Posted on 12/20/2012 8:29:28 AM PST by Albion Wilde
...The vast majority of autistic people are not violent.... But the suggestion that science has demonstrated there is no link at all between autism and aggressive violence is questionable.
Google “autism” and “aggression” and you will suddenly be treated to a counter world the formal autism community claims does not exist: desperate mothers seeking help or respite from the violent behavior of large, aggressive, beloved autistic boys (and a few girls)...
(Excerpt) Read more at townhall.com ...
About once a month, I see a teacher or a para injured by an autistic child. Usually bite wounds.
May she rot in Hell.
Ping
My brother had some memorably violent episodes. Of course, according to the experts that had nothing to do with his being autistic and being violently opposed to any kinds of changes in his environment (like changing the sheets on his bed.)
Wow.
It's long; but this is one of the best articles about autism I have read in a long time. And altho it was written some years ago, it's still up at the top of google:
And for those really interested in autism, here's another from Wired magazine:
The Truth About Autism: Scientists Reconsider What They Think They Know
I would prefer that this statement wasn't worded this way.
The linkage is not specific to Autistic people (or Autism in general). It is specific to individuals who suffer from Autism.
Saying it is linked to Autism, infers that anyone with Autism is prone to be violent. That is clearly not the case.
Yep. I knew a "high-functioning" Asperger's sufferer for a long time. One time we agreed to share a house at the beach. I arrived first and set up a fan at one of the windows. When he arrived from his home bringing an absolutely identical fan, he went to the one I had already set up, examined it in minute detail, took it down and put his identical fan up in the same position, and looked at my brand-new fan as if it were smeared with feces.
That's just one of thousands of exasperating moments over the twenty years we were friends that generated rage-filled tension.
I really can't agree that it is all that clear. Can you provide more basis for your claim?
Also, her wording absolutely did NOT imply that anyone with autism is prone to violence. Go read the entire article.
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Perhaps not, but the article does go on to say that a recent study concludes that “The prevalence of and risk factors for aggression were examined in 1,380 children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Prevalence was high, with parents reporting that 68 percent had demonstrated aggression to a caregiver and 49 percent to non-caregivers.”
When people don’t think they’re getting their views across, they get upset. This surfaces in elderly people too.
Is this aggression evidenced by cursing or physical abuse?
Is this aggression evidenced by cursing or physical abuse?
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I don't know, but if the quotes in the article are any indication, it seems that amongst those with autism who do act out, biting is not uncommon.
I don't think that "normal" frustration is comparable to autism, though.
"Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. The diagnostic criteria require that symptoms become apparent before a child is three years old.[2] Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their synapses connect and organize; how this occurs is not well understood.[3] It is one of three recognized disorders in the autism spectrum (ASDs), the other two being Asperger syndrome, which lacks delays in cognitive development and language, and pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified (commonly abbreviated as PDD-NOS), which is diagnosed when the full set of criteria for autism or Asperger syndrome are not met.[4]"
Source: Wikipedia
Years ago I found an interesting theory that people mostly function on one of three “bandwidths”: at an emotional level, and intellectual level, or a physical level. Though people need all three to get by, they tend to mostly stay in just one of them, for their input/output, and how they communicate with others.
When two people meet, they “fine tune” their “frequencies” to try and get as close to the other person as possible. Importantly, the closer they can get, the better they can communicate with each other. If they can’t get very close, they can try to communicate all day but won’t have much luck. How much you can tune is based on how much energy you have.
While culturally we are educated to believe that communication involves the accurate transfer of intellectual data, this is really only important to those with an intellectual bent.
Emotional people are far less concerned with accurate data than with accurate emotional content. So if they are trying to convey an emotional lesson, they often twist the facts to make the emotional lesson clearer.
Physical people communicate with physical contact, be it hugging, grabbing, pinching, slapping, whatever. They try to communicate physically with others. Unfortunately, since most people are not physically oriented, they think of this as assault.
I had a friend with a physically oriented roommate, and my friend said that this behavior was very annoying, and he wished the roommate would stop touching him, punching his arm, etc. Instead I suggested that his roommate was trying to communicate with him, in a physical language, and that he should respond in kind, physically.
He did so, and quite unexpectedly the roommate suddenly saw him as his best friend in the world.
He described it as if his roommate was in a foreign country for years, and didn’t speak the language, then he met someone who spoke English. No matter who that person is, he is their new best friend, because he can communicate with them.
With this as background, it got me to thinking about the “violence” of some with autism. What if they are trying to physically communicate?
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Interesting question. I don't know but your post was fascinating.
I understand the difference, and in some respects your obviously right. I’m not trying to make the case that being elderly is like being autistic. Heck, I’d be slamming myself with thoughts like that.
What I am addressing is diminished capacity.
Both the autistic person and an elderly person have reasons for their bouts of anger. Neither are particularly justified. To them it sure is.
My grandparents ran a nursing home. Every once in a while a client would get angry because someone stole their socks, or their shirt, their pillow, or even their tools they hadn’t had for a decade or more.
The autistic person has an equally reasonable (to them) issue that sets them off.
And you’re right, the elderly person isn’t generally going to bite someone. They may take a swing at someone, if they’re of a mind to.
There are a number of reasons that an elderly person may be prone to anger, such as Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.
I agree. Those are parts of what I reference as diminished capacity. People lose their memory, their faculties, their ability to reason.
Yes. It’s a very unfortunate fact of life that many of us will have to confront, whether as participants or bystanders.
Thanks Trisham. Love does have it’s sad moments doesn’t it. Watching even an old acquaintance as they age is bad enough, let alone a member of the family. And knowing there but for the grace of God, go we, it’s tough.
I'm realizing more every day, how fortunate I am that my aging father (he died at 92), with all his frustrations and frailties and losing one function after another, was never prone to any kind of aggressive or angry outbursts.
He was sometimes sad, and yet always had the virtue of being "as cheerful as he could be, under the circumstances."
My own behavior (as caregiver) sometimes showed frustration; but he was patient even with me!
My heart goes out to anybody dealing with a beloved autistic adolescent, a depressive spouse, or an Alzheimers-afflicted parent --- who has to face flare-ups of anger and aggression from someone who hasn't the capacity to do any differently.
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