Sunday, 08 May 2011
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Asperger's and Autism? What's the difference?
Jeanne Millsap, a writer for The Beacon-News, a publication of The Chicago Sun Times, brings us to a relatively unexamined destination in the autism spectrum (and my third in a day that brought me to a Pennsylvania affiliate, a national story and the third largest media market in the country): Asperger’s Syndrome. Throughout her exploration, she parallels the confusion parents and other adults have with an Aspergers diagnosis, who say they knew something was wrong but couldn’t quite identify it. A psychiatrist at the Institute for Personal Development said he has Asperger’s patients in their 40s who knew they were quirky but unable to find an explanation behind their behavioral differences.
Millsap frequently references the 1988 Academy Award-winning film Rain Man, as her sources say Raymond Babbitt, the character that landed Dustin Hoffman the Best Actor Oscar that year, was a perfect example of someone with an Asperger’s diagnosis. While its classification is under review, Asperger’s is associated with the high end of the autism spectrum. Intelligence and verbal skills are on par with peers not affected by a mental disability, but they have trouble communicating and interacting with people. As Raymond exhibited in the film with Jeopardy!, The People’s Court and Wheel of Fortune, people with Asperger’s can have intense preoccupations with subjects or items. While symptoms do exist, their subtlety can lead parents and even individuals with Asperger’s to wonder if there really is a problem or ponder about over-thinking their behavioral characteristics. Like the rest of the autism spectrum, Asperger’s diagnoses are increasing as a result of improved screening for all levels of the spectrum.
The story highlights what I was alluding to in my last post about the inverted pyramid. While the structure is common, not all stories dictate the use of that strategy, and Millsap’s is one of them. Instead, Millsap introduces us to the condition through a fictional character most are familiar with, and uses Raymond Babbitt to guide us through Asperger’s and its link to the autism spectrum. Where this story falls flat is its lack of human sources. The psychiatrist is the only person voicing the story with Millsap, even though there were plenty of opportunities to introduce more personalities. People with Asperger’s Syndrome are more likely to vocalize their stories simply because their verbal skills are better than other members of the autism spectrum on average. Guessing why we only hear from one person is too hard to tell, as Millsap could have been under deadline pressure, denied access to the psychiatrist’s patients, or she simply could not find a subject willing to conduct an interview.
However, getting the perspective from someone who lives on the spectrum daily would have reinforced the ideas and traits the psychiatrist presented in his interview, or introduced new angles to a story people are struggling to follow. Getting at least two sources reduces your reliance of writing the story around one, and creates an opportunity for a dynamic flow that allows the story to breathe with little intervention from the writer. While a profile piece sometimes only needs one source, a more broad topic often requires multiple avenues to tell the story adequately.
Millsap or another Chicago Sun-Times writer could easily expand on this exploration, even if there’s a skeleton crew of fictional characters to relate to regarding Asperger’s Syndrome (the NBC drama series Parenthood features a boy diagnosed with the condition), and who’s to say they won’t do so. Even in the third largest media market, the thirst to understand how minds work persists with the audience.
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- From: theautisticjournalist
- Name: Mike
- Location: St. Paul, Minnesota, United States
- About Me: Aspiring journalist, aspiring play-by-play commentator, blogger leading the way to change autism's perceptions.
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Comments (11)
It's stupid to compare people who act a little independent of the social norm (aspergers) to people with mental retardation and awkward walking among other things (autism). I think way too many people are either misdiagnosed, or aspergers syndrome is as much of a sham as global warming. There are many factors that affect personality at a young age, such as environment and situations. In fact, a lot of the symptoms of aspergers are common in most men, such as the lack of the ability to read body language. You can't logically explain someone's personality, which is what aspergers syndrome attempts to do by placing a label on someone that carries specific personality traits.
Wether or not AS puts a label on personality traits, diagnosing it and treating it from a young age can really help. My brother was diagnosed with AS when he was 8 years old and treatment really helped him in the long run. My father, on the other hand, has AS as well(genetic) and in his day and age, he was just seen as having poor social skills. Although he still lead a normal life, he wishes he had been diagnosed earlier than 30 years old so that maybe his symptoms had not been so severe and he could have dealt better. Diagnosing and treating these disorders isn't ALWAYS such a bad thing. Some people use it as a crutch, others benefit.
@Chibi_Son_Gokou@xanga - Asperger's is considerably more than a personality trait, it can carry with it all sorts of sensory problems including exaggerated sensitivity to noise, light and other stimulii,an inability to process information when subjected to several simultaneous inputs, balance problems, savage sudden movements that can be very painful. Further classic autism does not always include mental retardation, and developmental delays do not necessarily imply any lack of intellectual capacity so for you to suggest it does is unhelpful to those trying to enable people with ASDs to participate fully in society. I support your right to express your opinions, but I think it would be preferable were they informed opinions.
@hilary_shinn@lovelyish - AS is not taken seriously in the medical field, at least not as seriously as it should be taken considering that most people have never heard of it, yet I would say at least 1/3 of all men have it. They're usually referred to as "smart, logical guys". Go to my blog and read the article I posted written by David DeAngelo. It should be of insight.
@Chibi_Son_Gokou@xanga - 1/3? Uhhh. No. Having been an occupational therapist student who's both worked with patients dealing with mental impairments and just interacting with people in everyday life, I'd say that number is way off. People with aspergers syndrome are (off the record) memorable to say the least and they've been very few in my experiences.
I know some people like to joke around how guys "just don't get it" when it comes to girls or just social etiquette in general, but the obliviousness in an individual with asperger's is profound. Most people across all cultures can identify other emotions in another person's face but with a severe case of asperger's, it's like (please pardon the nerdy analogy) everyone's an Elcor from Mass Effect, except they don't stop to announce their tone. Or perhaps more relateable: it's like consistently missing a sarcastic tone over text.
@Chibi_Son_Gokou@xanga - I have them all with varying severity at various times, others are worse than I and some better. I haven't even mentioned the social problems. My point is that AS is very real to some people. I am glad you don't have sensory problems, they can be somewhat of an inconvenience.
The first time I ever heard of Asperger's is when my ex-fiance told me about his youngest brother, who has Asperger's. I got the honour of meeting him last year, and although my ex-fiance and I aren't together anymore, I am still friends with his youngest brother and I consider him my little brother too. He's an awesome guy and I heart that dude
. I don't know a lot about Asperger's, if at all, but I do know that there's nothing stopping me from liking people who have it!
@Springingtiger - I'm not sure if I do or not to be honest. I mean, for the most part I don't think I do, but there may be some instances where I do. For example, I find it hard to do ZUMBA immediately after doing yoga in the exact same room because we're going from a class doing relaxing exercises, dim lights, calming music, and few people to upbeat and intense moves, bright lights, loud and upbeat music, and many people. It's especially hard after doing an intense workout in another room prior to the yoga. However, others agree that it can be aggravating, so maybe it's normal. I'm also very sensitive to music. I become irritated to the point where I have to shut off the music if I'm listening to a very fast-paced song made for fast driving and I get stuck in a traffic jam or behind a red light.
i have aspergers and is a athest and communist
The character played by Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man was based on a real life person, Kim Peek. Mr. Peek did not have Asperger Syndrome but Opitz-Kaveggia syndrome, a rare genetic disorder where there is a partial or complete loss of the corpus callosum.