Asperger's and Autism

[Kylyssa]

Does anyone know what the absolute origin of the "vaccinations cause autism" myth?  Like, what idiot is "patient zero", so to speak?

[Tank]

Does anyone know what the absolute origin of the "vaccinations cause autism" myth?  Like, what idiot is "patient zero", so to speak?

This is a good starting point http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/ ... struck-off

Here is a link to the GMC ruling http://www.gmc-uk.org/Wakefield_SPM_and ... 595267.pdf

[Kylyssa]

Thanks for the links.  So Wakefield may be the source for this myth?

[Tank]

Thanks for the links.  So Wakefield may be the source for this myth?

I do believe that he is the root of the whole bloody fiasco. Seriously he is the ground zero of this as far as I know.

[pinkocommie]

This is an awesome explanation of the whole antivax affair in cute comic form in regard to Wakefield.  I'm sure there was a fringe group of antivaxxers before Wakefield lied about his unethical research, but as far as I know he is singularly responsible from turning a crazy disrespected fringe belief into a globally threatening misinformation locomotive.

http://tallguywrites.livejournal.com/148012.html

[Squid]

This is an awesome explanation of the whole antivax affair in cute comic form in regard to Wakefield.  I'm sure there was a fringe group of antivaxxers before Wakefield lied about his unethical research, but as far as I know he is singularly responsible from turning a crazy disrespected fringe belief into a globally threatening misinformation locomotive.

http://tallguywrites.livejournal.com/148012.html

That was great, thanks for the link!

[Kylyssa]

Great information and great links!  I'm making a little page right now that I'm writing that I hope will get traffic from anti-vaxxers and potential anti-vaxxers using SEO techniques to trick them to a page that may shake their misinformation.  

Vaccination efforts have dropped the number of worldwide measles deaths from 873,000 per year back in 1999 down to 345,000 per year in 2005.  Half a million fewer deaths per year due to vaccinations!

[Tank]

Don't forget to point out that the only disease totally eradicated from the human population, smallpox, was done by vaccination.

[parrotpirate]

RE: Jim Carrey being involved in anti-vax idiocy, he might have caught the stupid from McCarthy when he was banging her. Not that's an excuse.

[Thumpalumpacus]

If stupidity is catching, I'd ought to take up celibacy.  Don't want to pass it on further.

[Sophus]

I found an interesting story about a man with Autism who saved a teens life.

Even though autism affects communication, the disability did not get in the way of Paul DeSavino.

The New Milford man went to aid of a youngster he saw lying on the ground in a New Milford park around the corner from the group home where he lives.

[Wilson]

I wonder if the cause is the same for everybody with Aspergers.  Personality is such a complicated thing that there are any number of ways it could be messed up.  It's possible that it's a catchall diagnosis for a variety of conditions that interfere with social interaction.

Most of you who have indicated that you have Aspergers seem to communicate very well on this forum - certainly better than the average person out there.  An internet forum is a means of communication and a way to interact with others, just as face to face meetings are.  I'm curious if you Asperger people believe that you have trouble picking up written clues in this format as to what others are thinking.  The traditional list of symptoms of Aspergers includes a lack of a normal sense of humor.  Do you Asperger people indeed find that to be true in normal interactions with others, and how about on this forum and other internet conversations - do you think you have more trouble than the average person in knowing whether a poster is joking or not?  If so, does that bother you?

[Ihateyoumike]

There was a great episode of Penn & Teller's Bullshit this last season on the topic of these morons who believe that vaccines cause autism. I think the episode is simply titled Vaccines. Recommend it, but prepare to throw some shit at your tv when some of the horrible parents who believe this nonsense, and the pediatrician who won't vaccinate and warns parents against it comes on. That episode, more than probably any other, pissed me off.

[Kylyssa]

Most of you who have indicated that you have Aspergers seem to communicate very well on this forum - certainly better than the average person out there.  An internet forum is a means of communication and a way to interact with others, just as face to face meetings are.

Psychologists do not use written communication level to diagnose autism.  Even some people formerly thought of as low-functioning autistics can communicate via the written word.  People with Aspergers don't tend to have too much trouble with logic and rules, we thrive on logic and rules and written language has an established convention of logic and rules.  It is emotions which people with autism have difficulty with.  It is the 50% of your language (the body language, the eye contact, the passive aggressive communication through subtext) which relies on instinct which is a trouble for us.    

I'm curious if you Asperger people believe that you have trouble picking up written clues in this format as to what others are thinking.

Yes.  I often find the conversation I am having is far different from the one the other person is having.

The traditional list of symptoms of Aspergers includes a lack of a normal sense of humor.

People don't seem to "get" my jokes most of the time.  And most of the time, I find their attempts at humor either incomprehensible or stupid.  

Do you Asperger people indeed find that to be true in normal interactions with others,

By normal interactions do you mean face-to-face contact?  If so, it is even more true of face-to-face contact.  If I try to say something funny to a group of people, it usually meets blank stares and the laughter, if any laughter occurs, appears to be the uncomfortable kind rather than the having-found-a-joke-funny kind.  I seldom try to joke but people often laugh at what I say even when I'm being completely serious.
 

and how about on this forum and other internet conversations - do you think you have more trouble than the average person in knowing whether a poster is joking or not?  If so, does that bother you?

Yes, I think I have a hard time knowing when a person is joking but I think it is easier for me on the Internet.  I can take time to read and re-read the statement.  Sometimes I cut and paste the statement and do a search to make sure I've found a joke if I think I have.  And yes, it bothers me.  I don't like it when people laugh at me.

I have a hard time reading subtext most of the time but I think I'm reading yours loud and clear, probably because I'm very familiar with the particular attitude.  Yes, just because I can communicate through the written word, it doesn't mean I'm not autistic and you likely believe it does.  I also think that maybe your use of "you Asperger people" is an insult.

For those of you who believe that autism leaves all of its victims both mute and too severely mentally retarded to use a keyboard, I suggest you look over the evidence.  People with Aspergers are often intellectually normal or sometimes, as in my case, intellectually superior.  We are able to use logic and deductive reasoning to figure things out before writing.

I think that "normal" people are actually hampered by their slavish reliance on body language, facial expressions, and eye contact when it comes to writing.  I think that many "normal" people are either unable or unwilling to admit that a person can "look normal" and still have something wrong with him or her.  

Don't be ashamed, even my doctor has the same problem.  He sent me away without an x-ray for a broken wrist and thumb because I wasn't using the correct voice tone or making the right gestures and body language.  Instead I simply told him I fell very hard on my palm, it was very painful, and the bones made a noise that was not usual when I moved the hand.  I also mentioned I had broken bones before and that the feeling was similar.  He wrapped my hand in an Ace bandage and wrote "drug seeking behavior" on my chart because I asked for something for the swelling and pain.  I later got an x-ray that showed breaks in the thumb and wrist bones.  He did not apologize when I asked him to.  He said it was my fault for not responding appropriately.  This shows me that some intelligent "normal" people are handicapped by their inability to understand communication without body language and facial expressions.  I've been practicing pain response, learning to yell "hey!" when I experience pain by poking myself with a pin and yelling, "hey!" after so I can perhaps avoid the experience of getting denied medical care because I can't make the right faces under stress.

[Wilson]

I have a hard time reading subtext most of the time but I think I'm reading yours loud and clear, probably because I'm very familiar with the particular attitude.  Yes, just because I can communicate through the written word, it doesn't mean I'm not autistic and you likely believe it does.  I also think that maybe your use of "you Asperger people" is an insult.

No offense intended, believe me.  Just trying to understand the nuances of the condition.  I actually like the fact that people are different from each other in such interesting ways.  In fact, I think I may have some mild Aspergers symptoms myself.