Comments on: The difference between what’s normal for someone and what isn’t.

By: Samuel

Samuel — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 01:39:07 +0000

Recently on the QIAT listserv, there has been a great conversation talking about making powerpoint based books for children with special needs so that there next year’s teacher can see what they are like. I really like the idea of having video and books to help share in this way.

Personally, I just started a remnant book. It is a sort of scrap book that I can use to tell stories from. I learned about it from a young man who uses augmentative communication and is from North Carolina.

By: Ettina

Ettina — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 23:02:33 +0000

Another comment – I think low functioning autistics are those who are treated like they’re less capable than they are, and high functioning autistics are those who are treated as more capable than they are.

By: Ettina

Ettina — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 23:00:00 +0000

“We don’t have these terms for other neurological conditions do we? For example…would I be considered a high functioning depressive although I feel low functioning on many days. I just hide the fact that I feel so bad.”

I’ve seen it used for Down Syndrome. Two contexts I can remember off the top of my head are: a) apparently autistic DS people are sometimes considered just ‘low functioning Down’s’ and b) one person was complaining about the TV show Life Goes On, which features a Down Syndrome man – Corky – saying that it wasn’t representative of DS people because Corky was high functioning.

By: Rosemary

Rosemary — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 17:22:55 +0000

A cat video, awesome! I will have to make sure my cat, Buddy, watches your cat video, too.

By: Mom to Max

Mom to Max — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 13:28:08 +0000

oh thank you so very much! i want to start trying to do videos too. i am so behind the times. i want to start a multiple sclerosis diary. anyway thanks for sharing the link to your videos. i am finding myself thinking so much about the things you say here and trying to use this knowledge to try to connect better with my son.

By: Ettina

Ettina — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 21:39:13 +0000

“Oh, on the cat video: In my experience, it takes lots of time to get even one good still picture of a kitty.
The cat suspects that the human is up to something, and the human is not always successful in persuading the kitty that it’s perfectly safe, no problems, everything’s fine, don’t worry…”

We used to have a labrador dog, and one of our cats liked to lick her face. One day, my father came over with a camera as she was doing this, but she stopped doing it. He got a few good pictures of her doing other things, and then said ‘you know, what I really wanted was a picture of you licking the dog’. Immediately, she went over and started licking the dog!

By: bullet

bullet — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 21:00:45 +0000

“If someone on the spectrum can talk then they are more likely labeled as high functioning.”
That’s often the case, but do they mean verbal as in “can talk” or as in “can have a conversation at the same level as someone else their age?” For example my older son is very verbal, but this is an example of his speech:
Me: “T, open the cupboard door.”
Ds1: “AAH Open cutup DOOR!”
Me: (pointing to cupboard next to us): Open cupboard door.
Ds1 opens the fridge door.
Me: “Open the cupboard door”, gently guiding his hands to it.
Ds1 opens the door.
Me: “Pass me the peanut butter.”
Ds1 gets the peanut butter jar and holds onto it.
Ds1: “PEANUT BUTTER!”
Me: “Peanut butter, yes. For peanut butter sandwiches. Give it to mummy.”
Ds1 doesn’t hand it over. I hold out my hand. He passes it over.
Me: “Thank you. Now open fridge.”
Ds1 does so.
Me: “Get bread and butter.”
Ds1 gets the bread out and puts it on the side. Leaves the butter and shuts the fridge door.
Me: “Pass me the butter”.
Ds1 goes to get the cooking marge.
Me: “Not that butter. THIS butter.”
Ds1 passes me the cooking marge.
Me: “Not that butter. Get the butter in the fridge.”
Ds1: “A PEANUT BUTTER!”
Ds1 realises and passes me the correct butter. I move to put the cooking marge back and he gets upset, thinking it’s needed for his sandwich.
Me(after all is well): “I’m buttering the bread now.”
Ds1: “A butter a BREAD!”
Me: Shall I put the peanut butter on now?”
Ds1: No reply.
Me: “Do you want to help?”
No reply from Ds1. I sign “help” and he signs “help” back.
Me: “Come on, time to help make the sandwich.”
Ds1: Come on, it’s time for a NAPPY CHANGE!”
Me: “Not yet. Now it’s time for a sandwich.”
Ds1: “A SANDWICH!”
Me: “A tasty peanut butter sandwich. Help me spread the peanut butter on.”
He gets hold of the knife and helps put some on. He can’t cut with the knife so I cut his sandwich up.
Me: “Does that look yummy?”
Ds1: “A TOM, A JACOB, A MUMMY, A DADDY, A FAMILY!!” (complete with Makaton signs.
Me: Mummy and Tom and Jacob are here. Daddy is at work.
DS1 repeats his last sentence and then shrieks loudly.
Me: “You know your family. Take your sandwich through to the living room now.”
Ds1 does so and starts eating.

He has a lot of delayed echolalia and a lot of immediate echolalia and a lot of applying words to the wrong things based on a couple of word triggers.

By: ballastexistenz

ballastexistenz — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 18:05:56 +0000

Here.

By: Mom to Max

Mom to Max — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 17:48:55 +0000

this is off topic but do you have a link on your site to all your videos? i would like to view them.

By: ballastexistenz

ballastexistenz — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 17:39:46 +0000

Yeah, and people view me as having been "higher functioning" when I could speak (or appear to) despite the fact that the actual language functioning was considerably less in speech than in other methods (testably less in fact).