Misconceptions Of Autism
1. People say that there are multiple different services open to those who are physically and mentally challenged, but those who are quoted ‘normal’ are so much more privileged and don’t understand the disadvantages these people have. Some services are available, but due to their state, they may not be able to even access them. People may also say that they support those people, but as soon as they are confronted by someone in that situation, they wouldn’t treat them the way that they say that they would. Yes, our society has progressed a lot in regards to supporting those who are physically and mentally challenged, but it still is not at a standard where we can say that they are ‘accepted’ into our society. This is because of their unique
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difference and unnecessary stereotypes and standards that they cannot ‘fit’ in because of beliefs that they are incapable of doing so, and so they are treated and spoken to differently. We are equal and should be treated as how we would treat everyone else. The progression of society of acceptance and support has occurred, but this further shows that we still have progress to make of full acceptance that they deserve.
2. As defined by Collins Dictionary, a mental disability is “a general or specific intellectual handicap, resulting directly or indirectly from injury to the brain or from abnormal neurological development”. This means that the disability does not affect their physique, but it may affect how they think or move.
Autism refers to different conditions that is known for the challenges of social skills, repetitive behaviours, speech and nonverbal communications.
It is caused by a mixture of genetics and environmental influences, and is first seen in an individual when they are between 2-3 years old. A common misconception is that autism is a ‘mental illness’ (following the definition above), but it is rather a condition with some elements of illness, but more strengths and differences. The illness aspect comes into the condition a little because of how certain medical and mental health issues can go alongside autism, such as Gastrointestinal Disorders, ADHD, anxiety and phobias, night terrors and sleep disturbances, and seizures/epilepsy. Autism is also referred to as ‘Autism Spectrum Disorder’ because the spectrum ranges of different types of Autism too. These affect the severity of the individual’s social skills and communications, language use and behaviours, since every individual’s diagnosis is …show more content…
different.
There is no way to ‘cure’ Autism (But personally, if you had it, I do not see why you would want to get rid of it). As someone who falls on the ASD (I have traces of Asperger’s Syndrome), I do not see any difference between living with Autism and without it. An individual with Autism does have some issues with social skills and interactions with the world, but it allows them to think in a way that no one else would. It is like a computer: it isn’t an error, but rather a different operating system.
In society, people mainly pay attention to the children with autism. Whilst this is not a negative, it means that those adolescents and adults who live with autism find services to support them with any issues that they may have. Since autism has come to a light where it is known, stereotypes have been made around the disorder. The most common stereotype (especially in youth) is the stereotype that started online around autism that is also inappropriate slang-terms for someone acting or thinking stupidly, or even used as an insult by calling someone autistic. This kind of slang and stereotype has made itself into online meme culture, which is wide and fast spreading, spreading the misconception of autism further. This leads to further exclusion in society, and these people not being accepted into society. This is hard for those who live with autism or know someone with autism; the feeling that one of the major parts of you that makes you unique, is not taken seriously. With the right education though, we can stop these stereotypes and begin to show society that autism is just a different way of thinking.
3. Inclusive can be defined as “including all, embracing others and catering for all”. There are a few services and organisations that include these people, such as:
• Inclusive and Social Sports
• Community Clubs (Lions, Rotary, etc.)
• Most Schools
• Health Services
Such example of inclusivity in the movie ‘Radio’ is after Radio is tied up by the high school footballers, Coach Jones then invites Radio back to the training to assist coaching the teams. This not only benefitted Radio as he began to be understood and ‘accepted’ into society, but it also benefitted the rest of the town and Hanna High School, since they learned that some of the best people are the ones that we decide to avoid.
Exclusive – “only catering or available to a small demographic”
• Friendship groups
• Some areas of the town (Not accessible by the disabled)
• Some schools (Single sex, racial preferences, etc.)
Such examples of exclusivity in the movie ‘Radio’ is when Radio and Coach Jones were in the café together, but the waitress was clearly hesitant to serve them because of who Radio was. The rest of the patrons of the café could also be seen staring and judging Radio, which suggested and showed that they were not welcoming of Radio in a public venue for all. This shows us how little society has progressed, because if you think about it; when someone with a disability or difference is seen in public, most people stare at them and try to figure out why they are the way that they are. We would not do this to everyone, so why do we do it to these people?
4. This question asks why people make fun of disabled people, and there are multiple different reasons to this, but they all can be summarised in one sentence. Those with disabilities have always been excluded from the inner circle of society; not being able to access the same services as others, and constantly having to live with the assumption that they may not be capable to carry out tasks that they can do themselves. There is quite a stigma around these disabilities and illnesses, and that they are a ‘special snowflake’ or weak for having a chronic/mental illness. This stigma originates from the idea that these people do not ‘fit in’, or follow the crowd. Using the movie ‘Radio’ as an example, in the opening scene of Radio walking down the street, a mother hushes her children and guards them from him, and another man walking by lowers his hat so that he cannot see Radio. I believe that this is because they do not want to embrace the fact that there are different people out there, and that they only see what Radio is on physical level. Some of the nicest people that I have met have had some form of disability. All people need to do is be open and accepting, and then you can truly find the good in people they would have never expected.
5.
In the movie ‘Radio’, Coach Jones’ wife states, “It’s never wrong to care about someone”, and it has been debated whether we should agree or disagree with it as a moral to live life by. I personally agree with the statement, and my reasoning is to put yourself into someone else’s shoes. Everyone wants that feeling of a caring figure and someone looking out for you, who genuinely takes interest in what you do and enjoy. It encourages you to care more for others too, because you know that good feeling of love. Everyone has goodness in them, and everyone has the right to have such attention and care. It allows for the person receiving the care, and the person providing the care, to experience a whole range of positive emotions of satisfaction and understanding. Caring for someone creates ties and strong friendships/relationships between people, and can create an understanding that you will not get any other way. Take Coach Jones for example: he reached out to Radio and understood him like no one outside of his family has. This allowed him to connect with other people throughout the town and ‘fit’ into society, meaning that even more people cared about him. One man’s simple actions created a ripple effect and brought a kind man who did not have many people to reach out to many new people. Caring about someone is such a small action, but it can mean so much more to someone than what it may
seem.
6. Acts of prejudice because of stereotype are so common nowadays, but just because it is more common does not mean that it is acceptable. At my old school, one of my friends is treated poorly or not even engaged with because he has Asperger’s Syndrome. He is a lovely boy and if only the people who do this could see past his Asperger’s, so that they can see how truly amazing he is. I tried to engage in as much conversation as possible with him, and I tried to include him into anything I was doing. It was not as much as I could have done, since I would spend a lot of my time with my other friends too, but I believe that by telling him that he was my friend and that he could come to me for anything really helped him. This relates back to question 4: caring for someone can affect them a lot more than what you believe, but the effort you put into caring for someone will influence the affect that it has on the receiving end.
7. One of the most well-known and influential servants of them all was Jesus Christ. Jesus is the son of God, who was born by the Virgin Mary on Earth to do good to all, accept and bring light to those who were in less fortunate situations, and spread the good news of God. He healed the sick, fed and gave to the poor, showed generosity and compassion to all he met, and did it all in the goodness of the Lord. Despite being the son of God himself, he called himself a servant, and it was his mission to serve the people, so that they could learn to serve others in his name. He prioritised the people on earth so much more than himself that he sacrificed his own life so that we could all benefit. He would tend to anyone who needed assistance, and he would take his own time to teach others about what it means to show service to others. Such example of his teachings is the story of the Good Samaritan, where a man of a completely different religion and background came to help a man who had just been beaten and robbed. This story was used to teach those who read and heard it to love your neighbour, and good things will be returned back to you. He taught forgiveness over vengeance, love over hatred, generosity over greed, and compassion over bitterness, and his teachings are still being taught all over the world 2000 years later. Jesus started a movement of what we now call ‘Christianity’, and that movement has become the largest and most practiced religion in the world. The call to service lives within us, and Christ’s actions and teachings is what we can use as an example of how to serve others.
difference and unnecessary stereotypes and standards that they cannot ‘fit’ in because of beliefs that they are incapable of doing so, and so they are treated and spoken to differently. We are equal and should be treated as how we would treat everyone else. The progression of society of acceptance and support has occurred, but this further shows that we still have progress to make of full acceptance that they deserve.
2. As defined by Collins Dictionary, a mental disability is “a general or specific intellectual handicap, resulting directly or indirectly from injury to the brain or from abnormal neurological development”. This means that the disability does not affect their physique, but it may affect how they think or move.
Autism refers to different conditions that is known for the challenges of social skills, repetitive behaviours, speech and nonverbal communications.
It is caused by a mixture of genetics and environmental influences, and is first seen in an individual when they are between 2-3 years old. A common misconception is that autism is a ‘mental illness’ (following the definition above), but it is rather a condition with some elements of illness, but more strengths and differences. The illness aspect comes into the condition a little because of how certain medical and mental health issues can go alongside autism, such as Gastrointestinal Disorders, ADHD, anxiety and phobias, night terrors and sleep disturbances, and seizures/epilepsy. Autism is also referred to as ‘Autism Spectrum Disorder’ because the spectrum ranges of different types of Autism too. These affect the severity of the individual’s social skills and communications, language use and behaviours, since every individual’s diagnosis is …show more content…
different.
There is no way to ‘cure’ Autism (But personally, if you had it, I do not see why you would want to get rid of it). As someone who falls on the ASD (I have traces of Asperger’s Syndrome), I do not see any difference between living with Autism and without it. An individual with Autism does have some issues with social skills and interactions with the world, but it allows them to think in a way that no one else would. It is like a computer: it isn’t an error, but rather a different operating system.
In society, people mainly pay attention to the children with autism. Whilst this is not a negative, it means that those adolescents and adults who live with autism find services to support them with any issues that they may have. Since autism has come to a light where it is known, stereotypes have been made around the disorder. The most common stereotype (especially in youth) is the stereotype that started online around autism that is also inappropriate slang-terms for someone acting or thinking stupidly, or even used as an insult by calling someone autistic. This kind of slang and stereotype has made itself into online meme culture, which is wide and fast spreading, spreading the misconception of autism further. This leads to further exclusion in society, and these people not being accepted into society. This is hard for those who live with autism or know someone with autism; the feeling that one of the major parts of you that makes you unique, is not taken seriously. With the right education though, we can stop these stereotypes and begin to show society that autism is just a different way of thinking.
3. Inclusive can be defined as “including all, embracing others and catering for all”. There are a few services and organisations that include these people, such as:
• Inclusive and Social Sports
• Community Clubs (Lions, Rotary, etc.)
• Most Schools
• Health Services
Such example of inclusivity in the movie ‘Radio’ is after Radio is tied up by the high school footballers, Coach Jones then invites Radio back to the training to assist coaching the teams. This not only benefitted Radio as he began to be understood and ‘accepted’ into society, but it also benefitted the rest of the town and Hanna High School, since they learned that some of the best people are the ones that we decide to avoid.
Exclusive – “only catering or available to a small demographic”
• Friendship groups
• Some areas of the town (Not accessible by the disabled)
• Some schools (Single sex, racial preferences, etc.)
Such examples of exclusivity in the movie ‘Radio’ is when Radio and Coach Jones were in the café together, but the waitress was clearly hesitant to serve them because of who Radio was. The rest of the patrons of the café could also be seen staring and judging Radio, which suggested and showed that they were not welcoming of Radio in a public venue for all. This shows us how little society has progressed, because if you think about it; when someone with a disability or difference is seen in public, most people stare at them and try to figure out why they are the way that they are. We would not do this to everyone, so why do we do it to these people?
4. This question asks why people make fun of disabled people, and there are multiple different reasons to this, but they all can be summarised in one sentence. Those with disabilities have always been excluded from the inner circle of society; not being able to access the same services as others, and constantly having to live with the assumption that they may not be capable to carry out tasks that they can do themselves. There is quite a stigma around these disabilities and illnesses, and that they are a ‘special snowflake’ or weak for having a chronic/mental illness. This stigma originates from the idea that these people do not ‘fit in’, or follow the crowd. Using the movie ‘Radio’ as an example, in the opening scene of Radio walking down the street, a mother hushes her children and guards them from him, and another man walking by lowers his hat so that he cannot see Radio. I believe that this is because they do not want to embrace the fact that there are different people out there, and that they only see what Radio is on physical level. Some of the nicest people that I have met have had some form of disability. All people need to do is be open and accepting, and then you can truly find the good in people they would have never expected.
5.
In the movie ‘Radio’, Coach Jones’ wife states, “It’s never wrong to care about someone”, and it has been debated whether we should agree or disagree with it as a moral to live life by. I personally agree with the statement, and my reasoning is to put yourself into someone else’s shoes. Everyone wants that feeling of a caring figure and someone looking out for you, who genuinely takes interest in what you do and enjoy. It encourages you to care more for others too, because you know that good feeling of love. Everyone has goodness in them, and everyone has the right to have such attention and care. It allows for the person receiving the care, and the person providing the care, to experience a whole range of positive emotions of satisfaction and understanding. Caring for someone creates ties and strong friendships/relationships between people, and can create an understanding that you will not get any other way. Take Coach Jones for example: he reached out to Radio and understood him like no one outside of his family has. This allowed him to connect with other people throughout the town and ‘fit’ into society, meaning that even more people cared about him. One man’s simple actions created a ripple effect and brought a kind man who did not have many people to reach out to many new people. Caring about someone is such a small action, but it can mean so much more to someone than what it may
seem.
6. Acts of prejudice because of stereotype are so common nowadays, but just because it is more common does not mean that it is acceptable. At my old school, one of my friends is treated poorly or not even engaged with because he has Asperger’s Syndrome. He is a lovely boy and if only the people who do this could see past his Asperger’s, so that they can see how truly amazing he is. I tried to engage in as much conversation as possible with him, and I tried to include him into anything I was doing. It was not as much as I could have done, since I would spend a lot of my time with my other friends too, but I believe that by telling him that he was my friend and that he could come to me for anything really helped him. This relates back to question 4: caring for someone can affect them a lot more than what you believe, but the effort you put into caring for someone will influence the affect that it has on the receiving end.
7. One of the most well-known and influential servants of them all was Jesus Christ. Jesus is the son of God, who was born by the Virgin Mary on Earth to do good to all, accept and bring light to those who were in less fortunate situations, and spread the good news of God. He healed the sick, fed and gave to the poor, showed generosity and compassion to all he met, and did it all in the goodness of the Lord. Despite being the son of God himself, he called himself a servant, and it was his mission to serve the people, so that they could learn to serve others in his name. He prioritised the people on earth so much more than himself that he sacrificed his own life so that we could all benefit. He would tend to anyone who needed assistance, and he would take his own time to teach others about what it means to show service to others. Such example of his teachings is the story of the Good Samaritan, where a man of a completely different religion and background came to help a man who had just been beaten and robbed. This story was used to teach those who read and heard it to love your neighbour, and good things will be returned back to you. He taught forgiveness over vengeance, love over hatred, generosity over greed, and compassion over bitterness, and his teachings are still being taught all over the world 2000 years later. Jesus started a movement of what we now call ‘Christianity’, and that movement has become the largest and most practiced religion in the world. The call to service lives within us, and Christ’s actions and teachings is what we can use as an example of how to serve others.