Post by Phil W LeeAmen to that.
The rigid linking of levels of progress to chronological age is
completely senseless, as long as progress is made.
And concentrating on one area will often mean less progress in another
- there are only so many resources to go around.
They don't Think that far, and often for that matter, at all! That's all
part of being part of the Herd, Nonthinking. But the worst part about it is
that by expecting everyone to be the same, they are promoting
Depersonalization...but then that's what it's all about.
Post by Phil W LeeDid you maintain your interest?
Yes, I did - but I don't 'collect' and KILL the innocent creatures anymore
just so I can mount them for display, and I feel really bad about having
done that when I was a lot younger. If there were a way to 'collect'
insects, perhaps using high tech scanning equipment, without harming them,
I'd get back into it, but I still do remember everything I learned and am
still quick to notice various kinds of insects. My interest in entomology
began when I was around 5 years old or so, when my hypersensitivity was
really getting to me - I was terrified of flies for the buzzing sound they
made and even the thought of one landing and crawling on me, because
although I'm hypersensitive in all senses, the 2 really big ones are
auditory and tactile. So whenever a fly was in the house, I'd run for my
life to any room I could 'seal' up so the fly couldn't get in, and hope
when I did, that the fly wasn't already in there. It sounds funny today but
it was pure horror back in the day.
But I'm just too much of a rebel to be ruled by just anything, particularly
fear, so I worked on overcoming it, by using the power of knowledge to
replace ignorance - that's a major component in how I've been able to
survive to this day. So I learned about insects, including flies, and in
the light of knowledge, the fear subsided. Not only that, I found that I
have an affinity for insects, and many other creatures too. Also, like with
autistic persons, Ignorance also results in insects being misunderstood,
and feared, and regarded negatively too, so there's a commonality right
there.
Post by Phil W LeeSadly, I've forgotten almost all I ever knew about geology.
Lacking any forward path of study (this was well pre-internet) or
means of applying my knowledge, I lost interest and remember hardly
any of it any more.
I wonder if that's like riding a bicycle, that you'll never really forget
it and a refresher will bring it all right back.
Post by Phil W LeeSeveral other interests have foundered for the same reason.
At least with the advent of the internet I can pursue interests to the
limit of current knowledge, even if I lack the formal qualifications
to be allowed to apply what I learn.
Formal is a bunch of silly hype, because knowledge is knowledge - if you've
got it, it doesn't matter where or how you came by it, only that you did,
and if you can actually Apply that knowledge, you'll be leaps and bounds
ahead of, once again, the Herd, no matter how formally they went about it.
Post by Phil W LeeI wouldn't call them either - it's just different. NeuroAtypical?
I like to use the term NeuroExceptional because it sounds more positive,
which after all, is the intention considering all the negative positions so
often taken with regards to autism. I remember when those with autism were
once considered to be somehow mentally 'retarded', but once that was proven
wrong over and over, the Manipulation crowd had to do some backpedalling
and Design Their so-called autism 'spectrum', which in reality, is a
Collection of behavior models which They have decided should be included
together, so they can more easily generate Billing Codes when 'treating'
the condition, and also so then can use the Blanket term 'autism spectrum
disorder'...along with, of course, 'Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Not
Otherwise Specified'...covering all the bases.
Meanwhile, autistic kids are still often considered 'educable mentally
handicapped' because we learn differently than the rest of the Herd...and
so are considered basically 'throw-away' 'write-offs', when what they, and
the rest of us, Really Need is Understanding and most of all, Respect. I
went through it myself, in the 2nd grade with a 'teacher' who Deliberately
and totally humiliated me in front of the entire class, calling me
'stupid', 'unable to learn', 'unteachable', and ultimately, a 'vegetable',
and kicking me out of her classroom, telling me to go next door to ask
another teacher what she can do with a 'vegetable' because my 'teacher'
gave up. Although I did not go so far as getting 'stamped' with the
'offical' Label. But I got my 'revenge', and showed her - while in her
class, I was in my first science fair and the youngest student in the
school ever to be in one, so that really put her foot in her mouth.
Post by Phil W LeeWhile it may be exceptional in one area, that is frequently limited in
extent, and offset by deficits in other areas.
Sure, but not necessarily any more than with anyone else i.e. NT - but it's
always the autistic persons that get the most negative attention for it and
that's unfair.
Post by Phil W LeeAll it needs is an acceptance that people are different, and trying to
ram them into standard moulds just doesn't work.
So very easy to say - because it's True, yet so Disgustingly Difficult to
achieve, because as my 'autism anthem', track 7. "Be Who You Are" from my
first album, "Opening A Channel" puts it in the bridge:
in a world of molded plastic people it's so hard to get to where you're
needin' to go
when you won't play their silly plastic fool's game and be
inducted in their status quo
Post by Phil W LeeThe more standardised the model, the greater the proportion of the
population that it won't work for.
That applies in many areas, not just education.
It's applied to practically everything, and it's Their Game, and it's
Designed to do just that, to more Effectively Facilitate Manipulation and
Control...which means that it's Rigged, and therefore the best move is NOT
TO PLAY!
Post by Phil W LeeYeah, why are "Autism speaks" so discriminatory as to not have any
people on their board who are on the spectrum?
Because They want Control, while Pretending to speak on behalf of autistic
persons - well THEY SURE DON'T SPEAK FOR ME!!!