Autism – An Age Old Intelligence!
“In an ideal world the scientist should find a method to prevent the most severe forms of autism but allow the milder forms to survive. After all, the really social people did not invent the first stone spear. It was probably invented by an Aspie who chipped away at rocks while the other people socialized around the campfire. Without autism traits we might still be living in caves”
Temple Grandin.
What bright spark invented fire?
Temple’s words make perfectly good sense to me and whilst we are at it, why don’t we throw in to the mix the inventor of actual fire? Let’s be honest fire has been around for a good 3 million years anyway, all it needed was someone with an ounce of observational savvy about them to put 1+1 together to make flame!
There is a lot of controversy surrounding autism, there always has been and there probably always will be – there are many schools of belief as to how it comes about – genetically or through contagion or vaccination – my opinion is through genetics and science leans that way now – but l do know that there are studies into environmental factors that may additionally increase the mutation of genes. Although some people still believe that autism is the direct result of vaccinations, or of mercury presence, diet or poor parenting.
Over the last few years more and more people have used the term ‘epidemic’ and that autism is on the increase and l would say that if anything ‘awareness’ is on the increase and knowledge – the more people that know what to look for and out for the more people will recognise and identify and diagnose.
Early this year [2017] l read an article which triggered a lot of debate and discussion amongst the actually autistic communities as well as those not on the spectrum about funding being awarded to see if they could ‘free the world from the burdens of autism’ which in my eyes basically meant destroy it through research and maybe eliminate the genes responsible for its presence.
So by murdering all autism and not just ‘severe’, they would in fact be responsible for the destruction of an age old intelligence which is how l view autism. It has been around the world for centuries or since the dawn of time – and who is there to disprove that theory?
Mankind has long brushed away and hidden under the carpet any form of life that doesn’t conform or ‘fit into’ conventionality. Fear is responsible for the carnage of many of the world’s animal species as an example as well as greed and the desire for fame or to be the ‘first’ in a chosen field of expertise!
The early 1900’s saw the term ‘Autism’ arrive and that came around mostly to describe schizophrenia. By the late 1930’s Hans’ Asperger himself used the term and related it to a distinct disorder and moving forwards from that history started to write itself once it was rediscovered properly. But this doesn’t mean that it wasn’t afoot – it was – it was just labelled differently to what it is more commonly known as today – it was hidden but not invisible within mental health issues.
For years l was diagnosed as being mentally ill, l was accused of being schizophrenic, of only having bipolar and of not being of sound mind – many a time l or my parents was informed ‘the lights were on, but nobody is at home!’ which was incredibly insulting, but it was as it was.
Yet it has been suggested that people of greatness throughout the years were more than likely gifted with autism and of those, some were considered genius, others talented and others still quite, quite mad – but were they? I know l wasn’t, but the medical profession were hell bent on placing me into an institution for my own good! I should imagine that many souls over the time since the world began have become victims of fear by a worried society! Those that were not tucked away for safekeeping and financed by family members were quite possibly simply made to disappear and ended up in other more dubious research facilities!
Of course the disorders were around, they were just named differently and in many cases those in charge didn’t know what to do – except what society is notoriously gifted at – ‘tucking it away in the corner of the room’ – allowing it to become the proverbial elephant! I think to the characters we see/saw in the early horror films like Frankenstein and Dracula, oddballs hidden away but quite brilliant just not socially acceptable. For in truth, any early form of mental health was considered not to dissimilar to now as a taboo subject and bathed in stigma!
At least now we live in a society that is more aware and that is a huge step forwards in intelligence, we can only hope that the so called intellectuals don’t step in and try and change history for their own benefit and erase autism from the archives of time in their quest for societal perfection. Ironically and not without humour, l look upon that potentiality as an enormous undo of their very existence – for mankind has got to accept that equally as much as autism needs them, they need us too!
Rory Matier – The Tee Shirt Blogger
Ps: These posts are my views on my autism/Asperger’s, they may not be everyone else’s who is on the spectrum.
The Aspergers’ Collection
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