disablities: social, learning ect.
 

Does anyone here have a disablity or know someone who has one? Do you have one? My sister, at the age of 26 was finally diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. Why did it take so long to find out she had this, well my parents simply did not believe in that kind of thing. My father has always viewed "autism" and "learning disablites" or emotional problems as just convient excuses to be lazy or have people cater to you. The thing is my older has always had problems I remember when we all pof us were kids my father telling us to do something and she would not react to him and then he would start yelling. She would even freak out (throw tantrums as my parents took it) over little things. Her teachers always wanted to put her on a specil education plan but my parents didn't want to take her out of the class room and felt she was just being lazy. And it really it has affected how she has developed as an adult. She really isn't as capable as other people her age and she ended up not finishing school. Now that she has documentation of her condiction she is getting some help.

My parents had the same feelings toward all my siblings and the thing is from middle school on I had series problems keeping up in class. My teachers susupected I had dyslexia but I was never tested. My parents always saw that as just an excuse for doing poorly in school. Actually it is one of the reasons I didn't finish high school and and got my GED instead. And that wasn't easy. I'm actually struggling a bit in college but I am planing on getting official testing.

Did anyone here ever grow up with autism or a learning disablity? How did it effect you growing up and how is it with you now as a grown up? Were the adults in your life supportive or were they non believers like my parents.

My father in particular thinks autism and other learning or mental disablites are just a bunch of liberal doctors trying to excuse bad behavior. His reasoning because no one had it years ago so why does everyone have a problem now.

I have a learning disability in math. I didn't find out about it until second grade. My parents were supportive of getting me help and even talked to my teacher. There was one specialist who refused to have me tested, and my teacher got mad at her and demanded that I get tested. I was in LD classes since then and even in high school, though my teacher there was an idiot. I had a lot of trouble in college and finally understood what my disability was and that was that I wasn't able to process things quicker than others. Luckily, I was able to have a tutor for my Statistics class, so I managed to graduate. That was the last class I needed and if I didn't pass it, I wasn't going to graduate. I hate math.

My BF has a learning disability in English, so I often helped him out when he needed it.

Being bad in one particular subject doesn't mean you have a disability. I always hated math as a kid and it was my worst subject, but I got better at it around College.

Just like others who hate english/writing because they don't know how to properly write an essay...is that really a disability? I don't think so.

With writing, dyslexia can come into play....

I actually study psychology and is my current major.
To anwer the first part is because why are just now coming up with diagnoses for these behavior patterens. The reason it took so long for diagnoses for you sister is becasue no one saw the symotowms, (Parents being biased of the topic didn't help) But also your sister has a high function form of Autism. It is really tricky to make a proper diagnoses on a high functioning person with autism.

The funny thing is with all these new diagnoses and sense learning disabilities can run in families your dad my be diagnosed as well :lol: Not making fun of, but it is ironic sense your dad views modern prognoses as crap.

Was autism/aspergers really diagnosed often for kids in the 80's and 90's?

There were always kids in my classes that seemed, "slow" or a bit strange, but they were just viewed as, "dumb kids" rather than actually diagnosed with anything.

Nowadays those kids would have been put into seperate classes...I don't think people knew better. That's why you have 25 year old adults diagnosed with autism for the first time, when they were kids in the 80's and 90's people didn't know better.

I dont even know if aspergers was a recognized disorder yet in the 80's or 90s. Autism itself is relatively new.

I just checked, my assumption was right aspergers was not even recognized by the world health organiztion until 1994!!!!!! So that would explain why you did not see many kids from those generation diagnosed and why his sister took so long to be dianosed.

Well mental/learning disorders is a relatively new, and a FAR more complex field of medicine compared to physical ailments, in addition people in the past didn't have the technology or scientific information to properly test/diagnose others, so that's why your father hasn't heard about it. And as Redeemer has pointed out, medical committees have to formulate a "criteria list" after obtaining a deluge amount of statistical data, to see what would "qualify" for a mental/learning disorder.

Though I can understand your father's skepticism since I find it suspicious that there is an abundance of parents who want their children to have ADD/ADHD medication simply because they are "too much to handle" without realizing that children can be normally rambunctious, and not taking the proper medical steps toward confirming a learning/mental disability. One prominent example of some parents avoiding their child-rearing responsibilities is the growing trend of some parents using melatonin (hormone that used to regulate sleepiness) to make their infants/toddlers sleep without restlessness despite the worries of pediatricians.
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Despite all this, there are particular testing procedures/protocols administrated by child development physicians that can provide a more accurate diagnosis, who can provide much more helpful information than solely depending on overworked primary care physicians (who only sees each child in 15 minutes or less).

My youngest has ADD he is on meds as much as i hate it my son seems to be a lot happier it will get easier for him as he gets older i am told.

Yes. Several.
Yep. A motor-skill deficiency. I couldn't pass a field sobriety test as I've never been able balance myself heel-to-toe.
How nice of him. I suppose he thinks dwarfism is just a lame excuse not to reach the top shelf.

The trouble is, doctors can be wrong too, and often are. Look at the history of medical mistakes they make. I had testicular cancer which was initially misdiagnosed as orchitis, and I got the correct diagnosis when it didn't get better.

Also, medicines can be risky too. They might have bad side effects, especially on certain people (I'm allergic to penicillin and sulfa-found out after I had taken both), or they might be a new technology that turns out to be not so good after all. Thalidomide, anyone? Not the thing to give to pregnant women-as was found out the hard way.

Which is why people don't (and shouldn't) have blind faith in what the doctors say.

Redeemer's got it on the head, the reason the Autism Spectrum Disorders seem to have "Blown UP" in recent history is that as it's been studied, more and more has been learned about it and thus it becomes easier to diagnose and those previously unconfirmed, like Jelly Beans sister, can now be figured out. It's not some new epidemic...we just know what it is better now.

How old is he/she? People can actually grow out of it. Some forms of ADD are simply a part of the brain that matures slower than other parts of the brain.
They could very well grow out of it when they are in their 20s

I was diagnosed with ADD in the third grade, and it's absolutely real. I struggled hard to pay attention in class, and even as an adult without medication I tend to stare at the clock while at work. It's tough on productivity.

You learn to live with it. It gives you personality and I could have a lot worse.

I have autism and because of that, I hate asking lots of questions in one day and I hate asking questions I don't know how to explain.

And when people use a certain tone at me, it hurts my feelings.

How is autism/aspergers syndrome even diagnosed anyway? Does it have to do with the dosage of certain chemicals in the brain?

People with aspergers are not stupid or, "mentally challenged," its just that they have difficulty in certain areas. Of course it depends on the degree, high-function autism means you can function among everyday society.

How is this stuff even found out anyway? Does a doctor just examine a dosage level in your brain and say, "Gee, this guy has autism!"

Pretty sure it's a set of behavioral "symptoms".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diagnos...erger_syndrome

My husband has Aspergers... He had no idea until just before we got married and suddenly he felt so much more at peace because he never understood why things were different for him (or as he thought about it: why people don't think of things the same way I do). Looking back- several members of his family are definitely Aspergian. His mom just refer's to it as the "Culver Temper" and is in denial that she and her daughter and her brother are Aspergian. Knowing that my husband has Aspergers has saved our marriage because we can find ways to work through communication problems that without the diagnoses would just seem like he was acting like a jerk or being contrary. We've done things like try discussing things while sitting side by side because he viewed face to face converstaions as intimidating... He has made a ton of progress and most people that just meet him just see him as geeky or odd- some don't even notice.

My most frustrating thing I deal with is misophonia. A very little known about disorder where basically certain sounds literally hurt (think nails on a chalkboard amplified). My worst trigger is mouth noises- chewing, slurping, people talking with too much spit in their mouth or heavy breathing. I can't eat with my family most days and I drive myself crazy if I eat bananas. I'm trying to work on it on my own... but I might have to seek help. No shame in getting help with a problem you can't fix on your own.

I have Epilepsy- I was diagnosed 20yrs ago. It has caused me to have grand-mal seizures, petit-mal seizures, migraines and I also have terrible memory problems. My seizure activity as well as all of my memory problems are localized to my right temporal lobe. I have a Vagus Nerve Stimulator and 1 medication to treat the grand-mal seizures, another medication for petit-mal, 2 medications for migraines and the memory problems , well... they just can't seem to help that progression.

Yes the doctor has told me he may grow out of it when he gets older or might not everybody is different he is 9 years old.

Did you even read my post? I said that I was tested for a learning disability and it was discovered I had it. I struggled with math in college because of it, and that's why I hate math. It's my weakest subject and always will be. So don't try and say that I don't have a learning disability when I just stated that I do. You are such an ignorant idiot.

Who said I was even talking to you?

One reason people might think that not all diagnosed mental problems are real.

And if anyone is familiar with Shakespeare's Hamlet, the title character feigns madness to lull his treacherous uncle into thinking that he is no threat.

Well, it seemed that way judging by your post. But if you weren't talking to me, I apologize. I'm not in the best of moods anyway, so sorry if I lashed out like that. I do admit I learned a lot about math in college, but it was still pretty hard for me, though I did manage to learn equations fairly quickly. I think fractions was the worst type for me though as well as Statistics. Ugh. So glad I don't have to any of that again.

Who were you talking to then? :-?

I wonder if Cyber meant it as more of a general statement? Not necessarily directed at anyone on here? Don't know, just throwing it out there!

I also believe that there seems to be a genetic component involved and I believe the more prevelant internet dating becomes(where someone who might be socially awkward in face to face "traditional" dating- they can talk about things easier online and thus get to know someone before being dismissed as "odd") the more I think a lot of Asperpergians (even some Autistic people) are able to actually connect with someone enough to have a relationship- whereas before internet dating it might have been harder for someone who has trouble navigating social settings to successfully court a significant other to the point that the relationship results in a child. Statistically speaking we are more likely to have more Aspergians or Aspie-tendencied people having children who *might* (if indeed there is a genetic component) be more prone to Autism or Aspergers themselves. I hope I'm making sense- my brain does a great job of jumbling up what I'm acutally trying to say.

I would never had met my husband had we not me online on a dating website, I wouldn't have gotten to know him enough to fall in love with him and we wouldn't have married and had our son. Our son is too young yet to know whether or not he has Aspergers, but we have ruled out Autism by now.

Never been diagnosed, but I suspect I may have a mild form of dyslexia, myself. I never noticed it in school, but since becoming an adult, I've noticed that what began as an occasional tendency to mix a letter or two here and there, or to run words together accidentally, has grown steadily worse as I get older. Also, it happens more frequently with numbers. Not sure if one can become dyslexic as an adult, or if it just took longer to notice, but I have to be very careful when typing and go over everything I type out before posting. And at work, I sometimes misread numbers back to customers on the price of an item or an order, or even type it in wrong when I know what it SHOULD be. It's annoying at times. Not enough to cause serious problems, but it just seems like this might be one of the reasons I had so many problems in school, especially in math. I was in gifted classes for much of my school life (because of high IQ and reading levels), but always struggled with many of them. I've also always had trouble focusing and paying attention- so ADD might be another factor- but again, I've never been tested. Makes me wonder if some of my problems growing up couldn't have been fixed. And I fidget or get restless a LOT when I get bored, too.....

On a different note, my husband has Type 1 diabetes, which is also a kind of "disability" in its own right. It's hard doing physical tasks or sports when one has to keep such a tight grip on glucose levels and food intake. After 35 years living with it (he's 38, so he's had it a LONG time) it is beginning to take its toll in the form of neuropathy and now an amputated foot.

My cousin has dyslexia and my sis has epilepsy. She was diagnosed when she was fifteen and has been on different meds since, though the one she's on now really helps.

my older brother's fiances's little boy has autism. He is a challenge and my brother tries very hard get along with him. Honesty it is beginning to become an issue in his relationship with his fiance because he is wondering if he can handle her son. His autism is not as sever as other cases but he is still difficult.

If there's one thing that really irritates me it's when people mock the disabled. Disabled people are vulnerable and require compassion - they can't always defend themselves and things can be very difficult for them so to see some coward putting them down really annoys me. It really is a yellow thing to do.

I absolutely despise terms such as 'spazzy', 'mong' and 'retard'. One thing I hate in the original movie is when Mikey calls one of the Foot a 'spaz' in the fight at April's.

Yeah the connotation of "spaz" is far weaker in the USA than in the UK....that and the movie's 25 years old.

I wasn't aware that there are less connotations of the word in the USA. As for the fact that it's 25 years old, so what? Another thing I dislike is people trying to excuse reprehensible behaviour because 'times were different back then, it was less tolerant'. 1990 isn't exactly that long ago anyway.

I see people do this a lot. Some try to excuse European imperialism and slavery because 'things were different back then, you're judging by modern standards'. I also see people exonerate Prince Philip's racist comments by saying that he's an old man who lived through the 1920s-1970s so of course he will be less tolerant than many of today. I'm sorry, but it's utter BS in my opinion. In the 1800s colonialists should have known that selling and killing fellow human beings was fundamentally wrong, as should Philip in the twentieth century. Despite what people may say, the 1800s and 1900s weren't completely savage - people still had a sense of right and wrong and to try and excuse this sort of behaviour is very wrong, in my opinion.

I'm not saying that's what you're doing here but I don't see it being 1990 or 'spaz' not being as serious a term in the USA as it is in the UK as evidence of the term being acceptable to use. I felt this way back in 1990 when I was 8 years old. If an 8 year old boy can see the bigger picture, why can't grown adults? It's no excuse.

Also, the way you've phrased your reply is very condescending (starting it with 'yeah' and adding in an ellipsis later). Is there really any need for that attitude?

Using a word is not tantamount to slavery. My grandmother uses the outdated term "colored" but it's mainly because of her age, not any bile in her heart.

And yes, despite the shared language, some words in American English are less harsh than their Queen's English counterparts, and vice versa. "Spaz" is one such word.

More twisting of what I am saying. Where exactly did I say that words were tantamount to slavery? I'm drawing a comparison i.e. you're trying to excuse the use of the word 'spaz' because it was a different era and because it's not as offensive a term over there. Is using the word 'spaz' even in the same stratosphere as slavery? No, but the principle remains the same - trying to remove accountability from people because they didn't know any better.

Your grandma and Prince Philip should adapt to modern times. If I'm still mentally living in the early 2000s as an old man in 2055 then I won't be too happy with myself. I know there's no bile in her heart (in contrast to the royal muppet I refer to) but that doesn't make it alright.

I know that different words carry different meanings and varying levels of severity in UK and US English - I just didn't know that 'spaz' was one of them. Nonetheless, it doesn't negate what I am saying - 1990 wasn't that long ago and people were more 'enlightened' by then. Also, 'spaz' may not be that offensive in the US but it's still a questionable term and the turtles were an international phenomenon at the time who appealed to kids, so the writers should have known better. Despite what your maniacal, interfering president and some citizens of your country think, the world doesn't revolve around the United States of America.

You brought up imperialism and slavery to make a point about word usage. I didn't twist that any more than you did my use of "Yeah" and ... when you saw them as condescending. Just how I speak, sir.

As for the world not resolving around the US, I know it doesn't but you have to see a movie produced in America in its context. And that context is that the word isn't seen as offensive where the film originated from. If a series/film had to check all its usage against slang in foreign markets...everything would be edited down to nothing.

I mean, seriously, this an American based forum, so I can't even type the non offensive UK term for cigarette (***...see.), because here it is offensive. It's more about the context in which a thing is used, than that of the outsider looking in.

First off, if you weren't being condescending then I apologise. It's difficult to understand tone on the internet, as we all know.

Second, you did twist it. You implied in your follow-up reply that I was claiming that offensive words are tantamount to slavery. I don't think that they're of similar seriousness - I'm saying the principle is the same in that some try to excuse behaviour because of a lack of understanding. At no stage did I suggest words are as offensive as slavery, as that would require a severe lack of comprehension of the latter. I tried to explain this to you in my last post, but you're still misrepresenting my views, be it intentionally or unintentionally. If it's the latter, it's not really my problem if you can't 'get' what I'm saying.

As for your other points about the film being produced in America, I did consider what you're saying. It's a good point, but ultimately I feel it is more relevant to media which is produced with an adult audience in mind. The turtles at the time mainly appealed to very young kids (which we both were) so I'm not sure the use of the word 'spaz' was very appropriate. I know of plenty of British parents at the time who were unhappy with its usage. There was debate about Raphael's use of 'damn' in a film aimed at kids but 'spaz' is far more offensive to many. Ultimately it's a movie aimed at kids all over the world - it was simply unnecessary and inappropriate. The last thing we needed was kids copying their heroes and calling other kids 'spaz' in the playground.

You make a fair point but I still disagree. At least it's a reasonable point, though, unlike your constant insistence that I believe offensive terms are tantamount to slavery.

There's actually a spaz who works on the TMNT, so calm yourself down.

I'd appreciate if you didn't tell me what to do.

This is also like the argument "how can I be a racist? I have black friends!"

That argument went out ages ago son.

I wasn't expecting my post to attract such attention. There's some argumentative souls on here, but I already knew that.

So...because "spaz" is offensive in the UK it should be removed from an American produced movie that might have a market over there? The world doesn't revolve around the UK any more than the US.

Heck, I'm surprised it didn't just get the axe along with Mikey's nunchucks.

But father*, you don't want to read this series of TMNT books illustrated by the infamous Patrick "Spaz" Spaziante?

http://i42.tinypic.com/2iix5yf.jpg

Who said anything about racism? Sheesh, some people...

*Son is a very condescending thing to say, hypocrite.