Before I really get into the necessary topics, I want to say a few things to break past some barriers, increase receptivity. The most common areas of difficulty in the human species are between people who think/believe differently; autistics and "neurotypicals" (so called normal people) offer no exception. Tragically, search terms leading people to this page frequently involve the question of whether autism is demonic. Autism is a difference in neurological wiring. It is not demonic. What is evil is to demonize neurological differences instead of learning about autism or bothering to develop task appropriate parenting, teaching, workplace, friendship, neighborly and other living skills. Learn the definition of and criteria for the autism spectrum, the different autism "types," and that people on the autism spectrum can be a combination of these autism types. They may be anywhere from profoundly autistic to highly functioning, or a confounding combination thereof. They too have individual preferences and quirks, so please don't think that you know autism because you read a little or saw one or even three autistic individuals. Spectrum disorders (autism is a spectrum disorder) are admittedly difficult to conceptualize and many feel that the term "disorder" justifies their negativity toward autism, difference. Even doctors and researchers have had their prolonged problems with this -- autism research and treatment fields have been littered with really dumb theories (e.g. The Refrigerator Mom Theory) and still are. This has been going on for many decades. (Part of their problem is that humans too often tend to think in a more of a linear and particularly stinky binary manner. Scientists and researchers need to think in terms of 3D, venn diagram maps, one overlaid upon the other. Everything on and between each map and its categories open to constant revision. Across disciplinary boundaries, cooperatively sticking these categories, spectrums, diagrams and various comorbidity, giftedness and other maps in a supercomputer could produce a lot of discovery! Everyone would contribute, everyone would have access. It'd be a interdisciplinary mesh of big picture thinking, attention to details, linear logic, binary logic that avoids common logic errors, complex pattern recognition and more. Kind of like in a 3D OPTE map sort of way, only far more sophisticated and interactive. Each point on the map would be one map or spectrum and all of them would contribute to a better global understanding of what autism and nuerodiversity "are." It would far surpass any combination of mattrice or cognitive mapping we have today and it sure would beat today's attempts to conceptualize autism as a linear left to right spectrum disorder, a model that seems to just beg a lot of really crappy thinking and behavior.) Ultimately, discovery regarding autism will contribute to exponential growth and discovery regarding the entire human neurological "spectrum." To this end, a little informed humanity, humility, compassion and effort go a long way. And now my entry on autism begins... Autism as Wrong/Disease/Demonic/Criminal?
Logic and Vocabulary Notes: When I say that something does not equal (≠) the other it doesn't mean that things can't coexist but that one doesn't, as an axiom, equal or cause the other. Dualism involves dividing all of reality into two supposed opposites even if it's like slamming square pegs into round holes. First, Why Bother? Education is Key in Reducing Prejudice Prejudice and abuses against autistics and their families exist even with today's autism awareness movement, some of it expressed in isolated instances but a lot of it is more chronic, insidious and pervasive. It's not a small phenomenon that many want to mock autism or those who promote autism awareness. Reactions to autism and related topics are often hostile, snarky and dismissive such as, "oh, you want to belong to a special genius club" (a comment made to me by an off-duty health care professional) or "it's the new difference, but they're diagnosing so many with it now, heh." Many people develop what I call the insta-doctor syndrome, thinking themselves capable of instant diagnosis without the benefit of being not just a doctor but a specialist in the appropriate field(s). What's in autism awareness for me and you? Chances are very high that you either know someone with autism or know someone who does. Society can learn to recognize, address and correct the common underpinnings of all prejudice, something that affects us all, and autism awareness will impact other fronts of human and civil rights. This is true whenever we raise awareness and try to improve the lot of any majority. 1. Autism as Disease Hans Asperger introduced this "modern" concept of autism in 1938. Autism was originally commonly diagnosed using the divisive disease model. There are numerous sound reasons to prefer the difference model (this model rests more on what we have in common than how we differ), hence the term neurodiversity. To better understand why, we need to understand the fall out from dualism. The following will address the ramification of dualism from multiple and sometimes very different angles that can be read separately, out of order, or one after the other. Dualism. What kind of dualism? I'm normal, you're not (you're diseased), and everything is measured by or compared to normal. We may not be able to define normal yet but we know that viewing autism as a disease to be eradicated and autistics as a burden upon society is very dehumanizing. Fortunately for us, we can safely say that Godwin's Law doesn't apply if you're learning what elements/stages/steps/components we need to proactively watch out for in any society at any time. - Useless Eaters: Disability as Genocidal Markers in Nazi Germany A progression of markers or red flags we don't want to even begin to revisit in any shape or form! Autistics would have been among the "mentally infirm" who were among some of the first to be gassed in Nazi Germany.
- Eight Stages of Genocide Perspective is important. Duhumanizing is one of those stages and it's never innocuous. It's not all about full blown genocide. All the stages and their potentials matter. It's never safe to poo poo at things because 'it's not that bad.'
- Murder of Autistics Because they were autistic. Some while in the care of different professionals or family members. Criminal sentences are frequently curiously light and sympathy is often displayed for murderers of autistics, sometimes only initially and then public outrage and pressure has an impact but sometimes the crap isn't met with sufficient examination, making future abuses more likely.
- Power and Control (Abuse) Wheel for Caregivers of the Developmentally Disabled
Dualism. The refrigerator mom theory blamed cold mothers as the cause of autism and ramifications of this "theory" still sting the living memories of many relatives of autistic people. Either you were a good parent and had normal kids or you were a bad parent and had kids that simply misbehaved. That's known as an either / or false dilemma. The cold mom theory finally went out of fashion but the belief that cold/bad/regular parents cause autism lingers, as is evident when people look at various autism related issues as merely behavioral, as in it's just all a case of bad behavior and bad parenting. Autism ≠ Product of Bad Parenting On the other hand, it's crucial to give all kids structure and manners. I'm with my mother and Temple Grandin on this one. My mother provided a very structured environment in which expectations of behavioral boundaries and manners were well understood and enforced, and I work with my severely autistic nonverbal grandson likewise, as much as is possible for him, meaning that I still don't encourgage bratty behaviors on his part. If it takes research, teamwork with his one-on-one therapy team to weed out what is behavior he can help and differentiate what is autistic behavior that he cannot alter or yet alter, that makes things better for both of us. We deal with it. Dualism. Viewing things autism through the lens of the disease model, scientists and other authorities only recently realized that many institutionalized and other autistics dismissed as retarded/hopeless could have normal to above normal IQs. It was said of Temple Grandin that she would have to be institutionalized, when she was little. Thankfully, her mother didn't listen and provided early intervention, a highly structured environment, and Grandin was allowed to explore her strengths. Tragically, only a small percentage of articles and professionals that cited incredibly high mental retardation rates among autistics actually based their claims on empirical evidence and those that did were deeply problematic. (See the raw data of a study that points this out, here. A more readable coverage of the issues involved is here.) Dualism affected and still affects how science, social services, educational systems, and health care fields portray and deal with autism, creating a spectrum of unnecessary adverse effects which compounded already existing adversities that autistics and aspies (people with an Asperger's Syndrome difference) face. For example, they're still in the process of learning how to test and measure intelligence across the range of neurodiversity, verbal communication's role in human intelligence still matters, but it only recently dawned on them to measure autistic IQs in ways that didn't rely upon verbal communication. Finally the assumption that lack of verbal communication denoted a total lack of intelligence or humanity was busted but many autistics needlessly spent years in institutions before it was. Can you imagine spending years in an institution? 
In contrast, when things autistic savant tickled the public's imagination, many got the idea that many or most inteligent autistics had savant capabilities when, in fact, autistic savants are actually quite rare (not all savants are autistic and not all autistics are savants). Yes, both autism and human intelligence theories have been erratic. We can measure IQ, we're not totally sure what human intelligence is, we're beginning to learn how to measure all human intelligences in all people, but we're just now more deeply comprehending that it's not just about IQ anymore. To help picture the development of human intelligence(s) theories and intelligence tests, see very involved interactive map that illustrates how past mistakes open windows of opportunity which in turn greatly impact interaction across neurodiversity. Admittedly, discovery is a messy process and recognizing past mistakes helps move us closer to equality, which is best defined as removing the institutions and stinking thinking of prejudice, of purposeful ignorance. Sometimes we get past initial confusions by using chunking (breaking problems down into manageable bits) in order to turn problems into solutions and improve methods of teaching individuals with autism. Normal ≠ Correct
Autism ≠ Wrong
Autistic ≠ Retarded
Autistic ≠ Autistic Savant Dualism. Brain vs. Body. Autism involves the entire brain and body. It's a holistic difference and does not affect all autistics equally in the same ways but it is systemic. It may translate into sensory (sensitivity to different environmental and internal experiences) and other differences that are poorly understood at this time. Dualism. In some sectors of Autism Culture, a polarized autism-as-damage/disease vs. neurodiversity-as-denial dilemma rages and it's a false dilemma. Autism does offer difficulties but it can, in some individuals, also offer distinct advantages on the job and in things academic. It can be completely debilitating, a cruel harsh reality, as is the case for my nonverbal grandson, but it can also offer mild to extreme advantages, as well as disadvantages, outside the bounds of things savantism (not all savantism is autism-related and true savantism is extremely rare, btw, only about 50 true savants exist in the world today). All that variance is what makes the polarized autism-as-damage/disease vs. neurodiversity-as-denial debate a false dilemma. Mark my words: what we now call autism has and will undergo further generations of differentiations that uber normalization and its flip side marginalization (always abusive, always heavily politicized) cannot do justice. Before further differentiation and discovery increase at even more exponential rates, the rate of autism diagnosis will continue to climb. That is a very predictable and natural progression. Initially, it was possible to diagnose the more disadvantaged autistics and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) stated that 75% of autistics were mentally retarded. At the time, the rate of autism diagnosis was much lower. Between 1993 and 2003, however, the rate of autism diagnosis climbed over 800%. That increase was greatly due to the fact that, in 1992, the American Psychiatric Association released the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV) which refined diagnostic criteria and Autism as a spectrum disorder so that mild to severe autism could be diagnosed. Autism awareness also increased. Consequently, in 2009, it was estimated that one percent of childrenand one out of 100 adults are autistic and both of those numbers are expected to climb (many autistic adults were not diagnosed as children and many still don't have official diagnosis). Dualism. Theory of Other Minds is the theory that people are not equally endowed with the ability to recognize that others may have different beliefs, desires and intentions from their own. Supposedly, normal people were expected to have a robust Theory of Other Minds but autistics don't and if they don't filter information in expected ways, then they're not filtering it at all. That is a crappy and false reality filter increasingly proven false on many counts, as our view on autism expands. (For further reading, tickle your mind with "Filming the Self: Self-Narration and Film for Children with Autism" and similar articles.) Dualism. The 'cure all difference' approach involves both science, much of it highly disputed/quackery, and scientism, the belief that the investigative methods of the physical sciences are applicable or justifiable in all fields of inquiry. Science is great but scientism will fail us because, besides being quite beholden to fads, scientism fails to imagine how dualism slides into dehumanizing --it fails to imagine why dealing with challenge isn't all about curing one side of a false dichotomy. Unfortunately, it's a common human fault that communication tends to break down between ethnocentric groups, reality tunnels/bubbles, religions, and even fuzzy sets within neurodiversity. Happily, the well-known Johari Window model of awareness shows us that everyone benefits from clear communication, sound reasoning, honest internal dialogue, and active listening/observation that opens up windows of awareness regarding ourselves and others. Hans Asperger introduced the modern theory of autism way back in 1938, autism awareness is only now starting to get some momentum in the 21st century? Autism awareness involves awareness about people in general as well as awareness about autism. 2. Autism as Criminal (Or...No, We're Not Robots Without Emotions or Ability to Sense of Right and Wrong) Being socially inept due to neurological differences is not the same thing as being antisocial and how social aspies are can vary immensely. As an Einstein-Morrissey-Carroll aspie (watch this video for aspie types) I'm less social, but others with A.S may even be familiar names. Autism ≠ Antisocial
A.S. ≠ Antisocial Although the average person uses the words "antisocial" and "psychopath"/"sociopath" interchangeably, they're not the same thing and criteria for these disorders are different, distinct. Confusion was built right into the history of discovering and exploring all things Autism. Johannes Mathesius (1504 -- 1565), who wrote about German monk Martin Luther (1483 -- 1546), reported that Martin Luther Luther thought that a (probably severely autistic) boy was demonically possessed and suggested that he be suffocated. Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler (1857 -- 1939) used autismus (English translation, autism) to describe symptoms of schizophrenia. Child psychiatrist Leo Kanner's (1894 -- 1981) work led to decades of confused terminology like 'infantile schizophrenia' and the refrigerator mom theory (the theory that autism was caused by cold mothers). Even Hans Asperger wrote about ‘autistic psychopathy.’ There were attempts to fix these loaded associations/connotations -- Lorna Wing widely popularized the term Asperger’s Syndrome to avoid the misunderstanding of confusing the term 'autistic psychopathy' with sociopathic behavior. (See http://glassjail.wordpress.com/2008/04/14/a-brief-history-of-asperger-syndrome/.) To this day, antisocial, psychopath, sociopath, and social ineptitude are still often used interchangeably, and they shouldn't be. Unfortunately, many people carry a very strong association between anyone "antisocial" (using the term very loosely and incorrectly) and Unabomber, school shooter, or murderous rampage types. Enter a very deleterious autism defense used during a murder trial, the likes of which surely add to the confusion. Robert Durst was charged with murder. Robert Durst is on the autism range supposedly. There is no evidence that apies have a higher rate of abusing, murdering, or committing felonies. Being socially inept due to neurological differences is not the same thing as being antisocial. Robert Durst's legal defense tactic, however, was that he was innocent of murder and dismemberment due to his A.S. Excuse me? I'm not prone to rages and I'm not into hurting people. I'm also not a rule breaker. Quite the opposite. The basis of Durst's defense is that he's innocent of murder due to having an A.S. difference, a premise that is is dehumanizing and dangerously false. So let's clear a few things up! a. Asperger's Syndrome (A.S.) is not a synonym for sociopath or antisocial. This doesn't mean some people on the autism range, along with the rest of the population, can't be sociopaths or antisocial, but it does mean...
A.S. ≠ Sociopath
A.S. ≠ Antisocial b. A.S. is not the same as having been brought up with very detrimental and even dangerous behavioral patterns of abuse (abuse of others and/or abuse of self). A.S. is a neurological difference, not a behavioral breeding ground for potential murderers. Behavioral! This does not mean, however, that families with autism are prohibited from being abusive. They are not exempt from domestic and other abuses that cross all social, religious, financial and cultural boundaries. There is, however, no evidence that they are more likely to be abusive than the rest of society. Autism ≠ Product of Bad Parenting Autism ≠ Product of Abuse b.1. Robert Durst may have been living in a pathologically dysfunctional and abusive childhood household -- his mother died in front of him -- "it was never established if her death, by falling or jumping off the roof of the Scarsdale family mansion, was accidental or suicide." In any event, he very likely witnessed the fatal self/domestic abuse of his mother and who knows what else that may have preceded or followed it, perhaps for years!
c. While some with A.S. report difficulties with reading and expressing emotion, plenty of them have plenty of emotion yet don't turn criminal!
d. Most people with A.S. are not emotionally "flat" inside and those that are are more the rare birds who may or may not be dealing with not one but two or more conditions, which takes us to the next point.
e. A.S. does not preclude having other conditions. In fact, scientific disciplines are presently looking into what seems to be higher rates of co-morbidity (having more than one condition) among people on the autism range. Of course, just as the percentage of people with mental retardation within autism may change, drastically (understatement), so may this picture.
f. There is plenty of logic, conditioning, and attention to behavioral patterns that offers a lot of directional force, steering people away from becomming criminal. Also, a healthier use of imagination contributes to living outside the tight binds (learned behavioral patterns) of abuse and criminality.
g. Many aspies are many times more likely to follow rules do so to a very anal extent. For example, after I finally learned to drive in my mid-thirties, it took me over ten years to bring myself to drive even a little bit over the speed limit. I had numerous conversations with others about the ethical, social and logical problems with setting a legal speed limit and traffic rules and then most people are breaking the rules most of the time. I like rules and I have a huge problem when others don't follow them to the letter because then how I'm I supposed to know what they're going to do or fail to do next! That a lot of aspies share such thoughts serves to underline just how ludicrous and false Durst's legal defense was. Behaviorally, many aspies act more ethically and morally correct and are keenly tuned into right and wrong, even with their varying degrees of social ineptitude. This is part of what is meant by many autistics do well in structured environments. This does not mean that severe autism does not call for special considerations in the legal system. It does mean: A.S. ≠ Antisocial/Criminal
3. Autism as Demonic Before I begin this section, remember, it's not anti-religious to criticize certain religious practices, it's not intolerant to point out intolerance, and it's not discrimination to point out discrimination. The Forces of Good™ vs. The Forces of Evil™ dualism has roots reaching all the way back to Zoroastrianism. Many interpret it as any difference from "The" norm is ungodly, a sign of spiritual sickness and perhaps even demonic possession! Autistic ≠ Possessed
Autistic ≠ Demonic In 2007, a 14-year-old autistic boy was treated to an exorcism because his autism was seen as demonic possession and after 11 hours of such treatment, his face was nearly twice the size. The perpetrator only faces misdemeanor charges. This next case happened just about 40 miles up the road from me. Terry Cottrell, an eight-year-old autistic boy, was basically pressed to death (a form of torture, really!) via adults sitting on his chest as part of an exorcism -- the kid was autistic and that to them was "demonic possession." Initially, consequences for the perpetrators looked as if they were going to be unfittingly light. Some religions do exorcisms, some don't, and not all that do them are trained to do them. Some of the exorcism related injuries/deaths happen in home exorcisms and some occur in church exorcisms. Exorcisms in general continue to be on the rise. I'm seeing an exponential increase of people googling "autism demonic" and arriving at this page. Yes, not all Christians practice exorcism and many trained to do so don't "hurt the body to heal the soul." It's not all about Christians, I know, because some exorcism related deaths have been Voodoo exorcism related; others are just plain nuts. Still, a general increase in treating autism as demonic possession is based on toxic dualism and it has the habit of spilling over into many religions/denominations and it's something people should speak out against. 4. Autism as a Death Sentence Killed because they were autistic. Long list. Another link on the topic if the first one isn't working. Sentences tend to be light and by now you're noticing a pattern and getting an a few ideas as to why. 5. Autism as Cause for Restraints and Drugging
Some forced, some forced but technically voluntary: see http://ballastexistenz.autistics.org/?p=171 My Other Autism Related Pages Copyright Notice: Copyight by Karen A. Scofield, 2007, 2012, all rights reserved. That my work is copyrighted is also noted at the top of each my web pages. You may not reprint or use my material without my written and explicit permission. My e-mail address is sari0009 at yahoo dot com (remove spaces before using email address). Updated April 2, 2012. Minor editing. | 
