neanthumain ([info]neanthumain) wrote in [info]asperger,
2006-12-13 13:26:00
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How DARE They! What Do NTs Know Anyway?

I was in an IRC channel for persons with Asperger's syndrome last night, and a fellow user was posting random autism-related news links he was getting from a newsfeed (most of which he had not read). One news story shocked me and offended me to the core of my being: Study: Most Self-Diagnosed "Asperger's" Patients Just Assholes.

Who the heck does this Frank fellow think he is? What's more: Who is Dr. Leon McCouch, and why does he think he has a right to publish articles critical of the self-diagnosed Asperger's community in reputable journals such as Lancet?

Poll #888121 Poll on Critical Self-Diagnosed Aspie Article
Open to: Friends, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 12

What does reading this article make you want to do to "Frank"?

View Answers
Have him drawn and quartered
4 (33.3%)
Have him distracted in the original sense of the word
2 (16.7%)
Put him on the rack
1 (8.3%)
Burn his house down with him inside
1 (8.3%)
Write a firm letter to the editor expressing your disappointment in their publishing this article
4 (33.3%)


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  • 36 comments

[info]dayglodivine

December 13 2006, 19:28:40 UTC 5 years ago

Um, the article is a joke.

[info]neanthumain

December 13 2006, 19:30:57 UTC 5 years ago

Some things are too serious to joke about. Diagnosing oneself with Asperger's syndrome is one of them.

Is nothing holy anymore?

[info]dayglodivine

5 years ago

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[info]springolife

5 years ago

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[info]kibbles

5 years ago

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[info]myopicmeringue

5 years ago

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[info]chaoticidealism

5 years ago

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[info]myopicmeringue

5 years ago

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[info]elenbarathi

5 years ago

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[info]anticron

5 years ago

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[info]stormkeeper

December 14 2006, 01:46:11 UTC 5 years ago

I thought it was a joke, looked at the URL and the way the article was, was like "meh".

[info]lisanys

December 13 2006, 19:37:46 UTC 5 years ago

Similarities with the material presented here and actual news is purely accidental. Take it seriously at your own risk.


It's satire.

[info]crimsonkitty23

December 13 2006, 22:03:49 UTC 5 years ago

Hence the danger of such things when mixed with aspies. Some aspies have a hell of a time grasping satire.

*shrug*

Then again it's an acquired taste for a great deal of NTs too....

[info]springolife

5 years ago

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[info]crimsonkitty23

5 years ago

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[info]les_lenne

December 13 2006, 19:40:26 UTC 5 years ago

Aww, yes, maybe that means the first doctors were right and I'm just an ass? ♥
Well, anyway... there actually are some people diagnosing themselves who are simply assholes, but that's, afaik, not very likely to Asperger self-diagnosed. Because being an Asperger doesn't make you an asshole, so it's rather who just wants to be one and who really is an Aspie. :/

[info]old_cutter_john

December 13 2006, 19:41:20 UTC 5 years ago

To verify [info]dayglodivine's obvious conclusion, I checked the tables of contents of the two most recent issues of The Lancet. Neither of them contains an article remotely resembling the one described. The name, Dr. Leon McCouch, is a pretty good clue that the thing is a joke.

[info]dazed_girl

December 13 2006, 20:07:46 UTC 5 years ago

Well I think the asshole comment was way out of line, but can you really take an article seriously that comes from a site called ridiculopathy.com?

[info]elenbarathi

December 13 2006, 23:27:58 UTC 5 years ago

Hee hee, good point.

[info]laurenpburka

December 13 2006, 20:29:13 UTC 5 years ago

Look at it this way: Asperger's is now a big enough deal in the public consciousness that it's drawing jokes. Of course, the difficult part is that since we have Asperger's, we are all really literal and don't always get jokes, so it's easy to let this upset us.

[info]griffen

December 13 2006, 23:30:04 UTC 5 years ago

As Gandhi said, "First they ignore you. Then they fight you. Then they laugh at you. Then you win."

[info]stormkeeper

December 14 2006, 01:47:31 UTC 5 years ago

Off-topic, but lovely cat... reminds me of one I used to own. :)

[info]johannah_rose

December 13 2006, 22:06:34 UTC 5 years ago

If you read the whole article, Dr. McCouch is encouraging people who believe they have Asperger's to get an official diagnosis and is saying that some people are mistaken in believing that they have Asperger's. It doesn't say all people who self-diagnose are incorrect, just that some of them are. Frankly, it shouldn't come as a surprise that a doctor would advocate medical diagnosis.

[info]staircase_wit

December 26 2006, 17:57:25 UTC 5 years ago

I think 98% was the statistic that Simon Baron-Cohen used for the accuracy of self-diagnosis.

Non-rhetorical question: what makes a clinician better than an individual when going by the DSM-IV?

[info]johannah_rose

5 years ago

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[info]johannah_rose

December 13 2006, 22:15:35 UTC 5 years ago

Its a joke, I think I was too tired to catch that. A title like that is designed to catch attention, simply because it contains the word "asshole".

[info]nickamon

December 13 2006, 22:45:19 UTC 5 years ago

As others have said, it's a joke. That should've been obvious from the language used in the article. You'll find similar humour at theonion.com and chaser.com.au

[info]elenbarathi

December 13 2006, 23:31:42 UTC 5 years ago

Am I the only one who thinks that [info]neanthumain knew all along that the article was meant as a joke, and intended the original post as a joke as well?

[info]neanthumain

December 13 2006, 23:40:28 UTC 5 years ago

Yes, I Knew It Was Satire (As Is My Post)

Yes, I knew this article was satire along the lines of The Onion. Still, satire is effective only because there is a kernel of truth to it. If you ever visit sites like WrongPlanet.net, you will see a whole lot of people reporting a variety of symptoms under the guise of Asperger's syndrome. The most common symptoms seem to be social anxiety and lack of self-confidence, which many seem to equate with Asperger's syndrome. Of course, the social deficits of AS can result in social phobias, avoidant personality disorder, depression, and lack of self-confidence; but none of these are AS per se.

[info]samuraiartguy

December 14 2006, 15:38:23 UTC 5 years ago

Re: Yes, I Knew It Was Satire (As Is My Post)

As I am discovering with my AS son. And the School District had no opinion or assistance for his AS... ( Course if he was ADHD Hyperactive, would have spotted him in 1st grade... ) not until the side effects mentioned above caused him to flunk out of his Sophomore year. THAT got him classified...

Still a little GRRRRRRR about that.

[info]comicstar

December 14 2006, 00:36:22 UTC 5 years ago

It may be a joke, but it's not a very funny or clever one.

[info]samuraiartguy

December 14 2006, 15:41:07 UTC 5 years ago

Considering how difficult a lot of AS people find mainstream life... well, lets just say bad taste is bad taste. My SON is AS and he is absolutely for real... and NOT an asshole. Incomprehensible pain-in-the-ass sometimes, sure. But comes with the territory. I've also noticed that AS or not, I've pointed out he's a teenager, and might actually BE a lazy scrod sometimes. You know what, I'll LIVE.

"The explanation has done little to calm nerves online." Gee. Ya THINK? (note 23 comments and rising... )

But back in the real world. If one self-diagnoses, and it all points to AS, the logical next step is to pursue an "official" diagnosis, if at all possible. Institutions, Medical Professionals, School Districts, Employers, and Insurance Companies couldn't give a rat's naked tail about a non-medical diagnosis.

And try not to let the noise out there get you you.

[info]johannah_rose

December 28 2006, 22:27:01 UTC 5 years ago

The "real world" groups you mentioned need to demand an official diagnosis. Otherwise, anyone who wants free therapy for their kid could make up a diagnosis. Insurance companies get scammed all the time, and school districts worry about being scammed (they generally don't have the much money and so it can only go to the kids who really need it).

I think the word asshole in the title is there mostly to get attention so people will read the article. That doesn't make it right, but it did get us all to read.

[info]letters_in_sand

December 15 2006, 15:01:53 UTC 5 years ago

I wouldn't take it seriously even if it wasn't a joke. to stick a label on people who a) have trouble with social interaction b) are more literal/logical than most c) like math d) whatever and just call them "assholes" is just plain stupid. not everyone has to be some smiley, talkative, bubbly extrovert pain in the ass. anyone who dismisses an entire group of people just for not being enough like themselves is the asshole, in my opinion.

I'm sorry, this probably isn't about the introvert/extrovert war for everyone else the way it is for me, since most things seem to be about that for me right now.

but by what standards is this guy calling a bunch of people "unlikable"? just because he doesn't like something, that makes it unlikable? who died and made him king?

and even if there is some truth to it, and people who just have a certain (and less popular) personality type are diagnosing themselves as asperger's, hmm, let's think, why would that be? BECAUSE HAVING THAT PERSONALITY TYPE IS TREATED LIKE IT'S A DISEASE. if you're treated like there's something wrong with you your whole life just for being who you are, you're going to want to try to find out WHAT it is that's wrong with you, and the stigma never lets up, so the answer being "nothing" isn't an option.

stupid! all-around.

[info]lordalfredhenry

December 15 2006, 20:31:24 UTC 5 years ago

It's probably a joke but what bothers me is that it can negate people's belief or credibility when it should be taken more seriously too. How many joke about ADD in this way? People with ADD are just assholes? I don't see that one very often but if someone has seen it (and are thus more culturally enlightened than me there), then perhaps I'm a bit paranoid / excessively 'special' here. :[ *shrug*

Well, for the umpteenth time since reading the "dramatica". --"Ha ha h' .........oh." (technically two guffaws and a half). For some reason, it's only just funny enough for a few guffaws anymore. It's gotten old really. I can't even make out a giggle here. I'm I supposed to have never-ending sense of humor here like one does for chicken and road jokes? BTW, each ellipses is equivalent to an eyeroll there. Can you see the glumness of my wit being drawn out and quartered?

[info]miut

December 16 2006, 17:23:47 UTC 5 years ago

I don't care if it's a joke, I still find it irritating. It relies on nasty, tired stereotypes for its "humour". And I've been seeing far too much of this kind of stuff lately.

I was diagnosed autistic as a child, but there are good reasons for people who discover this aspect of themselves in adulthood not to seek a "professional diagnosis". Especially if they don't want or need to apply for accommodations/assistance (which is the main reason for diagnosing anything), don't have much faith in doctors (generally with good reason), or don't think of autism as a disorder or medical issue. It doesn't mean that they should be taken less seriously than officially labelled people, by any means.
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