Autistic/Multiple overlap
Mar. 16th, 2005 06:30 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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plural_living, paradigmshifter, multiplicity
I posted an article about aspy/autisic multiples to my forums about this some time ago and it's drawn absolutely no reaction. Yet I know We Are Out There. Because, well, I know three, possibly four aspy multis personally, disincluding myself.
I can find lots about being multi, and lots about being aspy/autistic, but only scattered comments here and there about the overlap. I think there's a need to get the ball rolling. And if you have and I don't know, well, THAT is something I very much want to know about.
If nothing else, please participate in the interest poll at the top of the article.
The article text follows; feel free to swipe it with due credit.
More and more Aspies and Multis are talking about the overlap in spectra; the first I heard of the possibility was ten years or so ago; a fully autistic woman who was also multi, and it was felt (by the medical community) that autism had been the "cause."
I have always been suspicious of the idea that multiplicity is "caused," per-se, nor did I ever feel comfortable with it being called a "disorder;" I feel very strongly that is both misleading and counterproductive. I do realize that people heavily invested in the US medical model may tend to disagree, but to quote Dr. Phil; "And how well has that been working for you?"
To me, the proof of the validity of a treatment is that it works; and it seems to me that people who follow the advice of empowered multis who have been there and done that seem to deal more rapidly with the issues involved in being a multiple who is (often quite literally) disordered.
Both Colon Ross's approach to multiplicity and the ABA style of behavior mod focus on the condition as a disease to be stamped out, rather than a naturally different way of thinking, feeling and perceiving. It doesn't play to our strengths to adapt for our weaknesses; indeed, IMHO, it tells us that our most important abilities are disabilities and every effort is made to stamp them out.
My opinion, backed only by experience. An awful lot of painfully frustrating experience, actually. I'm by no means suggesting the idea of neglecting or omitting therapy. On the contrary; what I'm suggesting is a different approach. And for those of us who have little or no mental health coverage, there is little choice, really; one has to address the issues oneself, or not get them addressed at all. In my case, this has been largely successful, though I'm aware that an outside reality check would have allowed me to progress much faster.
The same is true of autistic spectrum disorders, unfortunately. The medical and parent advocacy communities are invested heavily in behavior-mod approaches that are not at all the "cure" that they want. And of course, many of us take the idea of being "cured" as being rather offensive, especially given the trade-offs many parents and professionals seem entirely willing to make.
Many of these behavioristic-style "resources" seem to be staffed with people who do not seem qualified to substitute teach normal kids in a kindergarten, so I am extremely dubious; behavior mod is an extremely powerful tool - not unlike hypnosis in it's ability to bend minds - and there seems little recognition that there is a mind already there. IMHO.
Most tragic to me is the idea that such people seem to have; that there is a "normal" child "trapped" inside the disease of autism.
Well, autism may or may not be a disease or disorder, but it is also a difference in nature; in basic wiring. Therefore, any approach must start with the abilities and deficits that exist "normally" for an autistic person.
Ok, this is where the threads blend. If a person happens to be born with the ability to dissociate and on the autistic spectrum, it may well be that they develop a very powerful blending of both traits. They learn to create different personalities for different situations and routines. They learn (each and severally) to develop tolerances to adapt for sensory issues and overloads - just as abused multis develop people to hold abuse trauma.
I've got a deep, dark suspicion that I might well be diagnosed as full-blown autistic without my ability to switch. And the nature of my multiplicity is quite different than more "classical" Wilburian multiples; I do not lose time in the normal way; we have always been co-conscious, and we are invisibly smooth switchers, to the extent that we are often unaware that we have switched. Whoever is "front" always knows what's going on with solid memory tracks and awareness of context.
Until I had a nervous breakdown as an adult based on stresses that were relationship-based, I had no idea that I was multiple, nor any idea that my thought processes were in any way different than anyone else's. I mean, who thinks about how they think? We had to, because all those smooth operations broke down for a time.
When I was assessed on intake, they had some tests for me to take. One was a stress assessment; and given the daily pressures of the previous decade or so, they should have seen me a lot sooner. A LOT sooner! Somehow I was able to muddle through, despite being both multiple and autistic under circumstances that ought to make a normal person head straight for a rubber room and barricade the door behind them.
And I can't even say that I was particularly aware that I was under a lot of stress.
Now, there's no free lunch; when I broke, I broke down big-time. But that simply would not have happened had I had an appropriate and "normal" support network.
In other words, given the same mix of conditions, and condition-appropriate support, adaptation and training, I feel that it's quite possible for a person such as myself to function as well or better as anyone . And let's face it, anyone in the high-IQ range is mentally high-maintenance; no matter how "normal" they are, that alone makes a huge difference in how they function; it's a trait common to both multis and aspies and can be a huge advantage and huge deficit at the same time.
Traditional medical models treat only the surface issues; dealing mainly with how we relate to other people, and trying to make us appear as "normal" as possible, without considering that our "normal" might be normally quite different. No accounting is made for the "overhead" cost of running such emulations, or how it might affect our internal functions.
And nobody thinks to ask, because, well, when we do present to the medical community, we are generally pretty damn messed up. The confusion is understandable, but it is confusion.
Therefore I'm opening the floor here to everyone concerned. I'm particularly interested in discussing treatment options for real disorders - that is to say, stuff that messes with you enough to be a disability.
For myself, I found that a registered Trauma Therapist was able to do wonders for us, by dealing with some traumatized individuals within our system. The relief was immediate; increase in function immediate. She had little direct exposure to multis, but simply by working with my own expressed reality, she was able to achieve sudden positive results.
I think behavioristic approaches that took these factors into account could also be a profound improvement. And I also think that behaviorists who recognized the advantages autistics have in certain areas would find their efforts rapidly rewarded.
plural_living, paradigmshifter, multiplicityI posted an article about aspy/autisic multiples to my forums about this some time ago and it's drawn absolutely no reaction. Yet I know We Are Out There. Because, well, I know three, possibly four aspy multis personally, disincluding myself.
I can find lots about being multi, and lots about being aspy/autistic, but only scattered comments here and there about the overlap. I think there's a need to get the ball rolling. And if you have and I don't know, well, THAT is something I very much want to know about.
If nothing else, please participate in the interest poll at the top of the article.
The article text follows; feel free to swipe it with due credit.
More and more Aspies and Multis are talking about the overlap in spectra; the first I heard of the possibility was ten years or so ago; a fully autistic woman who was also multi, and it was felt (by the medical community) that autism had been the "cause."
I have always been suspicious of the idea that multiplicity is "caused," per-se, nor did I ever feel comfortable with it being called a "disorder;" I feel very strongly that is both misleading and counterproductive. I do realize that people heavily invested in the US medical model may tend to disagree, but to quote Dr. Phil; "And how well has that been working for you?"
To me, the proof of the validity of a treatment is that it works; and it seems to me that people who follow the advice of empowered multis who have been there and done that seem to deal more rapidly with the issues involved in being a multiple who is (often quite literally) disordered.
Both Colon Ross's approach to multiplicity and the ABA style of behavior mod focus on the condition as a disease to be stamped out, rather than a naturally different way of thinking, feeling and perceiving. It doesn't play to our strengths to adapt for our weaknesses; indeed, IMHO, it tells us that our most important abilities are disabilities and every effort is made to stamp them out.
My opinion, backed only by experience. An awful lot of painfully frustrating experience, actually. I'm by no means suggesting the idea of neglecting or omitting therapy. On the contrary; what I'm suggesting is a different approach. And for those of us who have little or no mental health coverage, there is little choice, really; one has to address the issues oneself, or not get them addressed at all. In my case, this has been largely successful, though I'm aware that an outside reality check would have allowed me to progress much faster.
The same is true of autistic spectrum disorders, unfortunately. The medical and parent advocacy communities are invested heavily in behavior-mod approaches that are not at all the "cure" that they want. And of course, many of us take the idea of being "cured" as being rather offensive, especially given the trade-offs many parents and professionals seem entirely willing to make.
Many of these behavioristic-style "resources" seem to be staffed with people who do not seem qualified to substitute teach normal kids in a kindergarten, so I am extremely dubious; behavior mod is an extremely powerful tool - not unlike hypnosis in it's ability to bend minds - and there seems little recognition that there is a mind already there. IMHO.
Most tragic to me is the idea that such people seem to have; that there is a "normal" child "trapped" inside the disease of autism.
Well, autism may or may not be a disease or disorder, but it is also a difference in nature; in basic wiring. Therefore, any approach must start with the abilities and deficits that exist "normally" for an autistic person.
Ok, this is where the threads blend. If a person happens to be born with the ability to dissociate and on the autistic spectrum, it may well be that they develop a very powerful blending of both traits. They learn to create different personalities for different situations and routines. They learn (each and severally) to develop tolerances to adapt for sensory issues and overloads - just as abused multis develop people to hold abuse trauma.
I've got a deep, dark suspicion that I might well be diagnosed as full-blown autistic without my ability to switch. And the nature of my multiplicity is quite different than more "classical" Wilburian multiples; I do not lose time in the normal way; we have always been co-conscious, and we are invisibly smooth switchers, to the extent that we are often unaware that we have switched. Whoever is "front" always knows what's going on with solid memory tracks and awareness of context.
Until I had a nervous breakdown as an adult based on stresses that were relationship-based, I had no idea that I was multiple, nor any idea that my thought processes were in any way different than anyone else's. I mean, who thinks about how they think? We had to, because all those smooth operations broke down for a time.
When I was assessed on intake, they had some tests for me to take. One was a stress assessment; and given the daily pressures of the previous decade or so, they should have seen me a lot sooner. A LOT sooner! Somehow I was able to muddle through, despite being both multiple and autistic under circumstances that ought to make a normal person head straight for a rubber room and barricade the door behind them.
And I can't even say that I was particularly aware that I was under a lot of stress.
Now, there's no free lunch; when I broke, I broke down big-time. But that simply would not have happened had I had an appropriate and "normal" support network.
In other words, given the same mix of conditions, and condition-appropriate support, adaptation and training, I feel that it's quite possible for a person such as myself to function as well or better as anyone . And let's face it, anyone in the high-IQ range is mentally high-maintenance; no matter how "normal" they are, that alone makes a huge difference in how they function; it's a trait common to both multis and aspies and can be a huge advantage and huge deficit at the same time.
Traditional medical models treat only the surface issues; dealing mainly with how we relate to other people, and trying to make us appear as "normal" as possible, without considering that our "normal" might be normally quite different. No accounting is made for the "overhead" cost of running such emulations, or how it might affect our internal functions.
And nobody thinks to ask, because, well, when we do present to the medical community, we are generally pretty damn messed up. The confusion is understandable, but it is confusion.
Therefore I'm opening the floor here to everyone concerned. I'm particularly interested in discussing treatment options for real disorders - that is to say, stuff that messes with you enough to be a disability.
For myself, I found that a registered Trauma Therapist was able to do wonders for us, by dealing with some traumatized individuals within our system. The relief was immediate; increase in function immediate. She had little direct exposure to multis, but simply by working with my own expressed reality, she was able to achieve sudden positive results.
I think behavioristic approaches that took these factors into account could also be a profound improvement. And I also think that behaviorists who recognized the advantages autistics have in certain areas would find their efforts rapidly rewarded.
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swiped!
Date: 2005-03-17 03:11 pm (UTC)You know, "high IQ" is one of those wierd things - frankly, I think intelligence tests look for things that are associated with what people value/think as being intelligence.
But I also think that I am both "smarter" and "dumber" than those tests indicate. And I KNOW I'm really, really good at taking tests.
Anyway, you have always struck me as being as intelligent as I am in our converations. Whatever you do to get there, well, who cares?
Especially given that I've always been just smart enough to get myself into difficulties that I'm not quite smart enough to exploit. :)