alt Hacker News> Couldn't disagree more. The "autism is my super power" movement is borderline offensive to people dealing with severe or low functioning autism.
I doubt those types are saying much of anything. Its more likely their caregivers.
Again the old name for those of us who think its more a super power used to be called Aspergers syndrome. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome . And we got folded in to Autism Spectrum Disorder, as did a whole host of other diagnostics.
And we have been found to be more truthful, better at focusing, can hyperfocus, notice more details than NT's, and plenty more. We're only a disease cause we're the minority.
Replies
> I doubt those types are saying much of anything. Its more likely their caregivers.
It doesn't really matter whose saying it. The point is that autism is not cool or fun for many people. We need a way to distinguish the difference, besides saying high or low functioning.
> We're only a disease cause we're the minority.
WHICH WE ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THEN? IS IT NOT A DISEASE WHEN SOMEONE IS NON-VERBAL? Holy shit. Point, meet case.
>And we have been found to be more truthful, better at focusing, can hyperfocus, notice more details than NT's, and plenty more. We're only a disease cause we're the minority.
Yeah and this is why Autism shouldn't be treated as a single condition, even if the cause is the same the outcome is meaningfully different than someone who cannot function.
Many with Aspergers take advantage of their strengths (as anyone does) but it is not without its difficulties
[dead]
It's not a disease, it's a disability.
As someone with a diagnosis, I would add several sensory issues (for me it's noises, multiple conversations at the same time, stickiness, physical contact, whole categories of food and several others) and several social issues to your list of superpowers.
Seeing it purely as a positive is insultingly reductive.
To be clear: I would not take a cure if it somehow got invented, but it /is/ limiting in a multitude of ways even in the best cases.