Autism: A Condition, Not a Disease
According to mainstream theory, autism is always presented as a disease or deficit. But what if we perceived it as a condition instead? What are the strengths and abilities that can be found with this condition ?
The society has a great prejudice against autism. History has plenty of examples of intolerance and stigma towards various mental illnesses but autism is definitely one.
Commonly, the society is regarding autistic strengths and atypical ability silently. Autism is often portrayed with hurtful words
Autism or more scientifically known as Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder that affects communication and behavior. Although autism can be diagnosed at any age, it is said to be a “developmental disorder” because symptoms generally appear in the first two years of life.
According to American Psychiatric Association (APA), people with ASD have:
- Difficulty communicating and interacting with other people
- Restricted interests and repetitive behavior
- Struggle with ability to function properly in school, work, and other areas
Even at the annual meeting of the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR),
The Neurodiversity Movement is currently dividing the autism community. Even academic research on it hasn’t come to a conclusion.
However, according to a recent genetic study involving identical and non-identical twins identified that 56–95% of the observed characteristics are genetic in origin: autism comes from genetic differences known as polymorphisms.
Autism is an example of natural variation. Current estimates are that 1 in 100 people are on the autistic spectrum: that translates to around 641,000 people in Britain. If autism were truly a disease, something of detriment, why do autistic variants of genes perpetuate? In the UK, security services employ its more than 10% staff from “neurodivergent” population, including people on the autistic spectrum such as dyslexia, dyspraxia and Asperger’s.
Autistic people reject being perceived as “disability”.
They are simply evoking their right as an equal, divergent member of the society.
A consequential amount of the research on autism is funded by pharmaceutical industry. Pharmaceutical industry has an interest in the continuous perception of autism as a disease.
Diagnosed or not, an autistic person knows they are different and has the right to know they belong to a distinct minority group. The classic image of autism is incorrect. 75% of autistic people are verbal and learning disability is distinct from autism. Most people will know an autistic person but may not know that they are autistic.
Autistic people are simply genetically and neurologically distinct.
Autism is an evolutionary branch on the great genetic tree.
It’s pretty rare to find an autistic person who enjoyed their time at school. Many autistics have suffered from abuse from their classmates. Autistic adults live isolated lives, shunned by their communities as “weird,” “odd” and unworthy. Those who are highly educated and successful believe “coming out” a terrifying thing to do, as they learned to communicate and behave as the society expects adults to behave like, but which is really difficult for them.
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