Can a person with autism be transformed?

[Clintos]

I could easily hop on my soap box here

You're more then welcome to stand on your soap box here, lol. I love open air preachers.

 

[xudo]

This may come as a surprise to you, being an atheist and all of that, but the vast majority of people (about 99.99% of them) actually don't believe that science (the methodology we use to determine the nature of purely physical phenomena) can address their personal issues as well. This is not what the practice of science is for.

It doesn't come as a surprise to me being "an atheist and all that", because I note that you haven't added any actual evidence to support the fact that about 99.9% of people believe that. I'd like some proof.

Speaking for myself, I don't believe that the philosophy of materialism (which is probably what you really had in mind, not science), can even begin to tackle the kind of questions that transcend the methodology of science, which is based upon that philosophy. Questions like, "Why are we here?", "Why is there something rather than nothing?", and "Why should I believe material reality to be all there is?" Why should I believe in the reality of the past? Why should I reject solipsism? All questions that science, due to its inherent limitations, cannot even begin to address.

So, your advice above, that I quote, is really... well, it's just wrong, on so many levels.

As you stated you are speaking for yourself, my post is wrong purely in your opinion. The question of why we're here can be answered by science in terms of the actual how life came to be and how humans evolved, but in terms of a philosophical 'why' then I will agree that science doesn't have the answer. Personally I've never questioned why in the latter sense.

 

[texkag]

In the Bible it says in Romans 12:2, that the mind can be transformed. Does anyone not accept their autism like me and want to be changed?

Or is it best to accept autism, and embrace it, because it is who we are?

Hi Clinton. I am still in the early stages of accepting myself as an Aspire but I think that I will achieve this eventually. However I do think that there will always be tension between those parts of my character that are mostly fixed and those that are changeable. There are many Aspire traits that I love, such as my focus and determination but others that I would love to change, like my social anxiety and executive functioning problems.
Transformation is absolutely possible but requires work and a willingness to step out of your comfort zone.
I would say that a useful way of approaching transformation is to accept what you can't change, do a cost/ benefit analysis on those traits you wish to change, and then choose your battles carefully.
I hope that helps.

 

[ConcernedDad]

I'm an existentialist. This means you choose what is meaningful to you and what your goals are. If you want to believe you can be transformed, you can be. Doesn't mean you'll get there. The meaning is in the work towards the goal, not the goal itself. But if you do get there, so much the better.

 

[abby normal]

if it was meant to be, the "transformation" would have happened by now.

 

[Clintos]

2 Corinthians 5:17 Says that a person can be a new creation. Would this mean our synapses are transformed?

Synapse-a junction between two nerve cells, consisting of a minute gap across which impulses pass by diffusion of a neurotransmitter.

In Alcoholics Anonymous They always taught that once a person is an alcoholic you are always an alcoholic. I personally believe that if I got clean, I would not consider myself an alcoholic anymore and that I would be set free from alcoholism.

Would I still be considered an autistic, always no matter what? like AA says, once an alcoholic always an alcoholic?

Sorry for all the questions I just want to know if autism should be fought or accepted? or both?

I want to go into my psychiatrists office tomorrow and tell him to never bring autism up again and to not treat me for autism because there is no cure for it anyways. And that his time is better spent on my other conditions.

 

[xudo]

Sorry for all the questions I just want to know if autism should be fought or accepted? or both?

That would wholly depend on who you asked. Some people (like myself) believe it should be accepted while others believe it should be "fought" as you put it. I doubt there are many people on the fence and believe both.

 

[Clintos]

I'm leaning towards acceptance. It's like in AA they say to accept the things you can not change, and to change the things you can. I am trying to figure out if I should change/transform or accept my autism! To be complacent or compliant I think it is how it goes.

I do not know if I should read books on autism to try to change things or If I should embrace autism, embracing I think would be much easier.

I have schizo-affective disorder and this causes me to be delusional at times, this is why I ask the questions, I am not try to argue or be stubborn.

 

[xudo]

I'm leaning towards acceptance. It's like in AA they say to accept the things you can not change, and to change the things you can. I am trying to figure out if I should change/transform or accept my autism! To be complacent or compliant I think it is how it goes.

I do not know if I should read books on autism to try to change things or If I should embrace autism, embracing I think would be much easier.

You kind of seem like you're looking for someone to tell you which is the correct one to choose. Nobody can do that for you, only you can decide if you accept your diagnosis or not.

 

[Clintos]

Yeah your right, I believe my diagnoses, and believe I have autism. Whether or not I accept it as being changable, or being something to embrace, is another question.

I did say embracing it would be easier. The question remains is, should I take the easy path or the hard path? I think your right and I need to decide that on my own, I would like to know other opinions and what path they took, as well, it might make my decision easier.

 

[Crossbreed]

As Aspies, we still need to adapt to our circumstances (so change is necessary, like it is for everybody else), but we can either blame our ASD for our troubles, or learn to make use of its advantages.

 

[Bellatrix]

It doesn't come as a surprise to me being "an atheist and all that", because I note that you haven't added any actual evidence to support the fact that about 99.9% of people believe that. I'd like some proof.

First-hand, personal experience. I have yet to meet anyone who sincerely believed that 'science' either could, or eventually would, render all other fields of enquiry obsolete. It seems that only die-hard materialist ideologues push this (patently erroneous) view, and then get upset when you challenge them on it. You want "proof"? Well, you're not getting it, because this is something that anyone who is a living, breathing human being can understand and agree with and, besides, you only find proofs within mathematics and nothing else (certainly not within science). Science, as a methodology, is only ever concerned with evidence that can be measured, quantified and catalogued. In other words, material "stuff", as M. Kaku would put it. All else - like the mind - is beyond it's jurisdiction.

As you stated you are speaking for yourself, my post is wrong purely in your opinion.

Yes, I shouldn't have said that, because that wasn't just my opinion - it was an objective fact. Your post is, objectively speaking and in absolute terms, utterly wrong.

The question of why we're here can be answered by science in terms of the actual how life came to be and how humans evolved, but in terms of a philosophical 'why' then I will agree that science doesn't have the answer. Personally I've never questioned why in the latter sense.

You've never questioned why?! Never? Not even once? That's really unusual, if true. The "why question", in spite of what people like that over-rated, pompous twat Richard Dawkins may say, is actually far, far more important than any "how" question could ever be, because it is far more meaningful. A question like, "Why does the universe exist?" is far more interesting and useful than "How did the universe come to be?" I don't care about how it came to be, but rather why. Science can try to give us an answer to the "how", but is completely incapable of providing us with a coherent answer to the "why" of it all. There are many other things it cannot address, and that was why I responded to your previous, and completely unsubstantiated, claim in the manner I did.

 

[Bellatrix]

In the Bible it says in Romans 12:2, that the mind can be transformed. Does anyone not accept their autism like me and want to be changed?

Or is it best to accept autism, and embrace it, because it is who we are?

Even though I have been highly critical of the way in which "N.T.'s" run the world, with their illogical way of doing things and all the rest, I have to admit I do not like being this way. There are just no advantages that I can see to being on the proverbial spectrum at all. The hypersensitivity, clumsiness, absent-mindedness, inability to comprehend abstract concepts (like metaphor) - no, I'm sick of it, and good on you for not taking this curse lying down. As far as I'm concerned "acceptance" is equivalent to defeat, to the giving up of one's hopes and dreams, dreams that others actually achieve because they aren't burdened by what one could almost call a demonic spirit.

"2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

Your interpretation of this passage is, I believe, correct. We shouldn't just accept who (or what) we are just because others tell us to, or because it makes us feel good, or some other crappy reason. We are here to overcome our deficiencies, not wallow in them.

 

[fuðflogi]

Dude , you. Would be so much more happy if you accept who you are because that's all you will ever be, and your perfect for who,what and where you are right this minute. You are enough.

 

[Clintos]

I believe that the brain has circuit type switches and that if you believe you can operate these switches, then you can. It's not as if I was born with missing parts in my brain. maybe a rewiring is in order. I chose with all do respect to rewire and if his does not work then acceptance is all that is left.

Here is something I believe was taken from a movie star:

Circuit Switch

Your brain is like a circuit switch. Once you believe you are something, you actually embody it, you embody that feeling. If you were, for God forbid, in a coma and you wake up, and you didn’t really have a memory of who you were and you were told you were a navy seal, and that you were told that they want you back now, when you’re healthy. Do you think you would act differently, conduct yourself differently, and have a different self-concept of who you are? Then if you were told you were a piano instructor? Being successful in life, is all about having the proper belief system in who you are. If you truly believing that you are someone unique, that you are someone special. If you truly believe inside of you that you are one of the most successful people in the world, you would be totally different, then if you were like, I hope I’m good. Your expression will be totally different, your tone of voice, you will talk in a more convincing fashion, you will use your natural voice instead of a scripted one. You’ll be more real and more relatable. Our brain is like a circuit, so if we introduce it with proper wiring, you are going to go straight to your target. If you are unsure about who you are, then your dreams and goals will never become a reality. Everyone has mental doubts in life and internal conflicts, even the most successful people that you look up to. But they don’t live there, it is how you handle those thoughts in that exact moment and how you overwhelm them with positive actions and that comes with the up most confidence in yourself, that you are better then the moment.

 

[Clintos]

We shouldn't just accept who (or what) we are just because others tell us to, or because it makes us feel good, or some other crappy reason. We are here to overcome our deficiencies, not wallow in them.

This reminds me of this quote:

 

[xudo]

You've never questioned why?! Never? Not even once? That's really unusual, if true.

Completely true. I've never questioned why. I personally find the how to be more interesting.

 

[Suzanne]

Classic autism no. Aspergers, yes. Which is why there is a difference, despite stupid so called professionals, say differently.

I have met ones with classic autism and it is just impossible for them to improve in fundemental ways. Yes, with loving environment, they can lesson self destruction, but generally, their world is the same.

I met a chap with aspergers recently and no way he is classic autisic.

If, indeed aspergers was being autistic I would not have aspergers, for I am not autistic.

Since finding out about aspergers, I am learning to look people in the eyes, but if they constantly talk, I find that I suddenly am too aware and have to turn away.

I still have trouble with regulating my voice volume sadly, but do lower it when it is brought to my notice.

I have a certain amount of control with obsessions; well ones that suddenly start being an obsession; but my long term one which is colours, I just cannot get passed that at all.

Rituals pretty much stay the same; get too stressed otherwise and still hate change.

 

[Clintos]

Went to my psychiatrist today and I believe he is a person that may not believe in exorcisms to change a persons mind, but I know he respects Christians and that he may believe that there may be something to Christianity. This makes me feel a whole lot more comfortable around him and I was able to talk to him the entire time without stopping. I even asked him about autism and how he should use Socratic-Questioning with me and he agrees. When I first started seeing him, he always commented that I am too guarded, but today I was guard-less. I felt the connections in my brain work flawlessly during my appointment and it felt like he understaood me for once. He even said that I have a great brain, which I think he is just trying to be nice.

I always thought there was a major problem with my brain, now I feel that it is truly average with slight lack of memory. I wish to hopefully one day be above average intelligence and return to school.

 

[Crossbreed]

I wish to hopefully one day be above average intelligence and return to school.

Wisdom is more important.