fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #264 ]

2. I don't think so. I was a big fan of the game .. the year it came out. I was only nine, granted, but I watched my brother play, which was also exciting, and then proceeded to play it myself like ... three times through. A lot of my love of the game is due to nostalgia because of that. What you find first if often what you love most, which I think is a part of it too. otherwise, uh, you're entitled to like what you like. =/ doesn't make you any less of a fan. at least you DID play the game, yes?

tl;dr conclusion is: YOU ARE NOT LAME, ROCK ON.

9. .... wtf wtf wtf PEOPLE DO THAT? they say "THIS CHARACTER IS AUTISTIC; HERE IS MY EVIDENCE"? FOR REAL? that's. that's not. unless the work is speficially addressing.. that's just... WHAT? "I think I'm autistic!" .. DO THEY HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THAT MEANS? IF YOU CAN SAY THAT, YOU ARE PROBABLY NOT AUTISTIC. WTF, GUYS. I actually. Agree with you so much. That would really piss me off if I thought too much about it. >|

14. .. cool. Go for it. 8Db

17. AVENUE Q. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. So much love for that musical. Rod is kind of tragic, isn't he. ): poor guy. I like the way they handled him, you know, kind of realistically! he does freak out. But what happens at the end is just kind of hilarious.

19. .. you know that because you have written this secret, he will now voice Tamaki. YOU'VE INVOKED MURPHY'S LAW.

23. Fuck yeah, Zepplin. ♥

31. DANIEL JACKSONNNNNN. why is he so awesome. I haven't watched the show in years and I still love that man to death. ... but yeah, that is high standards. like really high. I'm sorry. ): good luck?

36. hey, she's a totally legit hero to have. she kicks ass, man.

38. dude, I love me some badfic too. IT'S JUST SO HILARIOUS AND. AWESOME AND. well. I have this thing where if something is really bad, in the way that badfic is bad, I tend to think it is awesome and hilarious. I THOUGHT I WAS ALONE IN THIS.

As for declining proficiency with the english language, well. The literate are not gone .. YET. we're still here, chilling. the last bastion and what have you. here's hoping some of our kids pick up on our good grammar habits and hold the standard for us, or something.

that turned out SO MUCH LONGER than I thought it would.

.. I DID NOT JUST DO THAT.

okay, don't mind me, I fail.

I do know how it's spelled, I SWEAR.

that made me laugh really hard. XD

asljkfhlkjshd -DIES- I. Totally cannot blame you. That was definitely a headdesk inducing moment. The REALLY sad part is it's kind of a pet peeve of mine when people misspell Zeppelin, since I'm a HUGE FREAKING FAN.

so yeah. excuse me while I go sit in my corner of SHAME. :D)-/

People also write asinine essays on why certain non-canon relationships are valid readings of a text... how is this all that different?

uh, writing asinine essays about relationship context is one thing. but saying you think L is autistic is just fucking dumb, unfortunately. not if you know what the condition is actually like.

it's different because one thing concerns, you know, just romantic feelings. the other concerns actual medical conditions and treating such things as fad-ish or trendy is just ... pure asshattery.

9. People also do it in regards to ADD, and don't even research well enough to understand the difference between ADHD and ADD.

As someone who has been diagnosed as ADD, that ... =/ uhhh yeah.

But to the credit of these people? Even doctors mess that kind of thing up, more often than you'd think. but still. basic research wouldn't kill anyone.

"I think I'm autistic!" .. DO THEY HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THAT MEANS? IF YOU CAN SAY THAT, YOU ARE PROBABLY NOT AUTISTIC.

I get where you're coming from, I totally do. But this part of the comment in particular really bothers me.

Now, I might be totally misreading it. But the impression I get is that you're implying that autistic people cannot properly communicate, would not be capable of saying, 'Hey, I think I'm autistic.'

And like I said, this bothers me a lot. It shows an ignorance of autism that I see far too often. People seem to believe that autism = "rocking back and forth while moaning and drooling, completely incapable of communicating with the outside world or taking care of oneself."

And yeah. Severe autism can be like that. But you know--not everyone with autism has that most severe form of the disorder. Some have a lot of trouble functioning in an average school or workplace, but given proper assistance and various forms of therapy, can go on to function quite well in specialized environments. Others struggle to cope in "real life" environments, but are quite at home and very articulate on the internet. While more obvious cases of autism are usually diagnosed early on, it remains possible that cases in the middle of the spectrum, or closer to the "high functioning" end, may go undiagnosed for some time until someone finds out about the syndrome and goes, "Hey, that's how I've felt all my life!"

This is not to say that ignorant teens on the internet don't stumble across fragments of information about Asperger's syndrome (a form of high-functioning autism) and stupidly declare that hey, since they're kind of shy and awkward in social situations, they must have that, too! And that's annoying, and it's a nasty form of appropriation. But it bothers me just as much to see someone laboring under the false idea that the autistic are incapable of thinking and communicating.

noooooo, no no no no. I'm really sorry it came off that way, that's not what I'm saying at all. ):

Trust me, I know the ranges of autism. I've studied it, I've had first hand experience with it, I've worked with autistic kids before. I know that with some cases (and good treatment, early intervention, sometimes a bit of luck) autistic kids can function like totally normal people, to the point where you wouldn't even be able to tell they were autistic at first. and then there's the whole range of cases in between, going to the severely incapacitated ones. it's not an absolute, it's a spectrum, like you said.

but that's kind of what I'm saying. high functioning cases have usually already had some treatment to help them get to that point. even mild autism can be incapacitating to the point where you can notice something is going on.

my point was kind of that, if you are out and out saying that kind of thing, 1) you're probably at least in your pre- or mid-teens. if you were noticeably autistic in any way, your parents or teachers probably (hopefully!) would have caught wind. 2) reading symptoms on wikipedia should NOT be your first tip-off that you may have autism, so that just seems like it would be kind of bogus to me.

what really just bothers me is the fannish and bandwagon tendencies going on there, without really knowing what the disorder CAN be like, in EITHER extreme, and saying you think you might be autistic. it's certainly possible - I just can't help but think the normal warning signs of autism would have spoken to that kind of thing a little sooner.

Okay, I apologize if I was unnecessarily harsh--it's a bit of a sore spot for me.

I think it probably depends on the circumstances. There are cases where, for instance, depression and AD(H)D could obscure Asperger's or another high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (as it did for me until my therapist when I was a teenager finally suggested it) for quite some time. Or someone can develop somewhat dysfunctional coping strategies that simply get them labeled as a "problem child" instead of helped. But that's a whole 'nother rant, and I'll just say that I generally agree with you. I've been pretty bothered myself when I've seen posts crop up on my flists declaring, "I read about Asperger's and this totally explains why I got confused during kindergarten twelve years ago, omg, I'm so special now!" or some shit. Your wording just reminded me of some of the unpleasant attitudes I've seen about autism.

No, it's fine! I can definitely understand where you're coming from, as that's a pretty unfortunate misconception to have - I should have realized it would come off that way, honestly. =/

The whole "problem child" thing. It IS a problem, because diagnoses really can be tricky, and even doctors make mistakes, since there aren't definitive tests for these kinds of things. But I agree it depends on the circumstances, and that you could definitely have high-functioning autistics whose disorder(s) mask each other, leading to a lot of confusion and later realization by the person in question.

... but .. seriously, people have posted things like that? that's ... wow.

D: gah, I'm sorry about that, honestly. I've met people with those attitudes, and it's just really ... sad, that they think that way.

if you were noticeably autistic in any way, your parents or teachers probably (hopefully!) would have caught wind.

Lawl. Not if you have mildly autistic parents (and there's certainly evidence of a genetic component). As for teachers, well, they have a lot of kids to look after and may not know the early warning signs. Or they may recognize a kid as different but not be able to come up with a reason why.

Is it really so hard to imagine? There are people in their twenties, thirties, forties, etc. who only learned that they weren't insane or mildly retarded when information about high-functioning autism became more widespread in recent years. Autistics of normal or above intelligence can sometimes find ways to adapt, but that doesn't mean they aren't autistic.

....... I'm not talking about specific cases here. I'm talking about a general, broader sense. In many, many cases, autism is fairly recognizable for exactly what it is thanks to warning signs that show up as early as 2 or 3 years old. And I did say probably - not definitely. Especially teachers, for the exact reason you stated. But chances are high SOMEONE in a child's network of adults - teachers, parents, doctors, nurses, tutors, school counselors, aides, etc etc - will notice, if typical warning signs are present.

And I'm not saying those warning signs always WILL be present. Believe me, I acknowledge your point, and I'm really, really not saying it doesn't exist. =/ I am well aware of the possibility. What I'm saying is, that is not the norm of autistic cases. It's just not.

Also, getting back on topic, with KIDS IN FANDOM TALKING ABOUT DISORDERS, that whole thing.. I'm not saying it isn't possible for kids to realize themselves they have a disorder. My complaint is against a tendency towards bandwagoning. Reading lists of symptoms and saying "oh hay!" while there may be a few kids out there who are the real deal, HARDLY all of them will be, and it's those who AREN'T the real deal - who want a given disorder just to have it, because they think it's interesting or will make them a special snowflake - THAT bothers me, because they don't seem to understand what it is they're asking for, and it's extremely disrespectful to people who DO have those disorders, who have to look at those kinds of kids and go ".... what?"

.. although in rereading that, from my experience, I haven't really heard of late diagnosis cases like that, where it was mild enough for the person to go undiagnosed all their life until they read about it and realized it fit them?

I'm not saying it's not possible, not at all - I've just personally not run into it or really heard about that kind of thing happening a lot. the majority of cases will fit somewhere in-between those two outer extremes (very high-functioning and very incapacitated), normally.

.. so while it could happen, I'm sure, I don't think that can account for a large number of people in fandom saying that kind of thing. =/

Consider the fact that Asperger's itself wasn't even included in the DSM until, what? The early nineties? And that most health care and psychiatric workers would have very little idea of what to make of a child who has moderate to mild autism. Even parents of mildly to moderately autistic children may have gone ahead and thought of their child as "special" or a "late bloomer," at least until adolescence when depression or social awkwardness and isolation make the differences more difficult to ignore. This is one reason why we're seeing a greater number of "late" diagnoses as the specifics of autism as a spectrum disorder become more publicized. Individuals may have always been seen as having some wrong with them, it just may not have been identified (or it may have been misidentified) until recently.

And people with autism may simply gravitate to fandom as place where it's okay to share in obsessive interests.

... hmm. That's true. But that would honestly get me into the issue of parental denial, which can be such a huge problem sometimes, but that's not really the point here.

Publicized due to the vaccination scares, correct? I'll definitely grant you that point, as it's a good one, and I certainly won't deny that.

Granting that, what I'm more or less reduced to saying is not every single person in fandom who says they want to have or claim to have a certain disorder can possibly be of the late bloomer nature. There are those who say autism is turning into an epidemic, yes, but I just don't feel like that's a really good excuse.

And while fandom could be a place for those interests - could you really, honestly, truly believe every single person in every fandom everywhere could be explained by being a late bloomer? I'm not saying it doesn't exist - just that it cannot and does not explain every person who says that kind of thing, and for those it does NOT explain... they need to seriously re-evaluate their thinking.

*every single person who claims to have a disorder of some sort or, more specifically, autism, I mean.

Publicized as in people started paying attention to Asperger's and it started getting greater attention as a disorder. Maybe that was a direct result of vaccination scares, I've no idea.

Sure, not every person who says they have it actually has it. And while going to a doctor and getting a correct diagnosis can be a stressful procedure, I think anyone who suspects they may have an undiagnosed form of autism should go and do their best to get a neuropsych evaluation if at all possible. In my own experience, it's necessary to avoid being given wrong or harmful treatment by health care professionals later on.

I think fandom is a great place for autistics and that it often caters to people who are obsessive and meticulous. I would expect a higher percentage of people with autism in fandom. I'm not making any absolute claims here, just mentioning it.

I'm not really sure, but probably. The scares been going on a couple years now and has made people go OMG AUTISM, so there's probably been a bit of OMG ASPERGER'S too. I'm not sure on that case.

I completely agree. For people who think they really, honestly have autism - they should absolutely go and get an evaluation, to try and make sure, again for the reason you stated. What I honestly, honestly meant was people who WANT to be autistic like that - people who think they MIGHT be and wish they really WERE - I've met people like that, and it's a little scary, to wish that kind of trouble on yourself, if you are actually healthy already.

.. that wouldn't surprise me entirely, but I don't think you'd statistically see that much larger a number - I think studies like that have actually been done, because I'm being strongly reminded of something similar, but I can't remember exactly what. And believe me, I know where you're coming from, and the point you're trying to make.

I just don't like people WISHING or WANTING to have disorders, in a serious way that they think will make them "special" or "interesting," or with the thinking "it'll fit my personality!" (which I'm differentiating from "I think I really have those symptoms" - the former, to me, has a certain "ooooh personality quiz!" feel to it, while the latter would have much more serious consideration.)

I know when I first came across Asperger's (a friend was diagnosed) I was very torn. I was angry that he had an answer and I didn't, and I was scared and yet still hopeful that maybe this would be something that would give me some answers. Because I'd spent most of my life wondering why I couldn't do what other people my age seemed to do fairly easily. So yes, at that point I "wanted" to have Asperger's so I could finally deal with my life.

If I had to make a decision now, obviously I would prefer not to be autistic... because it sucks, most of the time. But at the time it was between being autistic and being considered mentally ill without much hope of successful treatment. At least knowing how my mind works now I'm able to compensate more specifically for the areas in which I have deficits.

I don't think mine is a particularly special situation, either. I'm sure that, sometimes, it has something to do with attention-seeking, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it's actually a minority of people who are latching onto Asperger's or autism solely for that reason.

You said in your other comment that you weren't talking about specific cases, but I think this is a topic where you cannot ever make broad generalizations. Because it's a spectrum disorder, you will be faced with a wide variety of individuals, behaviors, and levels of functioning.

[ SECRET POST #264 ]

no subject

no subject

23.

23 OP.

Re: 23 OP.

re: 9

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject