Autism: Four Misconceptions to Dispel.
There are harmful misconceptions about autism that urgently need to be revealed, particularly the four misconceptions detailed by journalist Steve Silberman. The history of autism, in some aspects, is a history of myths; these are inherited myths presented as truths passed down by medical experts. They shape society's views on this complex condition and have been debunked by extensive research and studies. This cycle of myths has repeated itself over generations, leaving catastrophic effects on the lives of individuals with autism and their families.Here are four of the most negative myths about autism that need to be clearly debunked:
**Myth 1: Autism was rare in the past but is now more common.**
Websites dedicated to families of individuals with autism are rife with chilling suggestions: In 1970, the incidence of autism among American schoolchildren was one in every 10,000; now it is one in every 68 students. Some parents blame vaccinations used to treat autism, referring to the case of internist Andrew Wakefield in 1998, who claimed a link between the MMR vaccine and bowel disorders he termed "autistic enterocolitis." There is no evidence to support Wakefield's claim, and his co-author later retracted it. In reality, the main contributor to the increased awareness of autism in recent decades is that a large number of children, teenagers, and adults have been diagnosed with it. Until the 1980s, autism was not classified as a disorder; the condition was defined very narrowly, and there was a widespread misconception, propagated by the renowned researcher Leo Kanner, that autism was a rare condition. Kanner was reluctant to provide a precise diagnosis for the syndrome – which is also known as "Kanner’s syndrome" – and only encouraged diagnoses if children's traits matched his long-established characteristics set in 1994. He once boasted that he turned away nine out of ten children referred to him for an autism diagnosis. This meant that in the United States, parents had to consult nine or ten different specialists before eventually receiving an autism diagnosis, which was often unaffordable for low-income families. Moreover, the diagnosis of autism in girls was largely unknown to psychologists until the late 20th century.
British psychologist Lorna Wing, who was the mother of a severely disabled daughter, put an end to the rigidity of Kanner’s strict diagnostic guidelines for autism. In the late 1980s, Lorna popularized the concept of "the autistic spectrum," which has become widely accepted among doctors, as it reflected the diversity of their patients, much better than Kanner’s narrow model. Lorna and her fellow researchers confirmed that autism is a developmental disability lasting a lifetime, not a rare psychosis occurring during infancy, as Kanner suggested.
**Myth 2: Individuals with autism lack empathy.**
In previous generations, individuals with autism were described in medical and therapeutic language and the media as people who lack emotions and compassion. One newspaper described "Asperger syndrome" in 1990, portraying autism as "the disease of those who cannot feel," and depicted individuals with autism as heartless. In reality, individuals with autism are often highly sensitive and deeply concerned about the feelings of those around them. However, they struggle to interpret social cues such as changes in facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice, which neurotypical individuals use to convey emotional states. The idea that individuals with autism are emotionless has led to a variety of harsh judgments against them, including claims by MSNBC host Joe Scarborough that a significant number of killers are autistic.
**Myth 3: The goal should be to make children with autism indistinguishable from their peers.**
In the 1980s, psychologist Ole Ivar Lovaas raised concerns among parents of children with autism by claiming that some children could be made indistinguishable from their peers through intensive, individualized behavioral modification programs. The method he developed is known as Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), and it remains one of the most widely used early intervention techniques for treating autism worldwide. There are several problems with Lovaas's approach; his comprehensive intensive program requires the involvement of all significant individuals in all key environments, which is logistically and financially difficult for most families. (Behavior analysts now recommend about 40 hours of intervention per week, which is still challenging for most families.)
Lovaas exaggerated the success of his interventions. His former colleague, noted autism researcher Christine Lord, admitted that his claims of recovery to the point of returning to normal behavior, which were relentlessly reported by the media, "do not reflect what actually happened and cannot be used as scientific evidence." Additionally, some adults who were diagnosed with autism reflect on their experiences, saying that being forced to behave like neurotypical peers has led to lifelong stress. As Julia Bascom expressed in her article "Quiet Hands," "When I was a little girl, I had autism, and when you have autism, you shouldn't be mistreated, but you should be treated gently." Barry Prizant recently published a book encouraging parents and doctors to view autistic behaviors, such as hand-flapping and echolalia, not as indicators of illness but as coping strategies for a world that seems overwhelming and unpredictable. The issue with interventions that focus on trying to present the child as indistinguishable from peers lies in treating the child as a problem to be solved rather than as a human who needs understanding, according to Prizant. He adds, "These methods often exacerbate the problem. The solution is to ask what causes these behaviors and what drives these patterns of behavior."
**Myth 4: We are simply overdiagnosing quirky children with a modern disorder.**
Every trait associated with autism is also exhibited by neurotypical individuals, but to varying degrees. Individuals with autism may exhibit self-stimulatory behaviors, while neurotypicals engage in typical behaviors. Neurotypicals have jobs and emotions, while individuals with autism may have heightened sensitivities. Neurotypicals may have difficulty tolerating certain fabrics like polyester.
Diagnosing celebrities with autism without medical examination has become a sort of amusing pastime in this context. Didn’t we hear that Steve Jobs was autistic? Have you heard of the book "The Human Potential for Working" by Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer? Here lies the problem: If millionaires like Mark Zuckerberg and Marissa Mayer are autistic, and one of the most famous comedians in the U.S. exhibits traits of autism, why do many autistic adults still struggle to manage their lives and resolve their issues? Why do families say they desperately need more resources to help their children with autism live independently? Isn’t autism just a "difference" rather than a "disability"?
In reality, autism is indeed a disability. It is a profound and pervasive condition that affects all aspects of life, as anyone with autism or who has a loved one with autism knows. Creating pathways and accommodations for the disabled is a practice that society knows how to implement well. What is the cognitive equivalent of such ramps and accessible pathways for wheelchairs? We have only just begun to explore possibilities, although the digital age has expanded our options, for instance, to develop curricula that suit each student's unique learning style. Nonetheless, it was not long ago that a child who communicated with a friend by typing on a keyboard was considered disabled. Now these children are simply viewed as teenagers.
**Source: BBC Arabic**
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