What a coincidence! This morning, I was talking to TB about how--when we thought Little T wasn't talking because of a hearing loss--some things just seem to fall into place and out of bad/sad things can come some good. One thing we talked about was that I grew up with Deaf parents and how that sort of set me apart. When we thought T couldn't hear, I realized that once again having Deaf parents and fluency in sign language was going to be helpful. Even when we learned that T's hearing was normal and that he was diagnosed with PDD-NOS, the sign language still was beneficial.
Okay, so today I checked my email and there was an update in a newsletter I subscribe to about Deafness and Deaf Culture. And what do you think I saw? "Acceptable sign for autism?" I clicked on the link and brought up a post, a question posed in the sign language and Deaf Culture forum. It was from a hearing person who said she was autistic and was offended by the sign for autism:
My ASL dictionary gives the sign as two 'C' hands covering the face, to show being 'cut off from the world'. I find that sign offensive, because autistic people are not cut off from the world. This is a common misconception, based on the fact that a) many autistics don't have the same kind of signals for showing that they are paying attention - for example looking at things out of peripheral vision is common, and b) autistics are often interested in different things, so for example they may be noticing a pattern on the floor while ignoring a person nearby.
Wow, she has a point, I thought. The next poster agreed. The poster after that, however, totally astonished me by the attitude taken. First off, the responder doubted the original poster was autistic--saying something to the effect of if you are really autistic then I am a monkey's uncle. What insensitivity! I thought. And if this responder is Deaf, how ironic--Deaf people have been misunderstood and stereotyped by hearing people, you'd think there would be more sensitivity and awareness for other disabilities.
You'd think so.
Well, it turns out that the first poster has PDD-NOS ... the same diagnosis as Tomas. The "Doubting Responder" (I'd say Tom but don't want to associate this person in any way with my little grandson) doesn't think that PDD-NOS is autism, although it's on the spectrum. The Doubting Responder repeatedly referred to PDD-NOS as a "mental illness".
I think there is a lot of ignorance going on around here and it all has to do with how we perceive others. In 20 years, I could imagine our T writing such a letter as the first Poster did. I certainly hope we have a better understanding of what autism is and isn't and how widely different we all are on the human spectrum, never mind those on the "autistic spectrum".
And yeah, let's come up with a better sign for autism!
Here is the first in a series of youtube videos that totally blasted away any stereotypes I had about what it means to be autistic. Watch this and then click on others by the same person, silentmiaow. You'll be amazed!