What's your actual experience with people who have Down Syndrome/Autism?

Pippen · February 21, 2016, 11:43:57 AM

I am honestly curious. A lot of people here throw the words around left and right, however it's unclear if most of you guys have ever had to work with someone who has either.

I'm saying this because I have a brother who has Autism(well controlled autism but still autism), and I have an Aunt who has Down Syndrome. So being around them really has shown me what they go through.

So, have you had any experience with talking to/working with someone who is autistic or has Down Syndrome?

Ásgeirr · February 21, 2016, 11:48:30 AM

Yeah

Spoiler

sep7agon

Septy · February 21, 2016, 11:49:09 AM

Everyone on Sep7agon

Cindy · February 21, 2016, 11:51:22 AM

>Posting a thread about autism to /r9k/ lite

Did you expect anything different?

DAS B00T x2 · February 21, 2016, 11:53:28 AM

Quote from: Cindy on February 21, 2016, 11:51:22 AM

>Posting a thread about autism to /r9k/ lite

Did you expect anything different?

um
We're polocks, not robots, thanks.

Ian · February 21, 2016, 11:54:58 AM

>All these degenerate threads
>Polocks

Well memed fam.

Quote from: DAS B00T 2016 on February 21, 2016, 11:53:28 AM

We're polocks, not robots, thanks.

Cindy · February 21, 2016, 11:55:46 AM

Quote from: DAS B00T 2016 on February 21, 2016, 11:53:28 AM

Quote from: Cindy on February 21, 2016, 11:51:22 AM
>Posting a thread about autism to /r9k/ lite

Did you expect anything different?
um
We're polocks, not robots, thanks.

Serious is /pol/ lite, this board is /r9k/ lite

Verbatim · February 21, 2016, 11:56:57 AM

I was part of our choir in high school (I sung bass), and... we must have had some sort of quota, or something, because every single year, there would be at least two special needs kids enrolled as well.

They sung about as well as you'd expect them to--and sometimes not at all--but they were still the happiest balls of sunshine you've ever seen. The children who had autism would always jump and skip around during songs, and when he got too excited, his aide had to come over and calm him down. The children with Down syndrome were always very chatty, but you could never really understand what they were saying.

During lessons, they would sometimes ask a bunch of strange questions that didn't have anything to do with anything, like, "Hey, have you seen the new SpongeBob mooovie?" and the instructor would say, "No, I haven't! Was it good?"

"No, it wasn't as good as the first one, but you can see it tonight at 7:30 PM if you really want to."

And I've already told the story about the one who kept blowing into my face during a concert, I think.

So yeah, sometimes I have to wonder if people on the Internet who throw around the word "autistic" (guilty) have ever actually met someone who was autistic in their life, because it's reasonably certain that nobody on this website is actually autistic. Even Deci.

I mean, I get that autism is a spectrum, but its overuse as an insult these days kind of makes me uncomfortable, and knowing that I find myself using it in a disparaging manner sometimes, is... I don't know. It's unfortunate, and I'm trying to be mindful of that.

Pippen · February 21, 2016, 12:00:14 PM

That sounds like someone who would truly have autism Verb. As bad as that sounds.

But it's true that absolutely no autistic person is the same as another.

Ian · February 21, 2016, 12:02:05 PM

It's no different from people using other offensive terms on the internet. I've met plenty of special needs kids in HS, I was a TA in my senior year the teacher would constantly send paperwork over to the one in charge of them and I had to stand around and wait for paperwork to come back. One of them kicked me in the balls and then screamed before going back to their "work". I could never do a job involving that, I simply don't have the patience.

One should always try to be more colorful with their insults, but most would think it's not worth it when simply calling someone an autist gets the same point across.

Quote from: Verbatim on February 21, 2016, 11:56:57 AM

So yeah, sometimes I have to wonder if people on the Internet who throw around the word "autistic" (guilty) have ever actually met someone who was autistic in their life, because it's reasonably certain that nobody on this website is actually autistic. Even Deci.

I mean, I get that autism is a spectrum, but its overuse as an insult these days kind of makes me uncomfortable, and knowing that I find myself using it in a disparaging manner sometimes, is... I don't know. It's unfortunate, and I'm trying to be mindful of that.

The Lord Ruler · February 21, 2016, 12:04:57 PM

Yeah there are two autistic people on my street as well as my cousin and my mom's friend's daughter has down syndrome.

Plus there was the autistic kid and the one with down syndrome in my marching band in high school.

Ender · February 21, 2016, 12:05:44 PM

I have multiple cousins with autism, and I've got to say that they're really unbearable to be around. Sounds mean but it's true.

I also have a cousin who's mentally retarded, but he's the nicest guy in the world.

challengerX · February 21, 2016, 12:06:34 PM

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Big Boss · February 21, 2016, 12:07:50 PM

There's a guy in my class with aspergers and everything he does is so awkward it's really hard not to laugh, I've got a few short stories involving him...

Pippen · February 21, 2016, 12:08:05 PM

Quote from: challengerX on February 21, 2016, 12:06:34 PM

They're people?

What is it with you sensitive faggots and taking every joke on here intensely seriously?

I never took them seriously. I understand what they mean isn't serious. I am genuinely curious on how many people here actually have experience with kids or adults with either disorder.

Pippen · February 21, 2016, 12:10:13 PM

Quote from: Ender on February 21, 2016, 12:05:44 PM

I have multiple cousins with autism, and I've got to say that they're really unbearable to be around. Sounds mean but it's true.

I also have a cousin who's mentally retarded, but he's the nicest guy in the world.

Do your cousins have temper issues/are way too damn social?

Because my brother is similar. Again like I said he's more controlled but he has a major temper, to the point at growling at everybody, and tends to talj a little bit too much.

Ender · February 21, 2016, 12:12:34 PM

Quote from: Pip on February 21, 2016, 12:10:13 PM

Quote from: Ender on February 21, 2016, 12:05:44 PM
I have multiple cousins with autism, and I've got to say that they're really unbearable to be around. Sounds mean but it's true.

I also have a cousin who's mentally retarded, but he's the nicest guy in the world.

Do your cousins have temper issues/are way too damn social?

Because my brother is similar. Again like I said he's more controlled but he has a major temper, to the point at growling at everybody, and tends to talj a little bit too much.

I haven't seen any of them in years, so I cant recall what exactly what was up. And it varied with each if them.

Ender · February 21, 2016, 12:13:20 PM

Oh one if them moved over to Ohio, so I now remember how much of an annoying fucking twat he is. God damn.

Naru · February 21, 2016, 12:14:12 PM

besides this website? not much, maybe a few in classrooms in high school, but nothing else.

Mr. Psychologist · February 21, 2016, 12:16:09 PM

In high school I knew a fair few and was good friends with a kid who had mild autism, pokemon was his thing and I'm talking human pokedex sort of fellow. He wasn't great at interacting with others, because he'd talk in strange voices and tones and tended to grab people by the shoulders but we got along fine.

Of course, children being the vicious bastards that they are, there were plenty of people who took the piss out of him and a few who went a bit further with their shit. There was this one lardy little blemish who found it funny to poke him in the back of the neck on the bus amongst other things and after I asked him quite nicely to cut the shit and he didn't, I got the bastard barred from the veehickle.

Other than him, I haven't really met any firsthand.

Last summer though, I was shadowing clinical psychologists who worked on an austim/LD specialist team so I got to hear a fair amount about what it was like to work with them. I met a couple briefly, one who flipped a chair in greeting (mildly amusing, deftly caught) but not enough of an encounter to know them.

The thing that struck me the most throughout my time shadowing the psychs, was how hopelessly inept the carers were. I mean I don't expect an HCA to know the same level of stuff as a clinpsy or a psychiatrist but fugg me. What kind of retard screams at autistic children when they are getting rowdy? And is then surprised when they get bitten. GG jesus christ.

Oh and this one lady who was convinced the guy they were caring for was a psychopath in disguise, no ma'am he's just autistic. Autistic people don't have a whole lot of this thing called empathy because of the y'know deficiencies in interpersonal relationships and ability. But no, he was a vicious psychopath.

tl;dr
Most people don't have a fucking clue when it comes to autism, even the bloody carers.

True Turquoise · February 21, 2016, 12:16:55 PM

Bungles alright i guess

The Hån · February 21, 2016, 12:57:14 PM

yea in highschool there was a girl with Asperger. she was really sweet but all she talked about was minecraft.

Blonic the Fluxmeister · February 21, 2016, 01:00:53 PM

Quote from: Cindy on February 21, 2016, 11:55:46 AM

Quote from: DAS B00T 2016 on February 21, 2016, 11:53:28 AM
Quote from: Cindy on February 21, 2016, 11:51:22 AM
>Posting a thread about autism to /r9k/ lite

Did you expect anything different?
um
We're polocks, not robots, thanks.
Serious is /pol/ lite, this board is /r9k/ lite

And yet you have been frequently posting on "/r9k/ lite".

i am karjala takaisin · February 21, 2016, 01:09:12 PM

there were a couple of kids at my elementary school who i'm pretty sure had autism

among them was a kid who, besides having autism[?], was also physically disabled; he wore leg braces (he also had a wheel chair) and was shorter than average

he was also 13 in 5th grade

anyways, i didn't interact much with him--in fact, i usually tried to avoid him (but i never outright messed with him, like some younger kids would sometimes do)

other things worth mentioning are that he once called a girl a "heifer" (i don't remember the context of this) and that he referred to me as "nicholas", because my last name is nick (although it is not derived from nicholas)

Assassin 11D7 · February 21, 2016, 01:11:16 PM

I mean, Sparta had some good ideas.

TB · February 21, 2016, 01:39:08 PM

mojo · February 21, 2016, 01:57:57 PM

they are retarded

big sponge · February 21, 2016, 02:01:45 PM

Quote from: True Turquoise on February 21, 2016, 12:16:55 PM

Bungles alright i guess

ha

Sandtrap · February 21, 2016, 02:06:53 PM

A lot. There's a place in my area that recycles inustrial waste from wood mills. The whole place is run by folks like that, except for the core staff, which are the people responsible for watching over everybody.

In my personal experience, honestly, I like them better than normal people. I know that the staff who work that mill are people with lesser degrees of the disease, and of course, people with higher forms of it are harder to work with. And I mean, anybody with it is hard to work with, I guess.

But they're genuinely nice people. They're actually innocent.

I roll up there and if they see me they wave every time. And they're happy about it. And that's what makes them innocent. It's not that they're dumb. But they're simplistic. They have the full range of human emotions and instincts, but due to the way their head is wired, it's all very..... simple.

There was another fellow I met on one of my appointments in the hospital not too long ago. Could tell he had something. But he loved movies. And he loved talking about movies. And it was something refreshing to me, to see somebody so happy. I mean, this guy, seriously loved movies.

What's sad to me though, is that a lot of them had hard times. The ones at the mill in my area, some of them, had really hard times. They're often mistreated poorly by people. As I've heard some stories told to me by the manager of that mill, who is also a really damn good person.

I make a note to myself. I try to treat those folks with the utmost respect and care when I meet them.

ಠ_ಠ · February 21, 2016, 02:08:24 PM

Middle school, the "special kids" were integrated with us during PE. There was this guy that would follow you around and just talk nonstop. In high school there was almost like this gang of mentally handicapped kids, they traveled in a pack and pretty much did everything together. In college there's this guy in a wheelchair that goes to every single campus event and he always has this habit of making people extremely uncomfortable when he starts talking, and there's almost no escape because of how large he is in his wheelchair.

Other than that...I have a few friends with aspergers but they're actually really nice and smart people who just have issues with certain social cues.