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[vileseagulls]

If anyone wants a heavy but fascinating read on an alternate theory of autism, specifically that there are two types of empathy and autism follows as a natural consequence from a deficit in one but not the other--

who am I kidding, if you don't actually have aspergers or autism you're not going to click this link.

It's awesome, though.

The

Comments

[lemmealone]

Ooh, bookmarking this. One of my sister's boys is autistic, and it sounds like it might be good for the future.

[vileseagulls]

It's a heavy frickin read, so I'd be willing to provide a detailed summary in plain English if you or she needs it.

[lemmealone]

I'm okay with it - not my subject so I'll need to read it through a couple of times, but not the worst I've come across.

(I don't know if I like the term 'mindblind' for people on the spectrum, though. WTF sci-fi plagiarism?)

[vileseagulls]

That's Simon Baron-Cohen's term, and he spends slot of time talking about how wrong sbc is.

Also, sbc is kind of a douche in multiple ways, and all his conclusions are wrong. But that's my conjecture.

[vileseagulls]

Yes, I have aspergers, though it's on the mild side. I didn't get any therapy as a kid and turned into a pretty well-rounded adult anyway.

That's really interesting. I do a fair bit of mirroring too (that I'm aware of) and have a hell of a lot of sympathetic reactions. I have trouble watching masterchef because the last 15 minutes of any challenge makes my chest hurt with stress, haha.

[vileseagulls]

I probably would have benefited from some therapy for social issues, but no one knew I needed it. I did go to a Montessori school until I was 11 though, so I think that was a big help. If nothing else, because I didn't have to contend with the normal school system until I was a bit more equipped

[vileseagulls]

Yay! I've always had a thing for psychology and neurology so finding links like this is like Christmas, haha.

[goseaward]

A really interesting read (um, that I just read now :D yay for long-open tabs getting closed!). I can see this being an explanation at least for some kinds of autism, maybe not all--I was a little concerned about the bit where he was all "well some people might have low EE and be misclassified as having autism, so we'd have to weed them out", which is begging the question more than a little.

Some of the features he explains definitely fit me even though I'm not on the spectrum. (And in general I'd say if there is a BAP, lots of people--on both sides of my family--fit it.) The reason I mention that is this part:

Indeed, displaying positive emotion in consistent and predictable ways could be one of the most therapeutic techniques that caregivers might employ

My mom told me a few years ago--I don't remember the context--that she and my dad made a decision that they would always act happy to see me, no matter what was going on. In other words, they basically did that. I wonder if it made a difference?

[vileseagulls]

Well, yeah. But it's still better than Simon Baron-Cohen, who, in the face of the dozens of people telling him he was completely wrong, told them all they just weren't autistic enough. On a scale of terrible theories, this one is less terrible than most, and actually involves listening to the opinions of autistic people, which is a radical and astonishing notion. :/

Huh, that's interesting. I do wonder if that same technique is actually good advice for a lot of kids, just because everyone wants to be wanted. Worth studying, because I really don't think there's much research into ideas like that.

[goseaward]

Oh, no, I totally agree--Baron-Cohen has always gotten on my nerves. And I would say this theory fits the people I've known with Asperger much better than other theories which seem to boil down to "they're emotionally dumb" (sigh). I was just concerned about his specific proposal to test it, that's all!