Is Autism Really a Disorder? | AUTISM IN ADULTS

#OliviaHops #ActuallyAutistic #SkillShare

[BluetheRaccoon]

As someone with autism who, from the outside, appears highly intelligent and mostly competent yet on the inside feels like I'm barely clinging on to any meaningful function and need help but can't specify what or understand how to obtain it...yes. Yes, autism really is a disorder.

[DanS]

Olivia, your courage, compassion, perseverance, intelligence, enthusiasm, honesty, kindness, positivity, and wonderful sense of humor are all greatly appreciated!

[julieabraham]

Some people struggle with the word disorder because it seems to imply that nothing good can come from a disorder. However, look at any disorder and you will find both positive and negative things that come from it.
My uncle, for instance, is colorblind. It is a optical disorder. It caused him grief in his childhood because he could not understand why children laughed at him when he colored his trees purple. He was not diagnosed with colorblindness until he entered the Navy in the 1960s. There his disability was put to use because he could spot things despite their camouflage.
Even though he learned to live with the disorder in useful ways it did not cease to be a disorder.

[sugarwoofle]

I love these videos. Still waiting on my diagnosis but my psychologist fully believes I am autistic as well. It explains so many things in my life I've never had answers for and suffer with to this day. Most people can be social butterflies... ever since I was little to this day I struggle to be social. I push through and the longest I've ever had a job was 3 years... that was only 2 different jobs that I got to that long on. Both of which were less social, until they weren't. The fact that I find it painful to even talk in the morning when I wake up because it exausts me to even say two words... or that when I am forced to socialize it can leave me so exhausted that I can LITERALLY sleep for days. How I've dealt with it? I haven't... lots of crying and lots of severe depression. To me... this is what a disorder looks like. Some days I feel proud of myself that I'm doing things with people and other days I hate myself intensely because I can't do it at all.

Again, love the videos. Please keep up the great work. I may not be able to relate with everything you've experienced but 90% of it I can. It helps me put some of my thoughts and feelings in a way that I can express myself better when I do talk to my psychiatrist about what I personally experience. It's also really nice to know that at 32 I am not alone in not knowing why or how I am the way I am.

[corbenhavener]

If you seamlessly accommodate, it could feel like you have it all together. I have a lot together materially but I struggle to put together a healthy social life. Naturally, I fall into productivity mode and when I get into burnout, I can feel very dysfunctional. At the end of the day, disability is not a bad thing, it’s neutral. It’s just an aspect of one’s life that should be accommodated as needed.

[sarahleony]

I feel disabled by my (“high functioning”, Level 1) autism and if I could get rid of it, I would immediately.
I feel like most people who harp on about the term “disorder” are usually in favor of the term “disability” instead. They say autism isn’t a disorder like a glitch in a typically developed brain, but rather it’s a whole differently developed brain. Not sure I’m making sense.
Either way, all the militant autistics and their semantics are so tiring and oftentimes ostracizing. I get some of their points but at the end of the day I don’t care if you are autistic/have autism/ have Asperger’s etc and I don’t understand the need to police the community regarding language.

[gracegrace]

You're lovely, Olivia. Your videos are so helpful and your honesty and intelligence make them a real contribution. Thank you❣️

[ThanksHermione]

My mom says she almost wishes that I hadn't been diagnosed with autism at 24. She claims I use it to make excuses and calls it a crutch for me. I wish she understood me better.

[katerees-williams]

It's both a blessing and a curse. Some days, I hate it, and other days, I appreciate it, especially because it makes me a gifted writer and poet!

[sianchild]

I think the big thing it'd be worth your looking into is the social Vs medical models of disability. Disorder implies that there's something wrong with the individual, whereas another way of viewing it is that the fault lies in the way a society is set up.

[logicalameetsworld]

I wasn't subscribed to the channel 7 months ago but I wanted to say you made some very good points. I think the co-opting of language has something to do with how people are being taught to think about disorders and disabilities. Telling people with disabilities they can do anything everyone else can isn't realistic. It sets them up to fail. It would be like telling me I can be the life of the party when I can't even figure out when it's my turn to speak. I used to mimic what I saw to a point of damaging my health because I was told by a therapist, you just have to get in there and do it.
I had to learn that limitations weren't me being weak, they are human.

[beeskneesbooks]

This is my favorite Autism channel because you keep it real and I really identify with you on so much. Not diagnosed yet, but if you know, you know.

[soniabeauvais]

Hello Olivia! Autistic here too. This is so interesting from my point of view, because my first language is French and we say "Trouble du spectre de l'autisme". It will probably be changed to "Condition du spectre de l'autisme", which I really much prefer. First of all, "trouble" pretty much equals to: something is forever broken and/or really wrong. That part, I desagree with; even historically, we know that autism always as existed, and as it has been passed on to this day, it serves a purpose for humanity, we have been an asset, as other neurodiversities has been too. So for me, "condition" is really more appropriate, like it's not a Mother Nature error, it's not an illness, but it is really a condition that we need to deal with everyday. So that's that for the word "trouble", but then, I'm not sure if it really has the same meaning than the word "disorder", which I feel is not as harsh. All that said, I however strongly believe that IT IS a disability, those are not the same thing. A disability prevent you from functionning smoothly due to mostly social environment that lacks considerations for everything that derive from the norm. So for me, autism is a condition AND a disability. But not a broken brain, just a different brain in a world not fitted for it.

[tammyleblanc]

I totally agree, couldn't have explained it better! I hope you feel better soon, sorry you are having burnout. Also, you don't ramble, I really enjoy your videos and watch from beginning to end every time, so don't worry about repeating yourself or it being too long! ❤

[pugs]

Autism is not a "disorder". Autistic people are only considered "disordered" in trying to navigate a world not built for them. I liken this to the issues of race inequity in the United States. Being Black/Brown in the United States is not a "disorder", but there are struggles that they face as they try to navigate a society that is built upon systems of racism. There are "supports" like affirmative action, educational programs, etc... that help Black/Brown people but those supports would not be necessary in an equitable society. The same is true of the "support" that autistic people "need" in order to "function" in a society that is built upon the assumption that neurotypical is the only norm. So the argument that autistic people NEED "support" and "accommodations" to "function properly", is based entirely in the "neurotypical is normal" systems and ways of thinking. So, yes, if I'd had supports and accommodations that came with an earlier diagnosis (I'm fifty and only recently learned I am autistic), my life might have been "easier"; but if we lived in a society that valued ALL neurotypes, then those supports and accommodations wouldn't be needed. In the same way, if Black/Brown people lived in a society that valued everyone equitably, then affirmative action and other supports and accommodations would not be needed for them, either.

[magicalspacegiraffe]

Offtopic shower tangent - have you ever showered in one of those "shower cabins", it's like a little shower pod, relatively small enclosed space, often has cool features like rain shower or side streams. I used to have a bathtub in my apartment's bathroom with a little shower curtain to make sure nothing splashes if you just shower. I never realised how much it freaks me out that one side gets warm water while the other side of the body starts cooling down. Absolutely d-e-s-p-i-s-e-d showers. But then I was staying in a hostel that had a cabin shower, and since it's so small it all steams up and there's little temperature contrast.

Since my bathroom needed renovations, I ditched the tub and got a cabin too, with a roof so all the steam stays in. It has built in radio which I thought was funny at first but honestly it makes it better too, just takes your mind off what's happening. The difference of how much I used to hate showers and now lowkey look forward to it is major. I don't think I would have realised it's the temperature contrast that freaks me out if I hadn't experienced a contrast-free shower.

I don't have any kind of official diagnosis, but this experience alone illustrates to me well how someone who might need special adjustments would need help to even realise whats up instead of beating themselves down. Especially when simple changes make all the difference in the world.




Oh, in regards to small differences. Due to the energy price increase, supermarkets here have decided to decrease the intensity of overhead lights and turn off fridge lights all together. It's not dark at all, but it's significantly less bright. You guys it's so nice. Once again I didn't realise the insanely bright lights were stressing me out so much, even though I barely turn on lights at my place, but now I realise I really enjoy the adjustment. If this doesn't make things harder for people with sight impairment or for workers, I hope they stick with this new level of lights....

[DavidLindes]

I'm personally a big believer in the social model of disability, so as far as it being a _disability_ -- I'd say that mostly depends on one's environment, though in our society at large, I'd probably say yes. As for it being a _disorder_ I feel like that's a bit different, and probably depends a lot on the _individual_ as well, and how they cope with the social challenges they're faced with because of it. I think for many, it creates a disordered state of being (or, in disability terminology, an impairment), and thus would qualify... but in both cases (disability and disorder), I think it largely depends on the individual person and/or circumstances. At least that's how I'm coming to think about things.

[ObservingAllThereIs]

As someone with autism who never got any help or benefits, I still think it disorders my life. I can and do drive a car and live in the center of Amsterdam. Getting anywhere means traffic jams and I love them. They make traffic easier to handle. If I tell any neurotypical person the traffic jams are great, they think I'm crazy. I can hardly ever go grocery shopping. The lights, the sounds the smells and it's too crowded, so I order my groceries in. I loved the social distancing during corona. I have a great job with great colleagues but next thursday we have a Christmas dinner. I've known this for 2 months and it has made me anxious for those two months. I hope I'll go, but I find it extremely hard. And showering? What the hell is that? 🤪

[leilap]

I believe it depends on a person's perspective. It is quite subjective. It is a condition that is different from the "norm." It is greatly pathologized by the medical community, however there are reasons for that. We can argue all day about how the DSM criteria are designed, but the way that neurological and mental health conditions are defined and criteria are quantified are in a way that is backed by scientific means. That obviously lends to pathologizing language. That being said, we are "suffering, " simply by existing in a world that wasn't built for us. Relatively speaking, we are "disordered, " whether we call it that or not. It is difficult to live without the diagnosis, wondering why so many things are so hard. After diagnosis, still, even loved ones and healthcare providers may not know how to best support us. We can call it ASC all day, and I have no problem with that, but it is technically ASD.

[tdsollog]

I’m so thankful that you made this video, because I think this is about perspective. I’m over 50 and just starting on this journey. I identify so much with a lot of these traits and have been researching, including how I was as a kid. Personally, if I get this diagnosis, it will be a relief, an “a-hah” moment. I will want to be accepted and treated with kindness and dignity.

Thank you for having this be a conversation starter and a positive place of support and learning.