• Welcome to Autism Forums, a friendly forum to discuss Aspergers Syndrome, Autism, High Functioning Autism and related conditions.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Private Member only forums for more serious discussions that you may wish to not have guests or search engines access to.
    • Your very own blog. Write about anything you like on your own individual blog.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon! Please also check us out @ https://www.twitter.com/aspiescentral

questions regarding autism for child character in short story.

I think that what you describe, if it makes an effective case against the despicable practice of ABA, could be valuable if handled well. The problem is in that handling. Autism is such a complex area that it can't easily be researched by someone who is on the spectrum and has personal experience, let alone someone who is not.

No matter what you do with this story you will receive harsh criticism from some quarters. Whether it's someone disagreeing with your representation of the autistic child, the conduct of the parent/sibling or the fact that your character takes a stand on ABA. You must be prepared for that.

To write this story effectively you'll need a really thorough understanding of what autism is and what it feels like from the inside. Asking the one specific question about panic attacks won't get you far. The more you understand about us and the variety amongst us, the better chance you have of writing something memorable and the less criticism you will receive.

Considering the time you will need to invest in research to do this justice, it might be wise to think on a grander scale - a novel or screenplay perhaps.
 
it might be better to give us a synopsis of the character rather than the story. Night terrors do not need a trigger, they come from the same area of the brain as normal nightmares, although more intense, and even normal things for the character will give abnormal emotions in such a state. what would be helpful to know would be co-morbid conditions; and which symptoms the character has, as its highly unusual to have all. (that's probably the main stereotype to avoid.) For how to handle the panic attack/night terror, we'd need to know which emotion/sensation his brain assigned to the night terror, and handle it as such.

if it were a sensory overload, we'd likely need to know which senses normally trigger this, if it's a violent/scary reaction we could probably see a high functioning person appear low functioning during the outburst. if its something else, just say so, but we need the emotion and sensation attached to it for a proper recommendation, there are many things that can cause panic attacks, outbursts, and shutdowns in an autistic person. but I don't think you've mentioned their functioning lvls, other than just autism.

for incorporating the character in the story as more than dramatic flair, you'd need a handle and perspective on how the society reacts to a person on the spectrum, and having the setting and plot adhere to this difference in an obvious manner. IE, how society hinders the individual rather than the individual's inborn restrictions
 
Anonymous said:
it might be better to give us a synopsis of the character rather than the story. Night terrors do not need a trigger, they come from the same area of the brain as normal nightmares, although more intense, and even normal things for the character will give abnormal emotions in such a state. what would be helpful to know would be co-morbid conditions; and which symptoms the character has, as its highly unusual to have all. (that's probably the main stereotype to avoid.) For how to handle the panic attack/night terror, we'd need to know which emotion/sensation his brain assigned to the night terror, and handle it as such.

if it were a sensory overload, we'd likely need to know which senses normally trigger this, if it's a violent/scary reaction we could probably see a high functioning person appear low functioning during the outburst. if its something else, just say so, but we need the emotion and sensation attached to it for a proper recommendation, there are many things that can cause panic attacks, outbursts, and shutdowns in an autistic person. but I don't think you've mentioned their functioning lvls, other than just autism.

for incorporating the character in the story as more than dramatic flair, you'd need a handle and perspective on how the society reacts to a person on the spectrum, and having the setting and plot adhere to this difference in an obvious manner. IE, how society hinders the individual rather than the individual's inborn restrictions
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, essentially in terms of the reaction triggered they are; shortness of breath, heart palpitations, essentially all the things that happen with a panic attack, and the child's level of functioning is semi-independent, while still dependent on assistance if that makes any sense lol not in the sense as he would be dependent on his older brother as naturally any child is dependent on an adult, lol he would be behind in various milestones, such as potty training, has limited speech, and has repetitive motions, (rocking back
& forth) and yes I know that is excessively stereotypical lol but had to give the kid some trait lol, and as I say this an ad for aba pops up lmfao, as for the family view on the child, those that are supportive are supportive towards him, this being the (MC)- Main Character, as well as his sisters, the (mc's) view in regards to ABA are that it is designed to force the child to conform to societal norms which the (MC) is not a fan of as he is of the opinion that this child has the right to express himself as he is and will learn as he goes with guidance from the (mc) and those supporting of him. The (MC) is aware that the child will require assistance on all fronts of delayed development, and has the child working with OCT, Speech, as well as teaching the child essential life skills along the way.
 
I would avoid the "potty training" idea if you don't want to offend the autistic community. Not all stereotypes arise out of truth. The myth that incontinence or slow learning of proper toilet habits is "typical" of autism is inaccurate and many find it highly offensive that it is perpetuated.
If you want to represent an autistic child accurately you would be better learning about it from autistic people and autistic parents (as distinct from just parents of autistic children) .
A huge amount of "common knowledge" found online is completely untrue. The massive funding behind such corporations as Autism $peaks and the many multi-million dollar ABA providers ensure that the tragedy narrative is what the public are most aware of. They present the most antisocial characteristics of autistic people with the highest care needs as being normal and therefore requiring expensive support and treatment.

It would.be a valuable.insight in your story if it were to point this out. The ABA ads they see describing traits as "typical" which are just not present in the child concerned. It would lend weight to their decision to "go it alone".

Might I suggest that to get a more balanced picture of the autistic experience and to learn a great deal about ABA & non-verbal autistics, you spend some time at The Aspergian - a website which features over 90% content written by autistic people, including those with Learning Disabilities, Intellectual Disabilities and who are non-verbal. You will also find survivor stories from ABA recipients and much more.

The Aspergian | A Collective of Autistic Voices

You won't find a better collection of professional standard writing & information about autism anywhere. ANY writer wishing to incorporate autism into their work should make it their first stop on the www.
 
Last edited:
Autistamatic said:
I would avoid the "potty training" idea if you don't want to offend the autistic community. Not all stereotypes arise out of truth. The myth that incontinence or slow learning of proper toilet habits is "typical" of autism is inaccurate and many find it highly offensive that it is perpetuated.
If you want to represent an autistic child accurately you would be better learning about it from autistic people and autistic parents.
A huge amount of "common knowledge" found online is completely untrue. The massive funding behind such corporations as Autism $peaks and the many multi-million dollar ABA providers ensure that the tragedy narrative is what the public are most aware of. They present the most antisocial characteristics of autistic people with the highest care needs as being normal and therefore requiring expensive support and treatment.

It would.be a valuable.insight in your story if it were to point this out. The ABA ads they see describing traits as "typical" which are just not present in the child concerned. It would lend weight to their decision to "go it alone".

Might I suggest that to get a more balanced picture of the autistic experience and to learn a great deal about ABA & non-verbal autistics, you spend some time at The Aspergian - a website which features over 90% content written by autistic people, including those with Learning Disabilities, Intellectual Disabilities and who are non-verbal. You will also find survivor stories from ABA recipients and much more.

The Aspergian | A Collective of Autistic Voices

You won't find a better collection of professional standard writing & information about autism anywhere. ANY writer wishing to incorporate autism into their work should make it their first stop on the www.
Click to expand...

Well said.
 
Autistamatic said:
I would avoid the "potty training" idea if you don't want to offend the autistic community. Not all stereotypes arise out of truth. The myth that incontinence or slow learning of proper toilet habits is "typical" of autism is inaccurate and many find it highly offensive that it is perpetuated.
If you want to represent an autistic child accurately you would be better learning about it from autistic people and autistic parents (as distinct from just parents of autistic children) .
A huge amount of "common knowledge" found online is completely untrue. The massive funding behind such corporations as Autism $peaks and the many multi-million dollar ABA providers ensure that the tragedy narrative is what the public are most aware of. They present the most antisocial characteristics of autistic people with the highest care needs as being normal and therefore requiring expensive support and treatment.

It would.be a valuable.insight in your story if it were to point this out. The ABA ads they see describing traits as "typical" which are just not present in the child concerned. It would lend weight to their decision to "go it alone".

Might I suggest that to get a more balanced picture of the autistic experience and to learn a great deal about ABA & non-verbal autistics, you spend some time at The Aspergian - a website which features over 90% content written by autistic people, including those with Learning Disabilities, Intellectual Disabilities and who are non-verbal. You will also find survivor stories from ABA recipients and much more.

The Aspergian | A Collective of Autistic Voices

You won't find a better collection of professional standard writing & information about autism anywhere. ANY writer wishing to incorporate autism into their work should make it their first stop on the www.
Click to expand...
thanks for the resource I think it'd be a good idea to get info on the subject from various sources as this will help me write for this character to make it more realistic, so I appreciate the feedback from you guys.
 
Its been my experience sickness will trigger night terrors as well. Not sure how much it effects the autistic part of the brain
But i firmly believe there is a link.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New Threads

Top Bottom