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thoughts on functioning labels

Nitro said:
Ok, I agree, but since the autism spectrum is just a fraction of all of the potential psych issues we have at hand, how are you intending to promote your idea to people who may never be willing to accept it?

In the end, a number can become just another label with just as many chances to be used in an ill manner.

Face it, jerks are always going to exist, no matter what type of reeducation you try to push on them.
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That made me think, and in the process of thinking something related came up.

I'm thinking about about euphemisms, and a classic example is the progressive euphemisation (bwahaha, the automatic word checker thinks this word doesn't exist but it does, what are these new-fandangled bits of technology doing to our collective vocabulary? :tonguewink:) of the word "toilet". It began by being called a "crapper"... etc but soon that was too impolite so you got words like "thunderbox" and "outhouse" and "commode" and "water closet" and then the fancy French word "toilet" which had none of the connotations when it was newly applied and no-one knew what it referred to exactly, that it has now. And pretty soon, even that fashionable word was too crude now that everyone knew what it meant, so we got "bathroom" and finally "rest room"... and I don't know about you, but that's no longer just euphemism, it's completely misleading...

And it seems to me that the problem here isn't with a word, but with people's heads, and wanting to put them in the sand. Why? What, when it comes down to it, is so confronting about basic everyday body functions? Why can't we grow a bit of commonsense about it? The stigma is created by us, and no matter how much we play musical chairs with the words, the problem is the creation of stigma - not the language.

And that's about people sorting out their personal view on a comprehensive, society-wide scale. I'm not assigning a probability here, just making the comment...
 
Callistemon said:
That made me think, and in the process of thinking something related came up.

I'm thinking about about euphemisms, and a classic example is the progressive euphemisation (bwahaha, the automatic word checker thinks this word doesn't exist but it does, what are these new-fandangled bits of technology doing to our collective vocabulary? :tonguewink:) of the word "toilet". It began by being called a "crapper" or "shithouse" etc but soon that was too impolite so you got words like "thunderbox" and "outhouse" and "commode" and "water closet" and then the fancy French word "toilet" which had none of the connotations when it was newly applied and no-one knew what it referred to exactly, that it has now. And pretty soon, even that fashionable word was too crude now that everyone knew what it meant, so we got "bathroom" and finally "rest room"... and I don't know about you, but that's no longer just euphemism, it's completely misleading...

And it seems to me that the problem here isn't with a word, but with people's heads, and wanting to put them in the sand. Why? What, when it comes down to it, is so confronting about basic everyday body functions? Why can't we grow a bit of commonsense about it? The stigma is created by us, and no matter how much we play musical chairs with the words, the problem is the creation of stigma - not the language.

And that's about people sorting out their personal shiitake on a comprehensive, society-wide scale. I'm not assigning a probability here, just making the comment...
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Interesting, that is certainly something worth thinking about; particularly in regards to stereotypes and the "but you don't look Autistic" reaction and the like.
 
Greatshield17 said:
Interesting, that is certainly something worth thinking about; particularly in regards to stereotypes and the "but you don't look Autistic" reaction and the like.
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I ALWAYS get this reaction and it has become a huge pet peeve.
As with any community, autistic people come with a huge variety of looks. Insinuating that we all look the same is like saying everyone of a particular race looks the same. Not only incorrect but also offensive.
 
I agree that the issue of social stigma is central to the misunderstanding of autism. Also it operates in relation to most low power or minority groups, whether it's sexuality issues, disability, gender, race and ethnicity, ageism, poverty. How to lessen stigma? How to create a better more understanding and caring world? Big questions. We need powerful people's interventions, but any change can start from grass roots.
 
Greatshield17 said:
What I said before, we promote the level system, and demand that people be specific as to what level they are talking about when referring to Autism.
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I still don't understand why levels are necessary. Saying someone has "level 1 autism" or "level 3 autism" doesn't communicate anything specific about the struggles of that specific person.

For example, say there's a family living in an apartment, and the son is nonverbal and has meltdowns when he has to switch activities. If the mother of the child tells a member of the apartment staff "my son is level 3 autistic" that probably wouldn't mean anything to the apartment staff, as it isn't likely that they knows about the levels. If the mother of the son says "my son is nonverbal and has meltdowns when he has to switch activities" that would be helpful, as it is a straightforward statement about traits and behaviors of the son.
 
fern_77 said:
I still don't understand why levels are necessary. Saying someone has "level 1 autism" or "level 3 autism" doesn't communicate anything specific about the struggles of that specific person.

For example, say there's a family living in an apartment, and the son is nonverbal and has meltdowns when he has to switch activities. If the mother of the child tells a member of the apartment staff "my son is level 3 autistic" that probably wouldn't mean anything to the apartment staff, as it isn't likely that they knows about the levels. If the mother of the son says "my son is nonverbal and has meltdowns when he has to switch activities" that would be helpful, as it is a straightforward statement about traits and behaviors of the son.
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I agree that one of the biggest problems with the level system is that it is inaccurate, and that on an individual or communal level it's easier to say an Autistic person has X, Y and Z aspects about him or herself. The problem is on a societal level, not having the level system will lead to the wider populace having prejudices and misunderstandings about Autistic people and perpetuate the belief that Autism is a "disease" that "takes our children," employing the level system will mitigate those misunderstandings and prejudices.
 
In the end, a label is still a label.
It doesn't matter how it is spelled out with words or numbers, it will still fall on a deaf ear to those who for one don't need or want to know.

As has already been outlined by other members here, the three levels in use at the present time are not there in any manner other than to point clinical people in the right direction in order to offer them their required support.
 
Nitro said:
In the end, a label is still a label.
It doesn't matter how it is spelled out with words or numbers, it will still fall on a deaf ear to those who for one don't need or want to know.
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Yes, but unfortunately in this day and age too many people do, in fact, need to know; too many people out there view Autism as a scary monster that "takes their kids," and fantasize about it getting eradicated from the human species.

Lord-willing in the future, in the time of my children if not my own, most people will simply view Autism as weird but a fact of life and part of the human race. I'll do what I can in the meantime to get closer to that goal.
 
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Greatshield17 said:
Yes, but unfortunately in this day and age too many people do, in fact, need to know; too many people out there view Autism as a scary monster that "takes their kids," and fantasize about it getting eradicated from the human species.

Lord-willing in the future, in the time of my children if not my own, most people will simply view Autism as weird but a fact of life and part of the human race. I'll do what I can in the meantime to get that closer to that goal.
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So until your novel gets published, what do you suggest?
 
While I totally get the views against using functioning labels, I do feel the need for some sort of way to convey that I have high support needs. I'm very minimally speaking- I only speak to one person in my life and I cannot use phones. So for me to try to even convey my needs is super hard. And those needs don't fluctuate. I'm always at this level. It's a hard subject, I do understand the need for better wording- but some way of conveying a certain level without having the need of explaining it would be awesome.
 
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