Carly Rose Hughes
\nDis\/Lit Final, Prompt #2
\nDr. Chris Foss
\nApril 30th 2019
\nWord Count: 1,200
\nThe True Definition and Value of Autism: A Descriptor of Unique Traits
\nPrompt: (2) a thesis-driven argument relevant to disability studies that engages substantially with one or two of the theoretical pieces from the final unit.<\/p>\n
Autism shows itself in different ways with varying levels of severity among the people who identify as having it. This is because autism encompasses a spectrum of traits, making it a sort of umbrella term for behavioral and social functions that society perceives as deviating from the \u201cnorm\u201d. Because of this, people with and without autism alike can have differing experiences with autism, which can often lead to conflicting views and opinions of what an autism diagnosis means. This confusion about autism is made worse by the fact that Autism is hard to diagnose because of its lack of concrete , reliable characteristics. There is no agreed upon definition of autism even in a medical sense , causing many people, especially parents, to view autism as a disease that needs to be cured for a child to have a happy and successful life. This attitude is shown in Julia Rodas\u2018s Introduction and \u201cUn-Conclusion\u201d of \u2018Autistic Disturbances\u2019 ,with descriptions of PlayBoy model Jenny McCarthy\u2019s parenting of her child with autism. Through analysis of her parenting choices combined with other autistic scholar\u2019s view points, it is clear that it is not autism is not what needs to be cured for people with autism to be successful, but instead it is society\u2019s view and treatment of people with autism that needs to be rethought. In this way, if Autism\u2019s definition were societally re-framed away from its negative and nebulous medical connotations and instead viewed as a valuable personality trait which makes a person who has it who they are; harmful misunderstandings of autism would be eradicated and relationships between people with and without autism could be enhanced.<\/p>\n
To fully understand society\u2019s perpetuated misconceptions of Autism, it is imperative to have knowledge of the uncertainty of diagnosis which contributes to a general societal fear of a diagnosis. Autism is problematically associated with medicine in the way that people assume that since it is diagnosed, it must be a disease, and if it is a disease, it must be cured. However, \u201ceven at the beginning of the 21st Century, we don\u2019t know what Autism is,\u201d (Rodas\/Murray). This is firstly because autism does not show up as a concrete, visual, or biological difference in any medical test. Instead, diagnosis is based on analysis of a person\u2019s behavior. Author of Autistic Disturbances backs this up, saying: \u201c..we have no way to measure it [Autism] but by its external manifestations,\u201d. Knowing that diagnosis is closely tied to behavioral qualities, it is clear that Autism \u201c\u2026belongs to and is entwined with individual autistic identities\u201d,(Rodas, Autistic Disturbances) meaning that there are many types of traits that can be associated with autism, and different types of people can have it. This reality is most likely because autism is part of a person\u2019s individual identity, and is just a way to describe behaviors that can be seen as unique. As more people come to a doctor seeking an explanation for certain behaviors, more behaviors and actions become associated with a diagnosis of autism, contributing to further confusing nebulous-ness, which contributes to a higher amount of problematic fear of autism.<\/p>\n
The description of Jenny McCarthy\u2019s view of her son Evan\u2019s autism diagnosis demonstrates this problematic fear of diagnosis, because her view directly ties fear of diagnosis to a fear of her son\u2019s personality by subconsciously demonstrating how autism is a part of his identity. McCarthy says that her son was labeled autistic based on \u201c\u2026the boy\u2019s play in the doctor\u2019s office,\u201d. (Rodas, Intro to Autistic Disturbances) This shows how tied to behavior diagnosis is, proving assertions from the last paragraph. Rodas continues : \u201cWhen the doctor reveals to [McCarthy] that such behavior is characteristic of autism, McCarthy, her \u201cheart shattered\u201d observes \u201cEverything I had thought was cute was a sign of autism,\u2019\u201d. This is obviously a reaction of grief in McCarthy, however, it is not based in reality. Her feelings imply that her son\u2019s value does not exist anymore because his personality is one of what she perceives to be disease. In this way, she is grieving \u201c\u2026over the loss of the normal child [she] had hoped and expected to have.\u201d (John Sinclair \u2018Don\u2019t Mourn for Us\u2019) However, she had not thought that her son\u2019s characteristics were bad or significant of sickness before the diagnoses, which drives home how flawed the associations that people without autism make are when it comes to a diagnosis of autism. Because Evan\u2019s diagnoses was so clearly tied with his personality and his diagnoses was \u201cheart shattering\u201d to McCarthy, it seems that this mother it seems that to McCarthy, Evan\u2019s autism is significant of Evan\u2019s lack of personality, or at least lack of a valuable one. In this way, it is obvious that when addressing autism behavioral functions in lieu of a diagnoses, it is often times the parent\u2019s conception of what autism is that needs to change so that a person with autism can receive the most fulfilling relationships with the people around them possible, and therefore the most fulfilling life possible. John Sinclair supports this by saying that \u201cThis grief over a fantasized normal child needs to be separated from the parent\u2019s perceptions of the child they do have: the autistic child who\u2026can form very meaningful relationships.. If given the opportunity,\u201d.(Sinclair, Don\u2019t Mourn for Us).<\/p>\n
Since autism is a description of someone\u2019s behaviors and personality, it is an unalienable part from who they are. An autistic person\u2019s actions are natural to them, and are worthy of love and support, especially from their parents. The autistic part of their identity is essential to making them who they are. A quote that captures this idea can be found in the novel Troubleshooting by Selene dePackh, when main character with autism Dax\/Scope describes her view of herself : \u201cAutism is what I am\u2026it\u2019s not something I can beat any more than I can beat being small\u2026\u201d(dePackh, page 211). So just like a physical characteristic, autism is just another valuable aspect of a person\u2019s identity. In this way, Evan McCarthy still had the same traits with and without the autism diagnosis: the autism diagnosis does not change who he is or what value he should have. He is still the same \u201ccute\u201d child his mother Jenney thought she had. All of this is directly supported by the main idea of John Sinclair\u2019s piece \u201cDon\u2019t Mourn For Us\u201d, saying :<\/p>\n
\u201cAutism isn\u2019t something a person has, or a \u201cshell\u201d that a person is trapped inside. There\u2019s no normal child hidden behind the autism. Autism is a way of being. It is pervasive; it colors every experience, every sensation, perception, thought, emotion, and encounter, every aspect of existence. It is not possible to separate the autism from the person\u2013and if it were possible, the person you\u2019d have left would not be the same person you started with.\u201d<\/p>\n
If society\u2019s view of autism wasn\u2019t viewed through a misconstrued medical lens; parents such as Jenny McCarthy would not be as affected by their child\u2019s autism diagnosis. Parents would understand that it autism is not a trait they can free their child of, but a trait that deserves love and support through realization does it is part of who their child is.<\/p>\n
Citations<\/p>\n
dePackh, Selene. Troubleshooting: Glitch in the System: Book One EBook: Selene DePackh: Kindle Store. Reclamation Press, 2018
\nDon\u2019t Mourn For Us, John Sinclair. Autism Network International Newsletter, Our Voice, Volume 1, Number 3, 1993. Referenced in 1993 International Autism Conference Speech. Accessed online at : [http:\/\/www.autreat.com\/dont_mourn.html]
\nJulia Miele Rodas, \u201cIntroduction\u201d and \u201cUnConclusion\u2014Because the Butterfly: Autistic Infinitudes\u201d from Autistic Disturbances: Theorizing Autism Poetics from the DSM to Robinson Crusoe . Accessed on Class Website, Week 15 Readings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Carly Rose Hughes Dis\/Lit Final, Prompt #2 Dr. Chris Foss April 30th 2019 Word Count: 1,200 The True Definition and Value of Autism: A Descriptor of Unique Traits Prompt: (2) a thesis-driven argument relevant to disability studies that engages substantially with one or two of the theoretical pieces from the final unit. Autism shows itself … Continue reading “Carly Rose Hughes’s Final Paper [Final Exam Papers]”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/papJgd-o3","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.chris-foss.net\/dislit19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.chris-foss.net\/dislit19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.chris-foss.net\/dislit19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.chris-foss.net\/dislit19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/63"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.chris-foss.net\/dislit19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1491"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/courses.chris-foss.net\/dislit19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1491\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1494,"href":"https:\/\/courses.chris-foss.net\/dislit19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1491\/revisions\/1494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.chris-foss.net\/dislit19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.chris-foss.net\/dislit19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.chris-foss.net\/dislit19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}