What Do You Think: Are Autistic People "Ill?"
Finding jobs for autistic victimsThe article goes on to explain how relatively small changes in the workplace plus a dose of understanding made all the difference for Joe.
7/11/2006Newport 30-year-old Joe Powell thought he was a hopeless failure when he was sacked from his job with a police force for "a lack of communication. " Then he discovered he had Asperger Syndrome (a form of autism) and realised he was ill, not incompetent.
There was nothing wrong with the article overall, but it struck me strangely, because I've never thought of autistic people as "victims" of an "illness," but rather as people with mild to radical differences in how they think and perceive. In fact, autism is not classified as a mental illness, along the lines of schizophrenia or depression. Instead, it's generally described as a developmental disorder or delay.
What's your take on this? Are autistic people victims of an illness -- or should autism be described quite differently?
Comments
I can think of many descriptions that are used to label autistic people, but ‘victim’ and ‘illness’ do not seem a good match in my experience. Cheers.
http://whitterer-autism.blogspot.com
I can see why autism can be described as an illness in some cases. After all, people get what is a called a medical diagnosis for it.
And if some people’s autism is caused by environmental chemicals or other agents or medical events which damage the brain, then I would consider that an illness, although not a mental illness, but a physical illness.
I’ve read about some people who developed the symptoms of autism after having several seizures which is definitely a medical event.
In addition, an awful lot of people with autism have physical issues such digestive problems.
Cynthia
Oh, and by the way, I do see my child as a victim. He is a victim of the agent(s) that cause his severe disabilities. These are great, and I can’t rationalize away the negative impact his disabilities have had on him.
This doesn’t mean he never has any joy, but looking at it honestly, I have to admit that many things about his life are greatly compromised by his disabilities.
Cynthia
I don’t think autism is an “illness”. It is a disorder that I think most people who have it are born with. There brain functions differently than the average person. My grandson has been diagnosed autistic and he was definitely a little different from day one. But he is a wonderful, delightful little boy who is doing very well. He will probably have more challenges in his life that his little brother who is not autistic at all. But many of us have challenges, some more than others.
June
When we lose our jobs because of our differences, that makes us victims. Being different doesn’t make us victims. Words like that only exist for clarification and classification resulting in a solution or possible treatment. There is no reason to call it that when such words do not help us. We are only victims when we are mistreated by those who say they care for us or will help us.