The Myth of the Person Alone
Autism = “isolation”?
I think this is the meaning implied in Avoiding Moral Autism, an article by Ambassador Marc Franco, the head of the delegation of the European Commission to Russia:
One of the biggest challenges for a European diplomat stationed in Moscow is to make sense of the discrepancy that exists between, on the one hand, the feel-good factor prevailing among ordinary Russians and, on the other hand, the gloomy image of Russia spreading among many EU citizens back home. In a sense, this is a classic dilemma faced by every diplomat, who has the dual task of trying both to understand “the other,” while at the same time defending one’s own values. If the diplomat’s efforts to understand the other side are too successful, he ends up “going native,” which must be avoided. If the diplomat’s efforts to defend his own values are exaggerated, he will suffer from moral autism, which also must be avoided. [my emphasis]
I acknowledge that Franco is using the word “autism” in a somewhat metaphorical sense that is less commonly applied in the US. Nonetheless, it seems a good moment to refer to the book Autism and the Myth of the Person Alone by Douglas Biklen. My son geniunely enjoys and even prefers the company of others: He was all smiles this afternoon, thanks to visits from his ABA therapist and also from his school teacher. He ends up being by himself because communicating—talking, listening to language—are huge challenges for him.
But still there is that wish, to only connect.
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POSTED IN: Books, Politics, Stereotypes
10 opinions for The Myth of the Person Alone
M
Oct 26, 2007 at 11:52 am
“he will suffer from moral autism”
right…which could lead to all sorts of terrible behavior…say, turning a serious condition into a cheap metaphor.
and this guys an ambassador.
Eleanor
Oct 26, 2007 at 4:40 pm
My son also is quite extroverted–the opposite of me in that way, in fact. I’ve always thought the “isolated” and “trapped in their own world” concepts were quite inapt for him–just another gross generalization about how people with autism spectrum disordes are supposed to be.
Skov
Oct 27, 2007 at 10:09 am
I totally agree. The idea that my son prefers to be alone is utter rubbish. Granted, his circle of people he’s comfortable with is small, but when he sees his grandmother and his face lights up with joy, you know socializing is just as important to him as it is to any other human.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Oct 27, 2007 at 11:15 am
Charlie adores his grandmother (my mom) too and he was tremendously excited on Thursday when his teacher came for a home visit. We don’t have a lot of people over but he gets completely excited when we do and is disappointed about saying good bye.
Beth
Oct 27, 2007 at 11:21 am
My son, who has Asperger’s and ADHD, prefers his brother’s company to being alone and his favorite part of school is seeing his friends.
I think meeting new people for him can be a challenge but once he “breaks the ice” (which can require a little adult assistance), he plays well with other kids.
This is one stereotype that is really inaccurate.
Skov
Oct 27, 2007 at 11:29 am
I think one of the reasons that Logan likes his grandmother (my wife’s mom) so much is because she’s such a sweet, gentle woman. The other reason is because he sees her regularly. His other grandparents (my parents are divorced and both remarried) live far away. When they do come, I think it’s hard for them because they don’t get the same treatment. I guess we’re hoping that their cumulative visits will eventually add up to him being comfortable with them, but so far it’s been very challenging. My mother, in particular, is very committed to figuring out how to relate to him (she’s read all the books and etc), so it’s especially painful for her when she can’t connect to him. Some of it is that it’s hard for her to get on his level, but some of it is just that he takes a while to warm up to people. We’re trying weekly video conferencing with them, but so far a lack of tech savvy on their part has made this an irregular (at best) occurrence. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Beth
Oct 27, 2007 at 1:06 pm
I think the cumulative visits will help. Also, age will help. My son is now 8 and he remembers my father and step-mom-in-law (who live out-of-state) from one visit to the next better than before.
The video conferencing is a good idea and you may want to place pictures of them with him in his room and talk to him daily about how much they love him. Phone calls might help until the video conferencing is up and running. We also showed him maps and explained that they were in MN (we are in MA) and that it is far away.
Over time, the relationship will develop, it will just take a lot of work and patience.
gettingthere
Oct 27, 2007 at 3:27 pm
The person alone myth really gets me angry. My son and all of his peers in the social skills group he attends long to make friends and dream of having friends. They do need help from adults to “show them the ropes” but they certainly don’t willingly choose to be alone all of the time. They often end up that way because of their communication difficulties.
mcewen
Oct 28, 2007 at 1:48 am
The one the gets my dander up is the ‘autism’ in economics, a whole academic discipline that makes my blood boil - but I’m not making much headway.
Cheers
Kristina Chew, PhD
Oct 28, 2007 at 1:53 am
That’s a challenge to embrace (me being a 100+ % humanities sort of person).
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