Skip to main content

Article: Challenging Popular Myths about Autism

I'd like to draw your attention to an article by the amazing Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg.

Challenging popular myths about autism
by Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg
http://www.commonsnews.org/test3/story.php?articleno=694

This appeared in her local paper and is an absolutely brilliant piece of work. I've read quite a few mythbusters articles on autism and aspergers in particular but this one takes the cake.

I had intended to summarise and discuss it here but I really feel that you're better off reading the whole thing and drawing your own conculsions.

Well done Rachel!

Oh, and please visit Rachel's blog - I don't know where she finds the time to do all those updates but I draw a lot of daily inspiration from it; http://www.aspergerjourneys.com

Comments

Marita said…
Thank you so much for posting the link to that article. It is a great read.
Anonymous said…
I have heard many debates on the 'autism cure', and I think anyone that would force an aspie to receive a supposed 'cure' would be very misinformed of the condition. I am just a 9th grader, but if there ever was a cure, I would refuse it in a heartbeat. That is what I have to say about that, but you should be allowed to take it if you want to.
IMTI autism said…
Hi! I agree, the article is really good. May I also recommend an EXCELLENT book that just came out called CHALLENGING THE MYTHS OF AUTISM by Jonathan Alderson (Harper Collins, 2011)
You'll find it is right in synch with Rachel's article but is an entire book including research that debunks the traditional limiting beliefs and negative stereotypes that shackle the autistic population.

Popular posts from this blog

Aspie Myths - "He Won't Miss Me"

I apologise for the excessive "male-orientated" viewpoint in this post. I tried to keep it neutral but somehow, it just works better when explained from a male viewpoint. Here's a phrase that I've seen repeated throughout the comments on this blog on several occasions; "I know that he won't miss me when I'm gone because he's aspie" Today, we're going to (try to) bust that myth; Individuals I'll start off with a reminder that everyone is an individual. If all aspies were completely alike and predictible, they'd be a stereotype but they're not. Each is shaped by their background, their upbringing, their beliefs and their local customs. An aspie who grew up with loud abusive parents has a reasonable chance of becoming loud and abusive themselves because in some cases, that's all they know. That's how they think adults are supposed to behave. In other cases, aspies who grew up in those circumstances do a complete about-fa

Why do Aspies Suddenly Back Off in Relationships (Part 2)

In part one, we looked at the role that Change Resistance plays in causing aspies to suddenly go "cold" in otherwise good relationships. This time, I want to look at self esteem and depression; Self Esteem The aspie relationship with themselves is tedious at best. People with Asperger's commonly suffer from low self esteem. As discussed in earlier posts, this low self esteem often results from years of emotional turmoil resulting from their poor social skills. Aspies are often their own worst enemy. They can over analyze situations and responses in an effort to capture lost nonverbal communication. This often causes them to invent problems and to imagine replies. Everything made up by aspies will tend to be tainted with their own self image. This is one of reasons that people with Asperger's will sometimes decide that they are not good enough for their partner and that they must let them go. Sometimes, the aspie will develop a notion of chivalry or self-sacrific

Why Do Aspies Suddenly Back-Off in Relationships? (Part 1)

One of the most frequent questions I'm asked is why an aspie (or suspected aspie) suddenly goes "cold" and backs off on an otherwise good relationship. It's a difficult question and the answers would vary considerably from one person to another and would depend greatly on the circumstances. Nevertheless, I'll try to point out some possibilities. Negative Reasons I generally like to stay positive on this blog and assume that people are not necessarily "evil" but simply misguided. Unfortunately, I do have to acknowledge that there are some people out there who take advantage of others. I read a book a few years ago on "sociopaths in the workplace" and I was stunned by the figures. They suggested that sociopaths were so common that most workplaces (small business) had at least one or two. The fact is that there are lots of people out there who really feel very little for others and who are very manipulative. I'd like to say that aspies aren