Failure to communicate

[wombat_socho]

That's basically what the underlying problem is with autism, whether the person is at the high-functioning end (Asperger's syndrome) or the low-functioning end. Ann Althouse, a law professor at UW Madison who I don't link to nearly enough, has an interesting little post with a good link to a NY Times article about some autistics and their parents who think that the world needs to be more accepting rather than that the people with autism need help. Well...maybe.

You see a lot of people with Asperger's in fandom and the IT field, which shouldn't surprise anyone who's spent much time in either subculture. Not all fans or IT people have Asperger's, of course. Personally, I think the parents who want the world to change rather than for their kids to get better at coping with their communication problem are missing an opportunity to help socialize their children, but part of the problem with Asperger's is that one tends to get excessively focused and driven, so...

Comments

[hyperblaster.livejournal.com]

Sounds very interesting. I must say I've definitely met people in the IT who might be good candidates for a diagnosis of Asperger's.

[wombat-socho.livejournal.com]

Yeah...though it's hard to separate the people who are bad at interpersonal relations due to Asperger's from the people who are being deliberate a$$holes sometimes. Maybe it's not really possible. *ponders*

[hyperblaster.livejournal.com]

I suppose so. But none actually did have the unique speech problems mentioned in the article.