bother me.
(One area in which I do have more trouble than a lot of autistic people I\\\'ve met is time management, but I think a lot of my difficulty with that was because I was diagnosed in my 20s rather than earlier in life (where I might have been able to fix it before it could get out of control), and a lot of people earlier dismissed it as being \\\"lazy\\\" or \\\"rude\\\" or having an \\\"artistic temperament.\\\" Part of the problem is that the executive functioning issues are less well-known to people who don\\\'t have an intimate understanding of autism, because the portrayals of Aspies in pop-culture usually don\\\'t show any of that.)
Anyway, it\\\'s easy if you\\\'re not autistic to look at someone you know who is struggling and think \\\"We need a cure!\\\" but there\\\'s a common saying in the community of \\\"if you know one autistic person, you know one autistic person.\\\" Some people really need or want cures, but some of us, particularly those of us who are largely able to lead normal lives, feel it\\\'s an important part of who we are, and get frustrated with other people who usually don\\\'t have autism telling us how we should feel about this. As for how I feel, I support a cure for people who feel they need it, or who are extremely low-functioning. But for me? Other than some inconveniences that I either have or think I can alleviate with therapy and practice, I think it has mostly enhanced my life - in terms of giving me a way of looking at the world that is different from other people. And what little increased sound sensitivity I have is \\\'\\\'invaluable\\\'\\\' to my career as a composer and musician. If I could select to get rid of some aspects I probably would, but I wouldn\\\'t want to cure ALL of it - and I would be worried even with the former option of it possibly taking away things I like about myself.
Changed line(s) 1 from:
n
For starters, part of the problem is that, as far as percentages go, there are far more people with high-functioning autism or Aspergers than people with low-functioning autism. Yet, you would never know this from the portrayals in the media, which tend to focus on low-functioning people, and especially not from the more well-known autism advocacy organizations like Autism Speaks, which focus so much on [=LF=]s that it\'s often to the detriment of those who are [=HF=] (dismissing their very real concerns - such as un- and underemployment, for example - with \
to:
For starters, part of the problem is that, as far as percentages go, there are far more people with high-functioning autism or Aspergers than people with low-functioning autism. Yet, you would never know this from the portrayals in the media, which tend to focus on low-functioning people, and especially not from the more well-known autism advocacy organizations like Autism Speaks, which focus so much on [=LF=]s that it\\\'s often to the detriment of those who are [=HF=] (dismissing their very real concerns - such as un- and underemployment, for example - with \\\"well you can talk and you can live on your own, stop complaining.\\\" Some even whine how this makes [=HF=]s unable to \\\"speak for\\\" autism in general, even though groups like Autism Speaks are staffed by people who \\\'\\\'don\\\'t have autism at all\\\'\\\').
Part of the issue with the \\\"cure\\\" mentality is that autism varies a lot even in people with similar diagnoses. How it manifests itself in high-functioning people, for example, varies \\\'\\\'quite a bit\\\'\\\'. I have Asperger Syndrome, and most of what Candie writes applies to me only a little bit or not at all. For example, while I often have issues with interpreting social situations, I wouldn\\\'t say I\\\'m totally unable to read facial expressions. I struggle, but I have it better than a lot of people on the spectrum. Likewise, my issues with sense-filtering are almost nada; I\\\'m a bit more sensitive to loud noises, but just in the sense that, say, somebody blasting loud music at strange hours bothers me a little bit more than it does most people. I might be more likely to call the landlord, but we\\\'d all be irritated. Normal sounds never bother me.
(One area in which I do have more trouble than a lot of autistic people I\\\'ve met is time management, but I think a lot of my difficulty with that was because I was diagnosed in my 20s rather than earlier in life (where I might have been able to fix it before it could get out of control), and a lot of people earlier dismissed it as being \\\"lazy\\\" or \\\"rude\\\" or having an \\\"artistic temperament.\\\" Part of the problem is that, for laypeople who don\\\'t really understand autism, the issues with executive functioning like time management and organization skills aren\\\'t that well-known as a symptom of it. When Aspies or other HF people are portrayed in pop-culture, it\\\'s usually as hyper-organized, successful nerds.)
Anyway, it\\\'s easy if you\\\'re not autistic to look at someone you know who is struggling and think \\\"We need a cure!\\\" but there\\\'s a common saying in the community of \\\"if you know one autistic person, you know one autistic person.\\\" Some people really need or want cures, but some of us, particularly those of us who are largely able to lead normal lives, feel it\\\'s an important part of who we are, and get frustrated with other people who usually don\\\'t have autism telling us how we should feel about this. As for how I feel, I support a cure for people who feel they need it, or who are extremely low-functioning. But for me? Other than some inconveniences that I either have or think I can alleviate with therapy and practice, I think it has mostly enhanced my life - in terms of giving me a way of looking at the world that is different from other people. And what little increased sound sensitivity I have is \\\'\\\'invaluable\\\'\\\' to my career as a composer and musician. If I could select to get rid of some aspects I probably would, but I wouldn\\\'t want to cure ALL of it - and I would be worried even with the former option of it possibly taking away things I like about myself.
Part of the issue with the \\\"cure\\\" mentality is that autism varies a lot even in people with similar diagnoses. How it manifests itself in high-functioning people, for example, varies \\\'\\\'quite a bit\\\'\\\'. I have Asperger Syndrome, and most of what Candie writes applies to me only a little bit or not at all. For example, while I often have issues with interpreting social situations, I wouldn\\\'t say I\\\'m totally unable to read facial expressions. I struggle, but I have it better than a lot of people on the spectrum. Likewise, my issues with sense-filtering are almost nada; I\\\'m a bit more sensitive to loud noises, but just in the sense that, say, somebody blasting loud music at strange hours bothers me a little bit more than it does most people. I might be more likely to call the landlord, but we\\\'d all be irritated. Normal sounds never bother me.
(One area in which I do have more trouble than a lot of autistic people I\\\'ve met is time management, but I think a lot of my difficulty with that was because I was diagnosed in my 20s rather than earlier in life (where I might have been able to fix it before it could get out of control), and a lot of people earlier dismissed it as being \\\"lazy\\\" or \\\"rude\\\" or having an \\\"artistic temperament.\\\" Part of the problem is that, for laypeople who don\\\'t really understand autism, the issues with executive functioning like time management and organization skills aren\\\'t that well-known as a symptom of it. When Aspies or other HF people are portrayed in pop-culture, it\\\'s usually as hyper-organized, successful nerds.)
Anyway, it\\\'s easy if you\\\'re not autistic to look at someone you know who is struggling and think \\\"We need a cure!\\\" but there\\\'s a common saying in the community of \\\"if you know one autistic person, you know one autistic person.\\\" Some people really need or want cures, but some of us, particularly those of us who are largely able to lead normal lives, feel it\\\'s an important part of who we are, and get frustrated with other people who usually don\\\'t have autism telling us how we should feel about this. As for how I feel, I support a cure for people who feel they need it, or who are extremely low-functioning. But for me? Other than some inconveniences that I either have or think I can alleviate with therapy and practice, I think it has mostly enhanced my life - in terms of giving me a way of looking at the world that is different from other people. And what little increased sound sensitivity I have is \\\'\\\'invaluable\\\'\\\' to my career as a composer and musician. If I could select to get rid of some aspects I probably would, but I wouldn\\\'t want to cure ALL of it - and I would be worried even with the former option of it possibly taking away things I like about myself.
Changed line(s) 1 from:
n
For starters, part of the problem is that, as far as percentages go, there are far more people with high-functioning autism or Aspergers than people with low-functioning autism. Yet, you would never know this from the portrayals in the media, which tend to focus on low-functioning people, and especially not from the more well-known autism advocacy organizations like Autism Speaks, which focus so much on [=LF=]s that it\'s often to the detriment of those who are [=HF=] (dismissing their very real concerns - such as un- and underemployment, for example - with \
to:
For starters, part of the problem is that, as far as percentages go, there are far more people with high-functioning autism or Aspergers than people with low-functioning autism. Yet, you would never know this from the portrayals in the media, which tend to focus on low-functioning people, and especially not from the more well-known autism advocacy organizations like Autism Speaks, which focus so much on [=LF=]s that it\\\'s often to the detriment of those who are [=HF=] (dismissing their very real concerns - such as un- and underemployment, for example - with \\\"well you can talk and you can live on your own, stop complaining.\\\" Some even whine how this makes [=HF=]s unable to \\\"speak for\\\" autism in general, even though groups like Autism Speaks are staffed by people who \\\'\\\'don\\\'t have autism at all\\\'\\\').
Part of the issue with the \\\"cure\\\" mentality is that autism varies a lot even in people with similar diagnoses. How it manifests itself in high-functioning people, for example, varies \\\'\\\'quite a bit\\\'\\\'. I have Asperger Syndrome, and most of what Candie writes applies to me only a little bit or not at all. For example, while I often have issues with interpreting social situations, I wouldn\\\'t say I\\\'m totally unable to read facial expressions. I struggle, but I have it better than a lot of people on the spectrum. Likewise, my issues with sense-filtering are almost nada; I\\\'m a bit more sensitive to loud noises, but just in the sense that, say, somebody blasting loud music at strange hours bothers me a little bit more than it does most people. I might be more likely to call the landlord, but we\\\'d all be irritated. Normal sounds never bother me.
(One area in which I do have more trouble than a lot of autistic people I\\\'ve met is time management, but I think a lot of my difficulty with that was because I was diagnosed in my 20s rather than earlier in life (where I might have been able to fix it before it could get out of control), and a lot of people earlier dismissed it as being \\\"lazy\\\" or \\\"rude\\\" or having an \\\"artistic temperament.\\\")
Anyway, it\\\'s easy if you\\\'re not autistic to look at someone you know who is struggling and think \\\"We need a cure!\\\" but there\\\'s a common saying in the community of \\\"if you know one autistic person, you know one autistic person.\\\" Some people really need or want cures, but some of us, particularly those of us who are largely able to lead normal lives, feel it\\\'s an important part of who we are, and get frustrated with other people who usually don\\\'t have autism telling us how we should feel about this. As for how I feel, I support a cure for people who feel they need it, or who are extremely low-functioning. But for me? Other than some inconveniences that I either have or think I can alleviate with therapy and practice, I think it has mostly enhanced my life - in terms of giving me a way of looking at the world that is different from other people. And what little increased sound sensitivity I have is \\\'\\\'invaluable\\\'\\\' to my career as a composer and musician. If I could select to get rid of some aspects I probably would, but I wouldn\\\'t want to cure ALL of it - and I would be worried even with the former option of it possibly taking away things I like about myself.
Part of the issue with the \\\"cure\\\" mentality is that autism varies a lot even in people with similar diagnoses. How it manifests itself in high-functioning people, for example, varies \\\'\\\'quite a bit\\\'\\\'. I have Asperger Syndrome, and most of what Candie writes applies to me only a little bit or not at all. For example, while I often have issues with interpreting social situations, I wouldn\\\'t say I\\\'m totally unable to read facial expressions. I struggle, but I have it better than a lot of people on the spectrum. Likewise, my issues with sense-filtering are almost nada; I\\\'m a bit more sensitive to loud noises, but just in the sense that, say, somebody blasting loud music at strange hours bothers me a little bit more than it does most people. I might be more likely to call the landlord, but we\\\'d all be irritated. Normal sounds never bother me.
(One area in which I do have more trouble than a lot of autistic people I\\\'ve met is time management, but I think a lot of my difficulty with that was because I was diagnosed in my 20s rather than earlier in life (where I might have been able to fix it before it could get out of control), and a lot of people earlier dismissed it as being \\\"lazy\\\" or \\\"rude\\\" or having an \\\"artistic temperament.\\\")
Anyway, it\\\'s easy if you\\\'re not autistic to look at someone you know who is struggling and think \\\"We need a cure!\\\" but there\\\'s a common saying in the community of \\\"if you know one autistic person, you know one autistic person.\\\" Some people really need or want cures, but some of us, particularly those of us who are largely able to lead normal lives, feel it\\\'s an important part of who we are, and get frustrated with other people who usually don\\\'t have autism telling us how we should feel about this. As for how I feel, I support a cure for people who feel they need it, or who are extremely low-functioning. But for me? Other than some inconveniences that I either have or think I can alleviate with therapy and practice, I think it has mostly enhanced my life - in terms of giving me a way of looking at the world that is different from other people. And what little increased sound sensitivity I have is \\\'\\\'invaluable\\\'\\\' to my career as a composer and musician. If I could select to get rid of some aspects I probably would, but I wouldn\\\'t want to cure ALL of it - and I would be worried even with the former option of it possibly taking away things I like about myself.
Changed line(s) 1 from:
n
For starters, part of the problem is that, as far as percentages go, there are far more people with high-functioning autism or Aspergers than people with low-functioning autism. Yet, you would never know this from the portrayals in the media, which tend to focus on low-functioning people, and especially not from the more well-known autism advocacy organizations like Autism Speaks, which focus so much on [=LF=]s that it\'s often to the detriment of those who are [=HF=] (dismissing their very real concerns - such as un- and underemployment, for example - with \
to:
For starters, part of the problem is that, as far as percentages go, there are far more people with high-functioning autism or Aspergers than people with low-functioning autism. Yet, you would never know this from the portrayals in the media, which tend to focus on low-functioning people, and especially not from the more well-known autism advocacy organizations like Autism Speaks, which focus so much on [=LF=]s that it\\\'s often to the detriment of those who are [=HF=] (dismissing their very real concerns - such as un- and underemployment, for example - with \\\"well you can talk and you can live on your own, stop complaining.\\\" Some even whine how this makes [=HF=]s unable to \\\"speak for\\\" autism in general, even though groups like Autism Speaks are staffed by people who \\\'\\\'don\\\'t have autism at all\\\'\\\').
Part of the issue with the \\\"cure\\\" mentality is that autism varies a lot even in people with similar diagnoses. How it manifests itself in high-functioning people, for example, varies \\\'\\\'quite a bit\\\'\\\'. I have Asperger Syndrome, and most of what Candie writes applies to me only a little bit or not at all. For example, while I often have issues with interpreting social situations, I wouldn\\\'t say I\\\'m totally unable to read facial expressions. I struggle, but I have it better than a lot of people on the spectrum. Likewise, my issues with sense-filtering are almost nada; I\\\'m a bit more sensitive to loud noises, but just in the sense that, say, somebody blasting loud music at strange hours bothers me a little bit more than it does most people. I might be more likely to call the landlord, but we\\\'d all be irritated. Normal sounds never bother me.
One area in which I do have more trouble than a lot of autistic people I\\\'ve met is time management, but I think a lot of my difficulty with that was because I was diagnosed in my 20s rather than earlier in life (where I might have been able to fix it before it could get out of control), and a lot of people earlier dismissed it as being \\\"lazy\\\" or \\\"rude\\\" or having an \\\"artistic temperament.\\\"
In short: It\\\'s easy if you\\\'re not autistic to look at someone you know who is struggling and think \\\"We need a cure!\\\" but it varies a lot from person to person. A common phrase is that \\\"if you know one autistic person, you know one autistic person.\\\" I\\\'m really divided on the prospect of a cure; I think it should be there for people who feel they need it, or who are extremely low-functioning. But for me? Other than some inconveniences that I either have or think I can alleviate with therapy and practice, I think it has mostly enhanced my life - in terms of giving me a way of looking at the world that is different from other people. And what little increased sound sensitivity I have is \\\'\\\'invaluable\\\'\\\' to my career as a composer and musician. If I could select to get rid of some aspects I probably would, but I wouldn\\\'t want to cure ALL of it - and I would be worried even with the former option of it possibly taking away things I like about myself. To me, it\\\'s a fundamental part of who I am and while I\\\'d like people who have serious difficulties to have the option for a cure, I would prefer not to live in a world where there is nobody like me around.
Part of the issue with the \\\"cure\\\" mentality is that autism varies a lot even in people with similar diagnoses. How it manifests itself in high-functioning people, for example, varies \\\'\\\'quite a bit\\\'\\\'. I have Asperger Syndrome, and most of what Candie writes applies to me only a little bit or not at all. For example, while I often have issues with interpreting social situations, I wouldn\\\'t say I\\\'m totally unable to read facial expressions. I struggle, but I have it better than a lot of people on the spectrum. Likewise, my issues with sense-filtering are almost nada; I\\\'m a bit more sensitive to loud noises, but just in the sense that, say, somebody blasting loud music at strange hours bothers me a little bit more than it does most people. I might be more likely to call the landlord, but we\\\'d all be irritated. Normal sounds never bother me.
One area in which I do have more trouble than a lot of autistic people I\\\'ve met is time management, but I think a lot of my difficulty with that was because I was diagnosed in my 20s rather than earlier in life (where I might have been able to fix it before it could get out of control), and a lot of people earlier dismissed it as being \\\"lazy\\\" or \\\"rude\\\" or having an \\\"artistic temperament.\\\"
In short: It\\\'s easy if you\\\'re not autistic to look at someone you know who is struggling and think \\\"We need a cure!\\\" but it varies a lot from person to person. A common phrase is that \\\"if you know one autistic person, you know one autistic person.\\\" I\\\'m really divided on the prospect of a cure; I think it should be there for people who feel they need it, or who are extremely low-functioning. But for me? Other than some inconveniences that I either have or think I can alleviate with therapy and practice, I think it has mostly enhanced my life - in terms of giving me a way of looking at the world that is different from other people. And what little increased sound sensitivity I have is \\\'\\\'invaluable\\\'\\\' to my career as a composer and musician. If I could select to get rid of some aspects I probably would, but I wouldn\\\'t want to cure ALL of it - and I would be worried even with the former option of it possibly taking away things I like about myself. To me, it\\\'s a fundamental part of who I am and while I\\\'d like people who have serious difficulties to have the option for a cure, I would prefer not to live in a world where there is nobody like me around.
Changed line(s) 1 from:
n
For starters, part of the problem is that, as far as percentages go, there are far more people with high-functioning autism or Aspergers than people with low-functioning autism. Yet, you would never know this from the portrayals in the media, which tend to focus on low-functioning people, and especially not from the more well-known autism advocacy organizations like Autism Speaks, which focus so much on [=LF=]s that it\'s often to the detriment of those who are [=HF=] (dismissing their very real concerns - such as un- and underemployment, for example - with \
to:
For starters, part of the problem is that, as far as percentages go, there are far more people with high-functioning autism or Aspergers than people with low-functioning autism. Yet, you would never know this from the portrayals in the media, which tend to focus on low-functioning people, and especially not from the more well-known autism advocacy organizations like Autism Speaks, which focus so much on [=LF=]s that it\\\'s often to the detriment of those who are [=HF=] (dismissing their very real concerns - such as un- and underemployment, for example - with \\\"well you can talk and you can live on your own, stop complaining.\\\" Some even whine how this makes [=HF=]s unable to \\\"speak for\\\" autism in general, even though groups like Autism Speaks are staffed by people who \\\'\\\'don\\\'t have autism at all\\\'\\\').
Part of the issue with the \\\"cure\\\" mentality is that autism varies a lot even in people with similar diagnoses. How it manifests itself in high-functioning people, for example, varies \\\'\\\'quite a bit\\\'\\\'. I have Asperger Syndrome, and most of what Candie writes applies to me only a little bit or not at all. For example, while I often have issues with interpreting social situations, I wouldn\\\'t say I\\\'m totally unable to read facial expressions. I struggle, but I have it better than a lot of people on the spectrum. Likewise, my issues with sense-filtering are almost nada; I\\\'m a bit more sensitive to loud noises, but just in the sense that, say, somebody blasting loud music at strange hours bothers me a little bit more than it does most people. I might be more likely to call the landlord, but we\\\'d all be irritated. Normal sounds never bother me.
One area in which I do have more trouble than a lot of autistic people I\\\'ve met is time management, but I think a lot of my difficulty with that was because I was diagnosed in my 20s rather than earlier in life (where I might have been able to fix it before it could get out of control), and a lot of people earlier dismissing it as being \\\"lazy\\\" or \\\"flaky\\\" or having an \\\"artistic temperament.\\\"
In short: It\\\'s easy if you\\\'re not autistic to look at someone you know who is struggling and think \\\"We need a cure!\\\" but it varies a lot from person to person. A common phrase is that \\\"if you know one autistic person, you know one autistic person.\\\" I\\\'m really divided on the prospect of a cure; I think it should be there for people who feel they need it, or who are extremely low-functioning. But for me? Other than some inconveniences that I either have or think I can alleviate with therapy and practice, I think it has mostly enhanced my life - in terms of giving me a way of looking at the world that is different from other people. And what little increased sound sensitivity I have is \\\'\\\'invaluable\\\'\\\' to my career as a composer and musician. If I could select to get rid of some aspects I probably would, but I wouldn\\\'t want to cure ALL of it - and I would be worried even with the former option of it possibly taking away things I like about myself. To me, it\\\'s a fundamental part of who I am and while I\\\'d like people who have serious difficulties to have the option for a cure, I would prefer not to live in a world where there is nobody like me around.
Part of the issue with the \\\"cure\\\" mentality is that autism varies a lot even in people with similar diagnoses. How it manifests itself in high-functioning people, for example, varies \\\'\\\'quite a bit\\\'\\\'. I have Asperger Syndrome, and most of what Candie writes applies to me only a little bit or not at all. For example, while I often have issues with interpreting social situations, I wouldn\\\'t say I\\\'m totally unable to read facial expressions. I struggle, but I have it better than a lot of people on the spectrum. Likewise, my issues with sense-filtering are almost nada; I\\\'m a bit more sensitive to loud noises, but just in the sense that, say, somebody blasting loud music at strange hours bothers me a little bit more than it does most people. I might be more likely to call the landlord, but we\\\'d all be irritated. Normal sounds never bother me.
One area in which I do have more trouble than a lot of autistic people I\\\'ve met is time management, but I think a lot of my difficulty with that was because I was diagnosed in my 20s rather than earlier in life (where I might have been able to fix it before it could get out of control), and a lot of people earlier dismissing it as being \\\"lazy\\\" or \\\"flaky\\\" or having an \\\"artistic temperament.\\\"
In short: It\\\'s easy if you\\\'re not autistic to look at someone you know who is struggling and think \\\"We need a cure!\\\" but it varies a lot from person to person. A common phrase is that \\\"if you know one autistic person, you know one autistic person.\\\" I\\\'m really divided on the prospect of a cure; I think it should be there for people who feel they need it, or who are extremely low-functioning. But for me? Other than some inconveniences that I either have or think I can alleviate with therapy and practice, I think it has mostly enhanced my life - in terms of giving me a way of looking at the world that is different from other people. And what little increased sound sensitivity I have is \\\'\\\'invaluable\\\'\\\' to my career as a composer and musician. If I could select to get rid of some aspects I probably would, but I wouldn\\\'t want to cure ALL of it - and I would be worried even with the former option of it possibly taking away things I like about myself. To me, it\\\'s a fundamental part of who I am and while I\\\'d like people who have serious difficulties to have the option for a cure, I would prefer not to live in a world where there is nobody like me around.
Changed line(s) 1 from:
n
For starters, part of the problem is that, as far as percentages go, there are far more people with high-functioning autism or Aspergers than people with low-functioning autism. Yet, you would never know this from the portrayals in the media, which tend to focus on low-functioning people, and especially not from the more well-known autism advocacy organizations like Autism Speaks, which focus so much on [=LF=]s that it\'s often to the detriment of those who are [=HF=] (dismissing their very real concerns - such as un- and underemployment, for example - with \
to:
For starters, part of the problem is that, as far as percentages go, there are far more people with high-functioning autism or Aspergers than people with low-functioning autism. Yet, you would never know this from the portrayals in the media, which tend to focus on low-functioning people, and especially not from the more well-known autism advocacy organizations like Autism Speaks, which focus so much on [=LF=]s that it\\\'s often to the detriment of those who are [=HF=] (dismissing their very real concerns - such as un- and underemployment, for example - with \\\"well you can talk and you can live on your own, stop complaining.\\\" Some even whine how this makes [=HF=]s unable to \\\"speak for\\\" autism in general, even though groups like Autism Speaks are staffed by people who \\\'\\\'don\\\'t have autism at all\\\'\\\').
Part of the issue with the \\\"cure\\\" mentality is that autism varies a lot even in people with similar diagnoses. How it manifests itself in high-functioning people, for example, varies \\\'\\\'quite a bit\\\'\\\'. I have Asperger Syndrome, and most of what Candie writes applies to me only a little bit or not at all. For example, while I often have issues with interpreting social situations, I wouldn\\\'t say I\\\'m totally unable to read facial expressions. I struggle, but I have it better than a lot of people on the spectrum. Likewise, my issues with sense-filtering are almost nada; I\\\'m a bit more sensitive to sounds, for example, but just in the sense that, say, somebody blasting loud music at strange hours bothers me a little bit more than it does most people. I might be more likely to call the landlord, but we\\\'d all be irritated. Normal sounds never bother me.
One area in which I do have more trouble than a lot of autistic people I\\\'ve met is time management, but I think a lot of my difficulty with that was because I was diagnosed in my 20s rather than earlier in life (where I might have been able to fix it before it could get out of control), and a lot of people earlier dismissing it as being \\\"lazy\\\" or \\\"flaky\\\" or having an \\\"artistic temperament.\\\"
In short: It\\\'s easy if you\\\'re not autistic to look at someone you know who is struggling and think \\\"We need a cure!\\\" but it varies a lot from person to person. A common phrase is that \\\"if you know one autistic person, you know one autistic person.\\\" I\\\'m really divided on the prospect of a cure; I think it should be there for people who feel they need it, or who are extremely low-functioning. But for me? Other than some inconveniences that I either have or think I can alleviate with therapy and practice, I think it has mostly enhanced my life - in terms of giving me a way of looking at the world that is different from other people. I don\\\'t think I would want to live in a world in which there are no autistics.
Part of the issue with the \\\"cure\\\" mentality is that autism varies a lot even in people with similar diagnoses. How it manifests itself in high-functioning people, for example, varies \\\'\\\'quite a bit\\\'\\\'. I have Asperger Syndrome, and most of what Candie writes applies to me only a little bit or not at all. For example, while I often have issues with interpreting social situations, I wouldn\\\'t say I\\\'m totally unable to read facial expressions. I struggle, but I have it better than a lot of people on the spectrum. Likewise, my issues with sense-filtering are almost nada; I\\\'m a bit more sensitive to sounds, for example, but just in the sense that, say, somebody blasting loud music at strange hours bothers me a little bit more than it does most people. I might be more likely to call the landlord, but we\\\'d all be irritated. Normal sounds never bother me.
One area in which I do have more trouble than a lot of autistic people I\\\'ve met is time management, but I think a lot of my difficulty with that was because I was diagnosed in my 20s rather than earlier in life (where I might have been able to fix it before it could get out of control), and a lot of people earlier dismissing it as being \\\"lazy\\\" or \\\"flaky\\\" or having an \\\"artistic temperament.\\\"
In short: It\\\'s easy if you\\\'re not autistic to look at someone you know who is struggling and think \\\"We need a cure!\\\" but it varies a lot from person to person. A common phrase is that \\\"if you know one autistic person, you know one autistic person.\\\" I\\\'m really divided on the prospect of a cure; I think it should be there for people who feel they need it, or who are extremely low-functioning. But for me? Other than some inconveniences that I either have or think I can alleviate with therapy and practice, I think it has mostly enhanced my life - in terms of giving me a way of looking at the world that is different from other people. I don\\\'t think I would want to live in a world in which there are no autistics.
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For starters, part of the problem is that, as far as percentages go, there are far more people with high-functioning autism or Aspergers than people with low-functioning autism. Yet, you would never know this from the portrayals in the media, which tend to focus on low-functioning people, and especially not from the more well-known autism advocacy organizations like Autism Speaks, which focus so much on LFs that it\'s often to the detriment of those who are HF (dismissing their very real concerns - such as un- and underemployment, for example - with \
to:
For starters, part of the problem is that, as far as percentages go, there are far more people with high-functioning autism or Aspergers than people with low-functioning autism. Yet, you would never know this from the portrayals in the media, which tend to focus on low-functioning people, and especially not from the more well-known autism advocacy organizations like Autism Speaks, which focus so much on [=LF=]s that it\\\'s often to the detriment of those who are [=HF=] (dismissing their very real concerns - such as un- and underemployment, for example - with \\\"well you can talk and you can live on your own, stop complaining.\\\" Some even whine how this makes [=HF=]s unable to \\\"speak for\\\" autism in general, even though groups like Autism Speaks are staffed by people who \\\'\\\'don\\\'t have autism at all\\\'\\\').
Part of the issue with the \\\"cure\\\" mentality is that autism varies a lot even in people with similar diagnoses. How it manifests itself in high-functioning people, for example, varies. I have Asperger Syndrome, and while I often have issues with interpreting social situations, I wouldn\\\'t say I\\\'m totally unable to read facial expressions. I struggle, but I have it better than a lot of people on the spectrum. Likewise, my issues with sense-filtering are almost nada; I\\\'m a bit more sensitive to sounds, for example, but just in the sense that, say, somebody blasting loud music at strange hours bothers me a little bit more than it does most people. I might be more likely to call the landlord, but we\\\'d all be irritated. Normal sounds never bother me.
One area in which I do have more trouble than a lot of autistic people I\\\'ve met is time management, but I think a lot of my difficulty with that was because I was diagnosed in my 20s rather than earlier in life (where I might have been able to fix it before it could get out of control), and a lot of people earlier dismissing it as being \\\"lazy\\\" or \\\"flaky\\\" or having an \\\"artistic temperament.\\\"
In short: It\\\'s easy if you\\\'re not autistic to look at someone you know who is struggling and think \\\"We need a cure!\\\" but it varies a lot from person to person. A common phrase is that \\\"if you know one autistic person, you know one autistic person.\\\" I\\\'m really divided on the prospect of a cure; I think it should be there for people who feel they need it, or who are extremely low-functioning. But for me? Other than some inconveniences that I either have or think I can alleviate with therapy and practice, I think it has mostly enhanced my life - in terms of giving me a way of looking at the world that is different from other people. I don\\\'t think I would want to live in a world in which there are no autistics.
Part of the issue with the \\\"cure\\\" mentality is that autism varies a lot even in people with similar diagnoses. How it manifests itself in high-functioning people, for example, varies. I have Asperger Syndrome, and while I often have issues with interpreting social situations, I wouldn\\\'t say I\\\'m totally unable to read facial expressions. I struggle, but I have it better than a lot of people on the spectrum. Likewise, my issues with sense-filtering are almost nada; I\\\'m a bit more sensitive to sounds, for example, but just in the sense that, say, somebody blasting loud music at strange hours bothers me a little bit more than it does most people. I might be more likely to call the landlord, but we\\\'d all be irritated. Normal sounds never bother me.
One area in which I do have more trouble than a lot of autistic people I\\\'ve met is time management, but I think a lot of my difficulty with that was because I was diagnosed in my 20s rather than earlier in life (where I might have been able to fix it before it could get out of control), and a lot of people earlier dismissing it as being \\\"lazy\\\" or \\\"flaky\\\" or having an \\\"artistic temperament.\\\"
In short: It\\\'s easy if you\\\'re not autistic to look at someone you know who is struggling and think \\\"We need a cure!\\\" but it varies a lot from person to person. A common phrase is that \\\"if you know one autistic person, you know one autistic person.\\\" I\\\'m really divided on the prospect of a cure; I think it should be there for people who feel they need it, or who are extremely low-functioning. But for me? Other than some inconveniences that I either have or think I can alleviate with therapy and practice, I think it has mostly enhanced my life - in terms of giving me a way of looking at the world that is different from other people. I don\\\'t think I would want to live in a world in which there are no autistics.
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For starters, part of the problem is that, as far as percentages go, there are far more people with high-functioning autism or Aspergers than people with low-functioning autism. Yet, the fact that both the media and many of the most well-known advocacy groups (like Autism Speaks) focus mainly on the latter means that the former are often burdened with expectations that don\'t fit them.
to:
For starters, part of the problem is that, as far as percentages go, there are far more people with high-functioning autism or Aspergers than people with low-functioning autism. Yet, you would never know this from the portrayals in the media, which tend to focus on low-functioning people, and especially not from the more well-known autism advocacy organizations like Autism Speaks, which focus so much on LFs that it\\\'s often to the detriment of those who are HF (dismissing their very real concerns - such as un- and underemployment, for example - with \\\"well you can talk and you can live on your own, stop complaining.\\\" Some even whine how this makes HFs unable to \\\"speak for\\\" autism in general, even though groups like Autism Speaks are staffed by people who \\\'\\\'don\\\'t have autism at all\\\'\\\').
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(And likewise, a lot of advocacy groups treat high-functioning autistics - despite having a lot of issues in their lives, like the ones that Candi describes, that can make them less than ideal sometimes - as though they should be grateful that they can talk and live on their own, and should just shut up. Additionally, they tend to blame HFs for claiming to \
to:
Part of the issue with the \\\"cure\\\" mentality is that autism varies a lot even in people with similar diagnoses. How it manifests itself in high-functioning people, for example, varies. I have Asperger Syndrome, and while I often have issues with interpreting social situations, I wouldn\\\'t say I\\\'m totally unable to read facial expressions. I struggle, but I have it better than a lot of people on the spectrum. Likewise, my issues with sense-filtering are almost nada; I\\\'m a bit more sensitive to sounds, for example, but just in the sense that, say, somebody blasting loud music at strange hours bothers me a little bit more than it does most people. I might be more likely to call the landlord, but we\\\'d all be irritated. Normal sounds never bother me.
One area in which I do have more trouble than a lot of autistic people I\\\'ve met is time management, but I think a lot of my difficulty with that was because I was diagnosed in my 20s rather than earlier in life (where I might have been able to fix it before it could get out of control), and a lot of people earlier dismissing it as being \\\"lazy\\\" or \\\"flaky\\\" or having an \\\"artistic temperament.\\\"
In short: It\\\'s easy if you\\\'re not autistic to look at someone you know who is struggling and think \\\"We need a cure!\\\" but it varies a lot from person to person. A common phrase is that \\\"if you know one autistic person, you know one autistic person.\\\" I\\\'m really divided on the prospect of a cure; I think it should be there for people who feel they need it, or who are extremely low-functioning. But for me? Other than some inconveniences that I either have or think I can alleviate with therapy and practice, I think it has mostly enhanced my life - in terms of giving me a way of looking at the world that is different from other people. I don\\\'t think I would want to live in a world in which there are no autistics.
One area in which I do have more trouble than a lot of autistic people I\\\'ve met is time management, but I think a lot of my difficulty with that was because I was diagnosed in my 20s rather than earlier in life (where I might have been able to fix it before it could get out of control), and a lot of people earlier dismissing it as being \\\"lazy\\\" or \\\"flaky\\\" or having an \\\"artistic temperament.\\\"
In short: It\\\'s easy if you\\\'re not autistic to look at someone you know who is struggling and think \\\"We need a cure!\\\" but it varies a lot from person to person. A common phrase is that \\\"if you know one autistic person, you know one autistic person.\\\" I\\\'m really divided on the prospect of a cure; I think it should be there for people who feel they need it, or who are extremely low-functioning. But for me? Other than some inconveniences that I either have or think I can alleviate with therapy and practice, I think it has mostly enhanced my life - in terms of giving me a way of looking at the world that is different from other people. I don\\\'t think I would want to live in a world in which there are no autistics.
