STATEMENT FROM BOB & SUZANNE WRIGHT (shared from Facebook page of Autism Speaks)
"People want immediate or simple answers when an unimaginable tragedy like this occurs. Autism did not cause this horror. The profound tragedy of these senseless murders will only be compounded if it results in unwarranted discrimination against people with autism."
These are some articles that you guys can read for further info regarding the mass shooting in Newtown and how does some irresponsible critics relate Autism/Aspergers with the tragedy.
Our hearts go out to the families and town of Newtown, Connecticut for this heartbreaking event. Some medias are reporting that the shooter might have had an autism spectrum disorder. Some have also inaccurately reported that there is a linkage between autism and planned violence. People with disabilities or disorders should not be blamed in the midst of these types of tragedies. Therefore please keep the families of Newtown in your prayers.
Hello there! It's been a week since our presentation at IIUM Psychology Week 2012. Just wanted to stop by and let you guys watch our short video presentation on Aspergers Syndrome.
We decided to include some short clips from The Big Bang Theory sitcom starring Dr. Sheldon Cooper. Remember, he is not diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome but the traits are obviously there. You can read further on our previous post regarding Sheldon.
Below are the pamphlet that we gave to the audience during our presentation.
Nicole Mc Farling had this to say regarding this matter: "Those that work in the field of autism have known this for two years
that this change was coming. Asperger syndrome was added to the DSM-IV
in 1994 officially so you bare off on your dates by a few years. Many
professional in the field are upset over this because it will prevent
many who have a higherfunctioning autism or asperger's will lose
services they need.How many 1000's of individuals dignosed with
Asperger's will now not be and wont meet criterion for autism. Where
was the AP when the debates were happening last year? When renown
professionals in the field, psychiatrists, MD's, etc pushed to stop it.
It's only going to eliminate the category in order to lower the rate of
diagnosed individuals. Questions were raised on the validity of the
field traials conducted during the last 1.5 years. Dr. C. Lord chair of the task fo
rce stated (trials showed)10% less would meet criteria, but contradicted herself saying it wouldn't affect anyone.
Dr. Francis, Duke University School of Medicine and chair of the DSM-IV
revisions that included Aspereger's is against these changes and has
stated that it is radical change to the definition of Autism and will
dramatically reduce the number the number of people who will qualify
under the new criteria. This is a socio-political move and it is
wrong to all the individuals who need assistance due to impact of the
symptomology of aspergers or autism. 1 in 88 (CDC, 2012) is now the
prevalence; change from 1 in 110 in 2009. This is a travesty and is
going to severly impact those individuals who are higher functioning
cognitively. Most will not be able to gain employment and have any
independence in adulthood, without the assistance they need to gain the
skills they need, even though many have an average or above average IQ.
The IQ however isn't the diagnosos, but socialization, communication and
behavaioral challenges is the disability. This is a travesty for
many families that struggle daily with this with a loved one. It is a
LIFELONG disorder and there is no cure, only interventions to help them
develop in the triad (social, communivation and behavior)areas.
Yet another population of individuas with disabilities that will hugely
discriminated against, because without help, they won't meet society's
idea of someone who is socially competent. Society should be pissed
about this and be up in arms advocating that this not happen. But,
unless you have a kid or adult in your family with an autism spectrum
disorder, most people will ignore this just like evrything else in
society that's ignored because it doessn't directly impact them." Nicole McFarling, M.A. Sp.Ed. ADVOCATE FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS.
I must say that I'm one of the huge fans of The Big Bang Theory sitcom. What more could we have asked for other than the attractive casts, hilarious show with a brilliant scriptwriting! Well, Dr Sheldon Cooper himself is an interesting character to begin with!
He is usually characterized as extremely intelligent, socially clumsy and strictly logical. Regardless of his intellect, he sometimes displays a lack of common sense. He also possesses childlike qualities which he seems unaware, such as extreme stubbornness. Sheldon also has a broad general knowledge in many subjects. Although his friends have similar intellects to him, his peculiarity, stubbornness and lack of empathy often annoy them. Sheldon occasionally uses slang, and follows jokes with his catchphrase "Bazinga!”. In response to criticism from his friends that he is mentally ill, Sheldon often reply angrily, "I'm not crazy, my mother had me tested”. Like his friends, Sheldon is scientifically of a mind person and is fond of comic books, costumes, role-playing games, video games, customizable card games, action figures, fantasy, and science fiction, particularly Star Trek, in which his favourite character is Spock.
What an interesting character no? Well, he has all the traits of someone with Asperger's Syndrome (not that it is ever mentioned on the show). Several viewers have claimed that Sheldon's behaviour is consistent with Asperger’s syndrome but the writer Bill Prady knows the character better than we do. Prady said that Sheldon does not have Asperger's but instead thought of his actions as "Sheldony" plus, he never had the syndrome in mind when the character was created.
"We write the character as the character.
A lot of people see various things in him and make the connections. Our feeling
is that Sheldon's mother never got a diagnosis, so we don't have one."
(Bill
Prady)
Does Sheldon have Asperger's?
**this is the best video I could find. The rest are mostly in Spanish I think?
“I do wonder. Okay, so we’re not
writing a character with Asperger’s, but what Aspergerian stories are you
pulling some of this from? I believe one
of our writers has a relative that has Asperger’s. And like I say, I think a lot
of this really intellectual work that somebody like Sheldon does, the way his
brain works, it’s so focused on the intellectual topics at hand that thinking
he’s autistic is an easy leap for people watching the show to make. The way
Sheldon goes “Huh?” to a social and emotional situation because he’s so focused
on what he’s doing. His brain is so wrapped up in it.” (Jim Parsons)
There are good reasons why the writers do not want to label Sheldon as
having Asperger's.Main reason is that if
he's afflicted with the real disease, how can his friends make fun of him the
way they do? Sheldon may be as annoying and fussy but mocking people like him (if
he were to be diagnosed with Asperger's) is not really a brilliant thing to show
to the whole world right? If that is so, then his fellow friends are a bunch of
jerks? Hmmm... If Sheldon did
have a diagnosis, his friends could no longer mock him and I guess the show
would have been banned for life then!
References
Collins, P. (2009,
February 6). Is the world ready for an Asperger's sitcom? Retrieved
November 6, 2012, from Slate Magazine:
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/television/2009/02/mustgeek_tv.html
Murray, N. (2009, May 1). Interview: Jim Parsons. Retrieved
November 6, 2012, from A.V CLUB:
http://www.avclub.com/articles/jim-parsons,27415/
The Big Bang Theory. (n.d.). Retrieved November
6, 2012, from CBS: http://www.cbs.com/shows/big_bang_theory/about/
Waldman, A. (2009, August 14). Come up with a new theory:
Sheldon does NOT have Asperger's. Retrieved November 6, 2012, from The
Huffington Post:
http://www.aoltv.com/2009/08/14/come-up-with-a-new-theory-sheldon-does-not-have-aspergers
"Allah, indeed, has some purpose for our son. That realization doesn’t
cure autism, but it sure helps me help my son to fight it. Allah inspires me, and He has graciously given me this great kid for inspiration as well."
` Say: "If I am astray, I only stray to the loss of my own
soul: but if I receive guidance, it is because of theinspiration of my
Lord to me: it is He Who hears all things, and is (ever) near."
This is such an inspiring story from our sister in Islam who had a son diagnosed with Autism. I can totally relate to her story because I knew someone in my family who has Autism as well. With such a great spirit and faith, she's still fighting for her innocent son. I just wish that every mother with an Autistic child would have the same thought like she did. Never give up, because Allah is always gonna be there for you.
And
We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of
wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to those who patiently persevere,
Like what you may have read (I think most of did) in the previous post, the treatments are recommended as part of the intervention to help Autistic children. There are Applied behavior analysis (ABA), Occupational therapy, Physical therapy and Speech-language therapy.
I was wondering on how it's possible to insert some Islamic values in dealing with Autism. Then it got me thinking that the message of Quran might help them in so many ways!
My thought was, why not read the Quran as part of their routine. It's possible in a way that they will continuously ask or even expect the routine (reading the Quran) to be repeated in future.
This is just a suggestion though. InshaAllah if there's a will, there's a way.
Nay, seek (Allah's) help with patient perseverance and prayer: it is indeed hard, except to those who bring a lowly spirit (to Allah)
"Over the past decade, researchers have made great strides in identifying
genes that lead to an increased risk of autism spectrum disorders
(ASD), which result in a continuum of social deficits, communication
difficulties and cognitive delays. But it's still critical to determine
how exactly these genetic risk factors impact the brain's structure and
function so that better treatments and interventions can be developed." -Science Daily
(How Common Gene Mutation Affects Kids With Autism Spectrum Disorders)
The detailed information regarding the research can be obtained here!
My Brain
Awesome, Not ordinary, Funny.
My brain is in my head and it looks gooey and mushy.
I can read because of my brain.
I couldn’t talk without a brain.
My brain helps me play fun games with friends.
My brain helps me move my muscles.
My brain is as strong as my heart.
My Brain
Gooey, Warm, Smart.
My brain is covered by my skin and my bones.
My brain helps me see anything in the world I want to see.
I could not think with out a brain and I wouldn’t learn anything cool.
My brain helps me talk with family and friends about the 2012 election.
My brain has a brain stem located between the thalamus and the spinal cord.
My brain is as good as my inner organs could ever want to be.
My Brain
Convenient, Nice, Awesome.
My brain is under my forehead.
I can smile because of my brain.
I wouldn’t be able to read without my brain.
I could learn new things from teachers with my brain.
The brain is the control center of my body.
My brain is as awesome as Albert Einstein.
- Behaviorbrain, March 2012
Brilliant isn't it? This
awesome poem was written by an 11-year old boy who lives his life with Aspergers
Syndrome. You guys can
read more about him over here!!!
the purpose of putting up this blog is to spread the awareness of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) among the people who are not yet familiar with it. We are so honored to be able to do a research on this topic as part of our course project (Physiological Psychology) which is not only to broaden our knowledge or merely just to pass this course but InshaAllah to make the people out there realize the importance of knowing the existence of Autism.
First of all let me explain, preferably in points (rather than using long essays) to clarifies the background of Autism itself.
What is Autism?
The word autism derives from the Greek autos, meaning "self".
Autism is a developmental disorder that appears in the first 3 years of
life, and affects the brain's normal development of social and
communication skills.
Person with Autism were unusually fascinated in themselves and showed little interest in
others
The following are the 4 types of Autism Spectrum Disorder:
While the presentation of the disorder varies from individual to
individual, there are 3 areas of deficits that are common among
individuals with ASD:
deficits in social interactions;
deficits in verbal and non-verbal communication;
repetitive behaviors or narrow interests.
Causes for Autism
the cause of the ASD remain unknown
scientific evidence supports that possible cause includes the abnormalities in brains structures and function.
Recent
research into the anatomy and functioning of the human brain has indicated that
there are consistent differences between the brains of autistic and
non-autistic individuals (Dodd, 2005).
Genetic factors may sometimes involved
Symptoms of Autism (The symptoms may vary from moderate to severe)
most children with ASD can be
reliably diagnosed by the age of 3
These
children do not follow the typical patterns of child development.
May not respond to eye contact or smiles, or may avoid eye contact
Cannot start or maintain a social conversation
Communicates with gestures instead of words
Be overly sensitive in sight, hearing, touch, smell, or taste
Have unusual distress when routines are changed
Perform repeated body movements
Show unusual attachments to objects
Treatment
An early, intensive, appropriate treatment program
will greatly improve the outlook for most young children with autism.
Most programs will build on the interests of the child in a highly
structured schedule of constructive activities.
Visual aids are often
helpful.
Treatment is most successful when it is geared toward the
child's particular needs. An experienced specialist or team should
design the program for the individual child.
A variety of therapies are
available, including:-Applied behavior analysis (ABA)
-Medications
-Occupational therapy
-Physical therapy
-Speech-language therapy
Other Links that may help you guys!
http://www.autism.my/resources.html
http://www.younme.com.my/contact.php
http://www.nasom.com.my/
That's all for now! We're gonna update this blog as often as possible depending on our class schedule and all. Have a productive weekend peeps!
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