Autism Can Be an 'Advantage,' Researcher Says

I have Asperger's Syndrome, one of the least severe of autistic disorders and I even make my living as a writer. But I am so happy to read this article. It is about time. I am sick of reading about my symptoms as judged by so-called neuro-typicals, eg. being told that I have no empathy. One reason I don't wear my emotions on my sleeve is that I feel too intensely the pain of others and must re-channel/avoid it just to deal. If the autistic have no empathy, why do they show such affection to animals others would rather eat? Supposedly we don't care what people think of us, but maybe we just don't like being social hypocrites. The autistic brain adapts, using areas most don't, out of necessity. Thomas Jefferson, Mozart, Einstein, Newton, Bill Gates and many more notables very likely had/have some form of high functioning autism. Maybe those with more extreme varieties are capable of more than we allow?

All three of my kids are in the high functioning Autistic spectrum, as is my brother. My brother has a degree in physics, was an Eagle scout and was in track but was rejected by the military because they believe autistic means stupid, my daughter started college at 15, was published at 13, and helped found a national charity for vets at 16, my middle child was in college at 16 and my youngest who was mostly non-verbal early in his life (he would hum musical scores to communicate) is preparing to go to college. It took homeschooling and special classes but they are more successful than their 'normal' peers (like allowing my daughter to draw on the walls, giving them adult textbooks from the beginning and making them interact with the public to 'help' other people when they would never have allowed it for themselves)

2 out of three were reading shakespeare at 5. All were reading at college level by the time they were 9. They also were fairly clueless about how and why 'normal people' act the way they do. We made a point of having social behavior and common motivation classes right next to math lessons. How to act like a normal person was a class, as were lessons about looking people in the eyes, dealing with textures they didn't like and desensitization of other things. My husband and I worked opposite shifts so we could work with our kids all the time. Now most people have no clue they are not normal other than the fact they are much smarter than the average bear and are great listeners because they are just as happy not talking as talking, they care for other people and do not get into the 'partying' of their peers because being out of control sucks. We still have to have lessons about what is a pot and what is a pan, bathing and brushing hair and seeing something from another's perspective and logic lessons but my mainly non-verbal son is now learning 2 other languages and is fantastic at astronomy, geography through the ages and identifying sharks. All can cook gourmet meals, talk with strangers and all have marketable skills beyond their college work.

My daughter at 20 has already made the world a better place and saved lives. My sons have helped. Their 'normal' cousins of the same age are not in college and one already has a kid. Which do you think you would rather have?

Actually this article gives me hope since I am an adult with aspergers syndrome; High functioning autism. I have been able to go to social events with small groups or even to a restaurant with a small group of people at my table. But I am still deathly afraid of public speaking and will sit quietly for hours until the right topic comes up. Because I was mocked and made fun of as a child I am also deathly afraid that if I say something in a large group that I will make a fool of myself and be laughed at because I misunderstand due to my lack of ability to recognize non verbal body language. But I am one of the lucky ones, I have a high intelligence to help offset my social ineptitude, IQ 145. But life has still been difficult, I was beat up on a daily basis because I was different form the other kids. The learning disabilities that come with aspergers made it hard to succeed in most subjects in school, but my parents worked with me and I am successful today. Those of you with autism or aspergers; or have children or loved ones with autism or aspergershave my support prayers. Those of you who mock or disparage them have my pity for your ignorance.

I just want to point out that Dr. Temple Grandin has autism. She has the classic kind. She doesn't have Aspergers Syndrome. She had speech delays to the point that she hummed and screamed to communicate. She benefited from early intervention therapies. Not all high functioning autistics have Aspergers Syndrome.

As the father of an autistic 16 year old I can tell you that advantages, if there are any, are limited to the highest functioning who have asbergers syndrom. There are no advantages for lower funtioning autistic people. Their lives are a constant strugle to understand and cope with situations and concepts that are elementary for the rest of us. And for those of you that don't like the idea of autism or consider it just another protected class of people that have to be provided for, you can thank whatever deity you can name that you are not among those with autism.

Yeah same here this article is cool, I have aspergers.. and have alot of those traits that were explained. And for those that think autism is more of a disavantage, its really not.. theres alot of famous, smart and successful people that have/had some form of autism, Albert Einstein, Mozart, Thomas Jefferson, Mark Twain.. the list goes on. And theres a show on the Science Channel, called Ingenious Minds, its about people who have autism, and yet have an amazing gift/skill.. you should check it out.

I am the father of two autistic children. Come live with me for a few months and then tell me how my kids have an advantage.

I am 65 years old and have autism spectrum disorder. I have managed to lead an independent life throughout my adulthood. I have been married twice and widowed twice and am getting ready to marry for the third time. Furthermore, I am generally happy with my life.
What's more, I have some abilities that few others have. The other day, I came up with an eight-digit number in my head. A colleague asked me how I came up with it, and he was amazed that I had squared a four-digit number in my head to come up with the eight-digit number.
Would I consider autism an advantage? Absolutely no way. To illustrate why, some blind people can recognize a person by his or her approaching footsteps. How many such blind people, however, would therefore consider their blindness an advantage? How many deaf people who can read lips would consider their deafness an advantage? It's ludicrous to call a disability an advantage.
Dr. Mottron is concerned really with the ability to exploit autistic people and not with the effect of autism on the quality of life of people who have it -- or the quality of life of their family members, for that matter. It's almost as bad as saying a midget has an advantage over people of average stature because he can appear in a circus side show.

I have a friend, her kid was diagnosed with this so called "Autism" .. he is now in the 8 grade and on the honor roll. He is able to speak well, yet lacks some emotion. He has now be re-diagnosed, and does not have Autism!! my friend was VERY angry because she had been treating her son as if he had something wrong with him :( I think that looking in to the issue is great. I also feel that there are thousands that have be diagnosed with Autism indeed do not have it, but some other type of abnormality( what ever normal maybe )

My son has autism and is presently going to college. The issue many high functioning individuals with autism have is with poor communication skills. His chances of employment are next to nil because he will never past an interview. He has difficulty both in listening to verbal communication and formulating responses in a timely manner. Yes he is quite intelligent and yes he can remember things far better then us "normal" people.

Go to any university or tech company and tell me most of the tenured professors and engineers aren't on the autistic spectrum. The advantages don't always outweigh the disadvantages in a world that so desperately wants you to be "normal". But, there CAN be advantages. Help your children develop their strengths and you may find you're surprised how many strengths they have! (BTW, I am the parent of an autistic child.)

We need to spend more on research for Autism. Maybe if we bring our troops home and stop sending money to every country in the world that shows up with their hands out.

Most autistic children have severe problems.Many can't talk or communicate.Our Granddaughter went through a living hell until she got older.She will never have a normal life.

Everybody talks about raising HFA/Asperger kids. Try being raised by one. Loads of fun, being dismissed as inferior because I was "too emotional" and "not logical enough". After years of therapy, I can see how handicapped my father was -- and at least two of my brothers are -- and how normal I really was. You can call me "neurotypical" all day long. But that does not diminish the fact that I am playing symphonies while you are stuck on "Chopsticks".

This article is OBVIOUSLY referring to those with Asperger's.

Personally, I think autism (and other such conditions) are evolutions way of looking for the next way to arrange the thought proccess.
Some arrangements work well in some situations, some are detrimental in others, some are just not ever going to be any good. But the diversity in thought proccesses is a strength for the species in a changing world.

To whom, the researchers?

No one ever talks about the Sotistics. You know... The people (typically female) that simply cannot understand math, have great difficulty understanding their position in three dimensional space, don't understand how cars work, think logic is some kind of icky log, often have ADHD, and are too busy talking, texting, facebooking, and fixing their makeup to keep a job. Four out of five of these Sotistics are dependent on their parents through their entire adult lives.

people are stupid

interesting article-