Re: (article) Autism: From Mind Blindness to Context Blindness

[Guest guest]

> CJ wrote:

> > Another article on the topic... this one featured in Autism Asperger's

Digest.

> > Autism: From Mind Blindness to Context Blindness

> > http://autismdigest.com/autism-from-mind-blindness-to-context-blindness/

>

> Lordy, *lordy*! ...Non-sequiturs and unsubstantiated claims ALL over.

LOL this wasn't meant to be a clinical article, this is an article written for a

digest for families of children with autism. I liked the article and I think it

identifies one of the key challenges that young autistic children face when

trying to navigate the world. The article gives parents a *fresh* insight that

can help their children make sense of instructions and help parents adapt their

language so that their autistic children might understand them.

In the example (in the digest article) where the front doorbell rings and the

mother asks her autistic child to open the door, the child opens the back door.

As a person with auditory processing issues myself, I appreciate that an

autistic child may not be able to distinguish the sound of a doorbell, never

mind distinguish what ring it is (often they may have different tones) from all

the other background noise in the house if the child is immersed in his play.

The mother could adapt by saying " please open the front door. " Simple. I also

like the term " contextual blindness " in place of " mind blindness. "

Going off on a slight, but I think relevant, tangent now,

I have long been saying that the critical issue is context. I do feel that many

young spectrummites miss out on the bigger picture because of their tendency to

over-focus on detail. This has big consequences as the child approaches

adolescence and adulthood. Yes, focusing on detail has its place, but there has

to be a balance.

Temple Grandin, commenting on pigs who were penned up and lacked adequate

stimulation, noted they developed stereotype behaviors. When the animals brains

were autopsied, Temple said they had developed connections (I think she called

them " dendrite highways " ) that " shouldn't be there. " She concluded by saying

(paraphrasing Temple here) " don't let your autistic child sit in a corner and

perseverate all day " and encouraged parents to expose their autistic child to

lots of stimulation.

In humans, higher functioning children are more likely to focus on special

interests .. and computer games .. to the exclusion of more social activities.

We have discussed (at length) the merits of some of these more social

activities, some of which were perceived by some of us in our childhood and teen

years as great time wasters but, we learned belatedly, there were some valuable

lessons to be learned that we missed, as well. Some may not view this as a

problem per se .. but it *is* for those who desire social and romantic

relationships, employment, etc. I appreciate this all very intuitively because

this could have been me. However, life cast me out into the world very early -

but in an era when anyone with a pulse and some initiative could make a decent

living wage. I was also blessed to have been surrounded (mostly) by folks who

did not take advantage of my cluelessness at that time, but rather protected me

and gave me good advice. I caught on. I was lucky. But my autistic brother was

not.

Many have appropriated part or all of Sigmund Freud's quote " Love and work are

the cornerstones of our humanness " .. especially the " love and work " part in an

attempt to define functionality and mental wellbeing. I think it's very true

that if we have those two things, most of us would be contented with that. Some

in the autism spectrum, even the highest functioning, have great difficulty

attaining these things to their great unhappiness. Understanding missing

" context " might be the key for them.

Bill (still with me?) you yourself have said, and I agree that *any* books,

videos etc. that deal with psychology, human relationships, employment issues

etc. can help give spectrum folks - and anyone - more keys to understanding how

people click, cooperate and get along.

- Helen

[Guest guest]

> > LOL this wasn't meant to be a clinical article, this is an article

> > written for a digest for families of children with autism.

> At the risk of belaboring the point.... *context* plays a role here too.

My thots too

- Helen

[Guest guest]

--- In aspires-relationships , WD Loughman wrote

in response to my comment:

> > LOL this wasn't meant to be a clinical article, this is an article

> > written for a digest for families of children with autism.

> Of course, ...unmistakeable. But still wrong at root.

and

> The " fresh insight " is incomplete. Therefore will mislead some readers,

> as it seems to have done already.

Hi Bill, how do you feel the article is wrong at the root and misleading? What

specific points in the article do you disagree with? Here's the link again (for

convenience)

http://autismdigest.com/autism-from-mind-blindness-to-context-blindness/ Yes

there were some simplifications and generalizations made for the sake of

brevity. However, I feel I can not judge based on this brief article. I would

have to read his book to comment more fully. I would like to know how he

addresses context blindness - if there are any similarities to Steve Gustein's

RDI work. Vermeulen's article does attempt to debunk the main assumption about

the autistic population's lack of social skills and social cognition, which I

thought was refreshing. However, I do have an open mind, I want all the facts

before me, so please expand

> Gaining the keys to understanding is not the same as 'understanding' itself.

Well no, of course not. One has to make the leap from acquiring facts (keys) to

being able to respond with sensitivity (understanding) and unfortunately not

everyone seems capable of doing that. Some are going to continue to think that

having to adapt their approach is some kind of terrible burden .. which would

make one wonder then, who is more mind-blind and empathy deficient?

The " keys " in this case are gaining knowledge of some of the differences. In the

example in the article, if the parent is assuming the child *can* process the

world as the parent can, the child might seem inattentive, or perhaps even a

little on the slow side, for not answering the right door.

If the parent becomes aware that a) the child is a literal thinker and the

child may never have heard the doorbell in the first place despite normal

hearing, perhaps even too-good hearing, due to a) his focus on his interest

and/or in the child's world, everything is an overwhelming cacophony and

therefore it is hard to distinguish different sounds from one another, then the

parent will know that he/she needs to provide clear instructions with no

ambiguity.

The parent will also develop more appreciation of what it takes for the child to

be able to respond as " average " folks do. The latter part is " understanding " but

only comes after learning that there are some " key " differences and as above,

sadly, some never do understand.

- Helen