Originally Posted by
Daffodill
Well I have bipolar and I can be manic and say nasty things, can that be my excuse too?
You say you understand what AS is, that you understand what it is to have it, and yet you make a comment like that?
I have NEVER used my AS as an excuse, nor would I. I don't purposely hurt or upset people or break rules, just because I have a good excuse. I don't expect to get away with things others don't simply because I have AS. Yes, we find things more difficult to understand, but we have to learn what is acceptable and what is not just as everyone else does.
I find it incredibly offensive that you would make that kind of comment. I actually try incredibly hard to understand people, to fit in, to abide by others rules, social or otherwise. I don't WANT to be different. I don't WANT to make a fool of myself. I don't WANT to misunderstand people, or break rules, or be thought of as rude or stupid because I am different, and I'm sure there are a lot of people out there with AS that are of the same opinion. But yet again, though I'm really very offended and hurt by your comment, wether it was aimed at me or not, I am willing accept that you have simply misunderstood previous comments, and I will let it go. Something I've learned not to expect from others.
Originally Posted by
Daffodill
I find it very offensive that you say I have no experience or understanding of autism. I have studied autism, had a job supporting people with autism, lived in a house with a girl with autism, my family has autism in it, and I have friends with aspergers. Having a condition does not make you an expert on it.
I have never said I am an expert on AS. I never said that you are not. I also did not say you have no experience of it. What I said was that you have no understanding of what it is to HAVE AS, nor will you. Your view os from theoutside, not the inside. You can read as many books as you like, talk to as many people as you like, study as much as you want, you will never understand what it is like to have AS unless you have it, just as I will never understand what it is like to be bipolar. I'm sorry if you don't like that, but as far as I'm concerned it's a fact.
Originally Posted by
Daffodill
Anyway, this will be my last post as I can see ignorance=brick wall, but I'll just say that my uncles CBT has been helping him how to identify the feelings he has so he can be a lot less frustrated/upset at not being able to convey how something might have affected him. For me, I think that is a good thing, and he obviously thinks so too, as he is still going.
The girl I lived with had a lot of support for the same reason, in fact if she had to go a week or a day without her support workers she would break down and hurt herself. Maybe you think that is better than having a fun day centre to go to where she really enjoyed herself and was improving constantly?.
This also is not what was said, not by me in any case. What we were actually saying, if you read back, is that talking therapies IN GENERAL, do not help people with AS or an ASD, UNLESS the professionals involved are trained in techniques SPECIFIC to autistic people. I myself highlighted the fact that we are all individuals, our needs are different, and different treatments work for different people.
Originally Posted by
Daffodill
When I talk of MY bipolar, I talk about it from MY experience. I don't say that EVERYBODY with bipolar is JUST LIKE ME, because they're not. Everybody has different experiences, and so everybody benefits from different help. Denying other people a treatment just because it doesn't work for you is very very wrong..
I actually also highlighted the fact that we are all individual, and we are all different, and also that I was talking from my own personal experience, and drawing on my own opinions and those of people around me. Everybody is entitled to try whatever treatment they like, I would never suggest denying a person a specific treatment simply because they have an ASD or because it didn't work for somebody else. As I said above, UNLESS the professionals involved are trained in techniques SPECIFIC to autistic people, GENERALLY, they don't help, and can do a lot more damage than good.
Originally Posted by
Daffodill
And I'm sorry, unless it's just your area, specialist autism services DO exist. I have met people who work in them, visited them myself, and worked in a day centre for people with autism. One of my close friends works in a residential care home for people with autism.
As I have pointed out, I have been in a residential home, and specialist college for people with AS and ASD's, I have seen specialists in autism and ASD's, we have at no point denied that they exist. What we have actually said is mental health professionals have little training in autism and ASD's, which is understandable, as autism is not a mental health problem. We have the opinions that they need more training in how to recognise behaviours specific to people with an ASD, and that there needs to be MORE support and services available to people with an ASD, so that people with similar problems to our own have the support and help they need.