Current Events > So what's with this autism thing anyway?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I swear I never heard of it before in my life until about two years ago, and since then everyone keeps talking about it.

Why is it getting so much attention? It's just sorta weird that it becomes so mainstream out of nowhere. You don't hear about other diseases nearly this much. Hell, even gamefaqs is giving me a warning before posting this topic not to use it in a non-clinical matter and not to use it as an insult (which I am in no way doing, this topic is an honest non-insulting attempt at getting information), where if I were to say "get cancer, jerkwad" nobody would bat an eye about it despite the fact that I'm using another disease in a derogative manner and gamefaqs sure as hell isn't warning me about using the word cancer.

Because before you were just a weirdo. Now it is diagnosed.
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Because the whole vaccines cause autism thing is so stupid that it vaulted autism to the forefront
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wackyteen posted...

Because the whole vaccines cause autism thing is so stupid that it vaulted autism to the forefront

This
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Autism has always been a mental illness. It didn't just appear out of nowhere. You only just opened your eyes and noticed its existence recently
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wackyteen posted...

Because the whole vaccines cause autism thing is so stupid that it vaulted autism to the forefront

Yeah I remember hearing about that, that kinda does make sense.

Harpie posted...

Autism has always been a mental illness. It didn't just appear out of nowhere. You only just opened your eyes and noticed its existence recently

I'm not denying that, just curious why it's only recently that everyone's talking about it so much

The topic title sounds like the build up to a very very bad joke. Lol

Darklit_Minuet posted...

I swear I never heard of it before in my life until about two years ago, and since then everyone keeps talking about it.

Why is it getting so much attention? It's just sorta weird that it becomes so mainstream out of nowhere. You don't hear about other diseases nearly this much. Hell, even gamefaqs is giving me a warning before posting this topic not to use it in a non-clinical matter and not to use it as an insult (which I am in no way doing, this topic is an honest non-insulting attempt at getting information), where if I were to say "get cancer, jerkwad" nobody would bat an eye about it despite the fact that I'm using another disease in a derogative manner and gamefaqs sure as hell isn't warning me about using the word cancer.

You could certainly be modded for saying "get cancer, jerkwad". 100%.

Autism is getting a lot of attention because it's a fairly new condition in terms of being diagnosed effectively. And it's incredibly prevalent.

Consider what would happen if you made jokes about someone having an intellectual disability (using the R-word), or down syndrome, or really any kind of disability. You're conflating stupidity with an actual mental disability and that's what makes it a problem.
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Darklit_Minuet posted...

Harpie posted...

Autism has always been a mental illness. It didn't just appear out of nowhere. You only just opened your eyes and noticed its existence recently

I'm not denying that, just curious why it's only recently that everyone's talking about it so much

Meh, I don't know why and I don't care as long as they're talking about it. It helps spread awareness
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Harpie posted...

Darklit_Minuet posted...

Harpie posted...

Autism has always been a mental illness. It didn't just appear out of nowhere. You only just opened your eyes and noticed its existence recently

I'm not denying that, just curious why it's only recently that everyone's talking about it so much

Meh, I don't know why and I don't care as long as they're talking about it. It helps spread awareness

For sure, I agree with you there :)

MildlyIrkedOwl posted...

Autism is getting a lot of attention because it's a fairly new condition in terms of being diagnosed effectively. And it's incredibly prevalent.

Consider what would happen if you made jokes about someone having an intellectual disability (using the R-word), or down syndrome, or really any kind of disability. You're conflating stupidity with an actual mental disability and that's what makes it a problem.

Huh, I never thought about it before but phrasing it that way makes it a lot easier to understand the reasoning. During my childhood everyone used to use the R-word as an insult, and while we as children weren't thinking "we are conflating your stupidity with an actual mental disability", more like "this is just another word that means dumb", I can see the harm it could have done to people with that disability by making it essentially a synonym for stupidity. And now I guess autism is used the same way, maybe not deliberately maliciously, but still causing problems due to the conflation.

Yeah that makes perfect sense to me, thanks

Darklit_Minuet posted...

Huh, I never thought about it before but phrasing it that way makes it a lot easier to understand the reasoning. During my childhood everyone used to use the R-word as an insult, and while we as children weren't thinking "we are conflating your stupidity with an actual mental disability", more like "this is just another word that means dumb", I can see the harm it could have done to people with that disability by making it essentially a synonym for stupidity. And now I guess autism is used the same way, maybe not deliberately maliciously, but still causing problems due to the conflation.

Yeah that makes perfect sense to me, thanks

Exactly. "Autistic" is used (on the internet especially) as a slang anytime someone is awkward or lacks self awareness in social situations. You can imagine how that's damaging to people who legitimately have a brain wired differently and can't help it.
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There has been a rise in diagnoses and people mistook that to mean that something is causing autism when it's actually just more people having medical examinations and years prior this issue was just not being treated.
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It's a thing. My brother has it.
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