Autism in the sixth world, Like Rain Man, but less so Options

[CanRay]

AIPS, the new Autism.

[Cyntax]

And by the way, Ausperger's is (somewhat) accurately reflected in the Uncouth quality.

Oh man is it. I had a roomate that was an Ausperger. He'd take a shower three times a day, but wear the same clothes he'd worn, and slept in, for a week. When I had a cleaning crew come into the apartment to clean it (you could smell his room with the door closed) they went from charging me $75 to $150. They found a grand total of 150 pizza boxes and so many bottles of soda I could hear them rattle at night on the floor when he'd walk around. Which is amazing seeing he never had money to pay his bills on time.

[Wesley Street]

Pizza boxes and showers sounds more like OCD than Aspberger's Disorder. Except for the bill-paying thing. That's just being a jerk.

[Wesley Street]

Hans Asperger was Australian, not German.

Austrian actually. I had a rough patch in life and my shrink attempt to peg me with it because I described myself as being "awkward" in high school. So I read the literature. I didn't fit the spectrum. Sometimes you've gotta be your own doctor. Speaking of which: I've got a hacksaw... anyone got a cyberarm they want to sell me? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Cyntax]

Pizza boxes and showers sounds more like OCD than Aspberger's Disorder. Except for the bill-paying thing. That's just being a jerk.

Only way I know for sure it was Aspberger's is that he would announce it as an excuse for anything he did wrong. I'm sure he had OCD too, but still, guh. "Chunky Butt" is a legend in my family.

[hobgoblin]

yep, thats the bad side of being "labeled". all to easy to fall back on said label as a excuse.

sorting whats just lazy behavior from whats symptoms of the "problem" can be tough, and maybe not worth it.

if he got the label early in life, he could have developed the habit blaming anything on it to get of the hook with his parents.

but then some of whats described could be that he gets to focused on things that the only reason i remember to do something else, like shower, is because he had it hammered into his head a dozen times over.

it could basically be that he do not see the value of cleaning up, as he has trouble with social interaction in general...

still, using it as a kind of shield, plain bad. even tho i end up doing so myself at times, i dont like that i do so. its a cheap way out tho, so its damn tempting. kinda like how a frustrated player may just have his character shoot a npc thats not cooperating.

[Voran]

Wow, my first posting here in like, 2 years.

Until recently, I worked with children with autism, doing skills-trainer sorta work. So I've kinda pondered this from time to time over the years.

I'd think it'd be possible to have a 'new form' of autism in the SR4 setting. At heart, I feel autism is a stimulus/reception issue. Where the individual lacks the ability to filter out stimulus the way we do naturally. The world is consequently overwhelming, resulting in the creation of personal routines and adaptive measures that we would consider 'abnormal' in order to bring a semblance of calm to that individual's own world.

SR4 setting to me, is about stimulus overload. The amount of stimulus in the 'modern' world is amazing, with VR tech and magical stuff. Who knows, you could play it off as Autism being a foundation of awakening, or Otaku stuff. You can be born into a SR4 world and be affected by all the new potential genetic problems, or magical awareness issues, or whathaveyou.

I think that 'current day' autism would be more or less manageable and/or eliminated with the technology and medical possibilities in the SR4 world, but would be replaced with new variants that more or less manifest as 'current day' stuff.


As for aspergers, essentially, its a personal with otherwise normal functioning abilities, but severe developmental delays/problems in terms of social interactions. Its entirely possible for that posted example of being Aspergers, with a touch of OCD. Sounds like a rough situation in any case.

[betterwatchit]

AIPS, the new Autism.

Now there's an idea...

[Xiaan]

There's a lot of different approaches to treating autism that's come about in the last few years, from social therapy to more controversial treatments such as doses of MDMA that have shown some marketable results in treating even sever autism. I'd imagine that with the drastic advances in medtech and pharmaceuticals in the SR world, not to mention all those awakened drugs that seem to be popping up lately, it wouldn't be that unimaginable to think that autism as it is known now has become just another manageable or mitigated disorder.
misdiagnosis happens on a regular basis, as with ADHD and Mania (particularly in the mid to late nineties) but that's in part due to the availability of treatment and the generally backassward drug system in the health care system. I'd go so far as to say that misdiagnosis and over-medication is more of a problem in the sixth world than conventional mental and social disorders. problems like childhood epilepsy and autism may be almost a thing of the past but dosing the kids to keep them complacent and happy in a controlled society might be the hotness. It's started in the present day, any child that's a little wild or slightly anti-social is hauled to the shrink for a little chemical realignment. It'd be even more predominate in a world where health care for the masses, despite the destitute, is all inclusive.
there would defiantly be new sorts of disorders that would have been found, but I have a hard time believing that common day disorders would be a concern for the majority of the populations... then again if you live in Glow City a little autism is most likely the least of your physical and mental problems.