TERMS
USED IN the AUTISM COMMUNITY
Agnosia
Attention
Deficit Disorder
Deixis
Echolalia
Empathy
Hyperlexia
/ Hyperlexia
Irlen Lenses
Mind Blindness
Perservations
Prosopagnosia
(Face Blindness)
Savant
Scotopic
Sensitivity Syndrome (SSS)
Semantic-Pragmatic
Disorder
Social Stories
Stim
Stimming
Synaesthesia
STIMMING:
Stimming, Stereotypies, & Strange
Behavior
I do strange things when alone,
like pacing and shifting coins between may hands. I may talk
to myself and giggle while vividly remembering
or imagining and reciting the whole scenario
out, assuming the roles of different people/characters
(e.g., "Hey Beavis, there's one," or "Eh,
what's up Doc...." ). I make a point not do to
these things in public, though if bored for too long I may
drift into day dreaming (and conversing - repetitively and/or echolalicly
- with myself).
I know that at
least some of the things I do are things
I do are self-stimulatory ("stimming"); I think there is a problem
in that there are two different types of behavior "stimming" and
"stereotypies" which happen to largely overlap - unfortunately, some people
now think that stereotypies are attempts to communicate, and are
never stimming (and they're WRONG). Anyway, I can imagine
that someone might do these sort of things out of frustration
caused by not being able to communicate (as opposed to
as an actual means of communication) - I've been know to beat
my fists together for that reason. Also, I know that
some ways of stimming (e.g., staring passively at a light or
a spinning object) may not involve "stereotypies." I think people
are trying to treat a diverse category of behaviors (ie,
"stereotypies") as a single monolithic entity, and
thus failing to see differences in motivation or purpose. By
assuming simplistic models, when one exception is found, then they
all seem to jump on the new bandwagon -and talk as if there
(external) views were absolute (when there not - and are often INCOMPLETE
or otherwise WRONG)!
Детальная информация тут: long-term attractive returns - детальная информация у нас.
Stimming may occur for a variety
of reasons, different for each individual and at different times. Some
stimming may be done in times of high arousal, while other
types may appear primarily in situations of low
arousal. Stimming may act as a way of compensating with sensory issues,
as a form of entertainment, as an absent-minded habit, and perhaps for
other reasons I'm not thinking of right now. (Some
stereotypies - and a great deal of self-injurious
behavior - may also be non-stimulatory purpose as well, such as out
of frustration, as a form of "displaced aggression" toward
one's self.) For what it's worth, I have found
that I can often concentrate better (especially when tired
or too "wired") if I allow my self to stim a little (I don't
usually do this in public) - most often (though
not exclusively) by rocking. It can be fun, and I think
it's cute in others, especially kids (some people may take
this as either a protest or a sick joke, but I'm serious here).
Further, studies have shown that educational, occupational, and
general success were related to
IQ and social skills/social understanding but
not to autistic symptoms (presumably, behavior). Apparently,
such behaviors don't need to be extinguished (other, practical training
might be better). It appears that "curing autism" (ie, autistic
behavior) is neither necessary nor
necessarily beneficial.
puzzle games - you may like it
I've read sources claim that autistic
people may become absorbed in fantasy to the point of assuming the
role of characters and acting like them (sort of like method acting), and
even of loosing track of where the act ends and reality begins (hmmmm?).
These acts can be absorbing, but they do not replace
reality (at least, not for me). They are
fun, like a child's play-pretend that continues its fascination into
adulthood. I think the key to this is absorption. I sometimes
take the voice of someone I focus on, someone who I "become"
in my imagination. I hear SOUNDS rather than WORDS (I then
must think to recognize the words), and can often duplicate
the sounds. (Sometimes I even forget a message, but remember the tonal
quality, and can duplicated it.) If I am absorbed in
reliving, say, a TV show, I will recite it to myself
verbatim - and sometimes in the voice of the original
actors - and I may do it repetitively many
times, giggly at amusing moments as I go.
I don't alway have to assume the role I'm
immitating, however - I may just be reliving an experience where I observed
the situtation (I don't feel like Yakko
to imitate him, but I am re-watching the
show in my head.) Vivid remembering/imagination does not equate
to being "out of touch with reality" (at least not for
me) just because it happens to have the intensity or immediacy
of reality; I know whats real, and continue to
monitor reality. I may also access more personal
memories, or invent elaborate day dreams. This sort of imagining
is very pleasant, but tends to frighten some people who
see it - I think they are mistaking this for
talking between multiple personalities, responding to
hallucinations, or being extremely disoriented - but none of that
is the case.
Some have claimed that
autistics have (literally) no imagination, which sounds
like a clear contradiction to me. How
can a person with NO imagination be lost
in FANTASY (rhetorical question)? It's an
absurd accusation!
Source: Jared
Blackburn - Taken from the essay My Inside View of Autism.
Because autism is due to unusual
"brain wiring", it is not uncommon to have other neurological conditions
along with it. Two little known sensory related conditions which appear
to be more common in autistics are:
Hyperlexia
Hyperlexia is an exceptional ability
to read, not necessarily with any understanding of *what* you are reading.
Hyperlexia's place on or outside of the autistic spectrum is a matter of
much debate. Be that as it may, hyperlexia is a trait commonly seen in
autistic spectrum disorders. Autistics with hyperlexia have a unique learning
style and a better prognosis than those without this reading skill. Hyperlexia
is often written off as a "meaningless splinter skill" but it is much more
than that even if comprehension lags because reading can be a very useful
tool for learning other skills and can be the doorway to language in general.
Website: http://www.hyperlexia.org/
Prosopagnosia
Also known as "face blindness",
this condition impairs a person's ability to recognize human faces. It
appears to be somewhat more common in autistic spectrum disorders, but
is usually a result of brain damage. It is not the same as being able to
connect a name to a person. In autistic people, what appears to be prosopagnosia
may actually be due to lack of eye contact or social interest.
stim Self-stimulatory
behaviour; repetetive motor or vocal mannerisms engaged in by people with
ASDs. They are usually used to either calm or excite the nervous
system and often as a response to strong emotion.
perserveration
An interest or behaviour that is intense and repetitive, the word is from
the same root as perseverance.
Savant
skills Abilities which are acquired without deliberate teaching or
study, such as music, art or mathematics. They are markedly above the abilities
of most people and much more advanced than the person's overall IQ. Although
associated with people with an otherwise low,
testable IQ, people of any IQ can
have savant skills.
Synaesthesia
Sometimes called "cross-sensory
perception", synaesthesia is when input from one sense is interpreted in
another. (eg. seeing sound, hearing light, tasting colour). It is very
rare, but more common in people with atypical neurology, including those
with autistic spectrum disorders.
Semantic-Pragmatic
Disorder
Semantic-pragmatic disorder is very
similar to Asperger Syndrome and a common characteristic of people with
non-verbal learning disabilities and hyperlexia. The condition involves
deficits in social and nonverbal communication such as the give and take
of communication as well as interpreting cues from body language and expression.
While Semantic-Pragmatic Disorder itself is almost always milder than Asperger's,
the vast majority of people with Asperger Syndrome have pragmatic language
deficits and could benefit from the techniques for dealing with this disorder.
Semantic-Pragmatic Disorder may be a variant PDD or it may be just a descriptive
term for the language impairment in autistic spectrum disorders.
Social Stories
Carol Grey is the developed a technique
known as "Social Stories" for helping autistic people learn about social
behaviour, based on the ancient idea of telling illustrative stories. Her
ideas are in her book of the same name, "Social Stories", and she also
gives lectures and has a website. There is an annecdote from one of her
lectures, reported by a group member on page 11: Becky and the Plant Sprayer
Carol Gray's webpage is at:- http://www.thegraycenter.org
With some examples of social stories
at:- http://www.thegraycenter.org/social.htm
Other links with social stories
info include:-
www.autism.org/mnews/mn3.html
www.autism.org/stories.html
www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/socialcarolgray.html
www.ldafl.org/article1.htm
www.zoomnet.net/~tdotson/socialstories.html
www.geocities.com/SoHo/Courtyard/3330/socialstories.html
melindasmith.home.mindspring.com/websocial/socialstories.htm
Source: alt.autism.FAQ
(Compiled by Anna Hayward on behalf of the alt.support.autism newsgroups,
November 2000)
