Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional April is National Autism Awareness Month

Well, of course. And yet one may say that a key function of critical thinking and writing is to distinguish the wheat from the chaff. I, for one, will continue to praise those resources that appear to me to have value and credibility.

I would be interested in seeing that thread, if you ever feel up to starting it!



I don't see any reference in that link to sensory-free rooms or stimming - could you please clarify? Perhaps you posted the wrong link.

The material which I referenced precedes the text of the article, and is found in the text of the word-cloud, Autism acceptance is...:
"stimming together"
"allowing my child to stim"
"providing sensory-free rooms"
"allowing people to stim"
"stimming in public without shame"

I see. It seems that the small size of the words in the word cloud (which is supposed to indicate their frequency) does support DeeDee's suggestion that these are not universal experiences of autism.

Numerous others apparently praise the book you seem to discredit, as it carries a 4.7 star rating on amazon where it has been rated as the #11 best seller in the category of Autism & Asperger's Syndrome, and #23 in the category of Special Needs. The author has been recognized with a number of awards in the field.

While it is admirable to praise those resources that appear to you to have value and credibility, many find a way to do so without discrediting the resources shared by others ("full of inappropriate stereotypes (such as visual learners, sensory dysfunction, literal thinking)... makes it hard to get our child's needs met".)

There may be an art to agreeably recommending alternate resources without attempting to discredit that which was offered to start a thread.

Glad you found it.

The real question here may be, who suggested these ARE universal experiences of autism?

This post shares "There is a spectrum, your child may be on the spectrum but there is no expectation that a child on the spectrum would match every characteristic. Lists of characteristics generally provide a broad umbrella, or a wide net... they are meant to be inclusive. Similarly, lists of gifted characteristics do not imply or infer that a gifted child will exhibit ALL characteristics, or will exhibit characteristics to a particular degree".

When a person argues against something which has not been said, this is called a "strawman" argument and is considered a flawed logic, or a logical fallacy.

While the small size of the words in a word cloud may indicate infrequent repetition of the exact phrase, these 5 occurrences seem to parallel the "sensory dysfunction" which DeeDee deemed an inappropriate stereotype. Thus far, we've not seen the distinction illuminated for our edification.

This is needlessly rude, indigo. DeeDee is an experienced 2E parent who is providing valuable information. There is no problem with politely disagreeing, which she has done.

I'm a little concerned with the direction this topic taking. Healthy discussion and even disagreement are welcome, but the conversation must be RESPECTFUL at all times. If the negativity continues, I will have no choice but to lock this thread. Thank you all in advance for your cooperation.

What is rude in pointing out that a resource may be shared without discrediting another resource/author?

Yes, DeeDee has provided the titles of two books and a website, and I did not discredit them.

Meanwhile some may also value the information which I provided, including the resources which were posted to begin this thread; Resources which DeeDee chose to discredit.

Although DeeDee did not like the resources with which I began this thread, the content of the resources which she provided seems to present the same/similar information which she previously termed inappropriate stereotypes, in relation to resources which I posted.

I have sought clarification as to what causes DeeDee to discredit one resource, while praising another which seems to present same/similar content.

May I politely disagree? My experience suggests that one may share a resource without attempting to discredit another resource or author as she did.

Between the resources I posted to start the thread, which DeeDee discredited, and the resources which DeeDee posted, there seems to be a difference without a distinction. Inquiring as to the differences she perceives did not yield factual information, only statements about "separating wheat and chaff", "resources that appear to have value and credibility".

I haven't read the book, but grabbing the list of ten from a reviewer:

1. I am a whole child.
2. My senses are out of sync
3. Distinguish between won't and can't
4. I am a concrete thinker, I interpret language literally
5. Listen to all the ways I'm trying to communicate
6. Picture this! I am visually orientated
7. Focus and build on what I can do rather than what I can't do
8. Help me with social interactions
9. Identify what triggers my meltdowns
10. Love me unconditionally.

#1 I have no clue what they mean without reading it. #2 is clearly about sensory issues. In my experience, the vast majority of autistic people I've talked to report some sort of sensory processing differences. I doubt it's universal, but it's pretty close.

#3, #7 and #10 are things every child needs, regardless of diagnosis.

#4 bothers me because they seem to be equating concrete thinker and interpreting language literally, when those are not the same thing. I'm a very abstract thinker, and I often interpret language literally, simply because my social issues mean I lack the frame of reference the other person is assuming. Just because I don't realize how context affects what response a person expects to a question doesn't mean I can't imagine what it would be like to be a 2-dimensional being.

#5 is especially important for those kids who don't have good spoken language skills. In my experience working with disabled kids (including lower-functioning autistic kids), every child communicates in some way, even if they can't speak. They might communicate by facial expressions, by grunting and pointing, by echoing things which are indirectly related to what they're trying to say, or by the way they hold their shoulders, but every child communicates. And if you miss the cues, the child will probably have a meltdown.

#6 is definitely not universal. In fact, some people on the autism spectrum have nonverbal learning disability, which is pretty much the exact opposite of being a visual thinker. And some struggle with both visual and verbal thinking, while being a lot better at something else. Just because Temple Grandin is a visual thinker doesn't mean every autistic is, but for a lot of people, Temple Grandin is the only autistic person they've heard talk about her own experiences, even though there's a whole list of autistic autobiographies out there.

#8 my opinion depends entirely on how the author proposes to help. Most autistic people don't want someone saying 'what you are is wrong, and to avoid getting teased you'll have to change everything about yourself', which is the message many social skills training programs unintentionally convey. It certainly is useful to gain a better understanding of why NTs act the way they do, but that doesn't mean we have to act the same way, especially when we have good reasons to do otherwise. For example, I know wearing a parka on a hot windy day will make me look strange, but wind in my hair really bugs me, and the weight of my parka is comforting even when its heat isn't.

#9 is extremely important. I don't know what the book gives, but in my experience, the most common triggers of meltdowns in autistics are sensory overload, change in routine, and social conflicts. For nonverbal or minimally verbal individuals, communication failures also top the list. Not all autistics have meltdowns, but most do, because dealing with a world designed for neurotypicals can be intolerably stressful a lot of the time. The vast majority of autistic meltdowns can be prevented by the right environmental accommodations.