Wie ich bin: Aussage über Autismus -Fehlinformationen

A statement that explains almost nothing about what was said.

[https://blogs.bcm.edu/2016/07/25/a-single-species-of-gut-bacteria-can-reverse-autism-related-social-behavior-in-mice/](https://blogs.bcm.edu/2016/07/25/a-single-species-of-gut-bacteria-can-reverse-autism-related-social-behavior-in-mice/)

Gut dysfunction is much more important in autism treatment

Didn’t DHR deny climate change and say weather was dependent on what the fairies were up to?

Monumentally ignorant from a national level representative. Had to open that blasted Musk „free speech“ social and search „Danny Healy Rae autism“ to see it

I’m not diagnosed with autism. I’m a half decent public speaker, I’ve a career which requires me to with lots of stakeholders etc. I actually didn’t ever get the MMR because of allergies when I was a kid (subsequently got the measles and had to spend a week in quarantine in hospital with some vicious symptoms and likely a subsequent asthma diagnosis not long after).

I was diagnosed with ADHD at almost 40 recently. It was always there, but the imposed structure of the first 30 years of my life protected me from a lot of my worst weaknesses, but have become really problematic at this point. During the assessment, they test for autism, but only a psychiatrist can give a formal diagnosis. I scored 9/10 in three different test for autism. I probably am, but in my case, I seem to have less severe impacts from it and frankly, for me, it’s more of a personality trait than anything.

All of this is to say, 40 years ago, I don’t get diagnosed for ADHD or autism as an adult, because if I start experiencing severe executive dysfunction, my life probably just slowly falls apart and I become so failure version of myself.

It’s always existed in the same proportions, it’s really just that our awareness and testing for these things has improved.

Perhaps relatedly, my neighbour died a few years back (elderly bachelor, quiet lad who worked for Irish rail) and me and my brother were helping empty out his house for the family and we found a stick to unlock the attic door. There was a ladder. So up we went, found a light switch and the entire attic was covered in a giant model train set world. Bridges, and trees and towns etc. switchboards and controls everywhere. Anywho, to my knowledge, the man was never diagnosed for anything in his life until the cancer that killed him.

Danny Healy Rae never managed to finish secondary school and wears it as a badge of honour and I believe we need all types of people represented, but not if they are going to spread ignorance or are incapable of understanding evidence based science.

I knew it would be Healy Rae before I even read it and I hadn’t heard the comments beforehand.

Absolute weapon.

There is a massive increase in Autism(+) diagnosis in recent years. Some of this is good, some of which is bad. If Irish was made optional in secondary school, the number of diagnosis would drop. Similar to if the DARE scheme.

The people who genuinely need these concessions are the ones who are being most impacted by the spike in diagnosis.

The diagnosis criteria changed in the late 80s and the diagnosis of Asperger’s (ie autism without an intellectual disability — people who can usually work and don’t need disability support) was rolled in to the general autism spectrum disorder diagnosis about 15 years ago. So yes, there are more autistic people now. But that doesn’t mean they’re faking it to get special treatment or whatever.

My son has autism, he also it highly likely to have adhd and had been refered to cahms. Ive numerous nephews who have autism. Cousins kids who have autism and or adhd.

It made all of us pause and go hang on, then one by one as adults… as parents, we started going but I was like that, that is us and then gi „wait a second“.

One by one we are being diagnosed, espeically the women who were so very over looked.

For us, for me its genetic. My friends as well have similar stories. The people who I have chosen to surround myself with who I felt comfortable and safe with of course are like me because they get me.

All of us spend the ypunger part of our lives undisganosed, spending years wondering why we had depression, why we had anxiety, and why it was so hard to fit in while being so exhauated all the time, but masking… until we realised oh you get me and dropped it. No longer kids are being told by society that they have to fit a certain box like a square peg in a round hole and it held a mirror up to their parents and grandparents. So of course there is more diagnosis not just kids but also adults. And those who „managed until now“ as someone once said to me realise they dont need to sufer in silence as we were being forced into a round hole.

Its the same as when people weren’t forced to write with their left hands. Suddenly there were a lot more people using their left hand because it wasn’t taboo anymore.

Autism and ADHD is the same we’ve always been here, just a lot of us were square pegs, triangle pegs, star pegs of various shapes and for a time we could get through the circle but that never made us circle pegs. Then because of time and society expectations that circle hole kept getting smaller and a lot of us found we could no longer fit. Often diagnosed as depression and anxiety and other mental health issues to explain away pur inability to fit as the circle squeezed us.

With passing of time and knowledge we’ve now understood there has in fact been a bunch of others holes next to the circle hole all this time. So now its juat about catching up.

There is no overdiagnosing, but there is still a lot of circle pegs (and some other pegs that can still fit the circle hole) trying to tell the other pegs that we still have to use the circle hole even when we know there are other holes that we can fit in.

I’m not questioning the work the organisation does, but
I do find the funding of „As I Am“ quite concerning.

Large amounts of taxpayer’s money are being channelled to the organisation, which has very strong nepotistic links to the government.

It makes me wonder how much oversight there is at the charity, and also whether a similar campaigning organisation would receive the same level of funding if it wasn’t run by the current Tanaiste / former Taoiseach’s brother.

I feel we are in danger of placing „As I Am“ on a pedestal, beyond reproach, “How dare you question our governance, you are punching down on autistic people with complex needs.”