“What’s wrong with you?” … how people with autism answered this question
by Beth
A friend of mine who has a son with Asperger’s syndrome sent me a link to a story in the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. The story was called What Can We Learn about Autism from Autistic Persons? and described a study that analyzed 16 autobiographical writings and conducted five interviews with people who have autism.
The most striking observations were that all of them pointed out that unusual perceptions and information processing, as well as impairments in emotional regulation, were the core symptoms of autism, whereas the current classifications do not mention them
If you ask me, the study didn’t interview enough people. Only five interviews? Still, if you’re curious and want to read it for yourself, the entire report is available online through a Pay-per-View service.
The friend who sent me this link in the first place also read a review of the study in Science Daily. That review was called “What Happens When We Ask Autistic Persons What is Wrong With Them?” and my friend told me she was a bit offended by that title. I don’t blame her! As she says, “It’s like saying, ‘you’re defective, tell me what is defective about you.’ “
February 16th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
Beth,
Being from the psychology profession, I really find that language in the study very disturbing. It exposes the lack of empathy and sensitivity we still have toward people living with Autism. The field would never title a study on depression with that same type of language because they see those suffering from depression in therapy and hear their pain and respect their feelings. Wish they heard the feelings of those with Autism or other disabilities with the same emapathetic ear.