21: Are You Autistic?

[The Girl]

Brian Gordon answers questions about autism, from recognizing it to understanding and responding to the behaviors of someone on the autistic spectrum.

BSG SOCIAL LEARNING: You Can't Put a Cap On Potential


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[poingjam]

Yes. Probably. Yes.

[Junkenstein]

i always love the show, seems like Chemda's way to get people at ease and opening up, brings out some of the best interviews you can have.

this one was especioally fascinating and warm. so many things on autism and social anxiety got much clearer while listening.

thanks to both

[Subsonix]

Brian Gordon sounds like a cross between Ira Glass and Myq Kaplan.

Great episode!

[Bucho]

So glad that in 2012 there are people like Brian out there learning how to work with these 'atypical' people. Life was so much more messy and inconventient when we had to use exorcism and witch burnings to deal with them.

[BrianAlt]

It's very true that while listening to this show you find yourself saying to yourself, "wait a minute! I'm like that!"

Then you relax and realize that sure, you're like that. But that's just a small piece to the overall puzzle.

I think there's a pun there somewhere.

[Keith]

Well don't take my hand so that I help you figure out that puzzle. That's not how it works.

[andsoitgoes]

I learned something more than I ever thought in this episode, the fact that those with aspergers/autism/etc have difficulty communicating due to the fact that they can't imagine people NOT seeing their way naturally was eye opening.

I feel I have a part of that as well, it's hampered my ability to teach my kids early on until I tried to address it, but I struggle with it. Having a severe lack of patience doesn't help.

Love your interviewing style, Chemda. I can honestly say that you bring something really special to this show. Things I might have been so-so on in any other show seem that much more intersting.

**Edit - Poingjam, I assume you moved this here. Thanks, I don't know what happened. I could have sworn I posted in 21... ah well. It was late.

[bw81]

We recently had our son diagnosed as having autism and it was an arduous process but based on what we have read how things go overseas we are extremely lucky. Both in terms of how long it took to get him diagnosed (about 6 months though we had to go private as the government funded program was taking FOREVER - which is time that he could be getting help) and the therapies available to us here. There is funding at a federal and state level too which will help out a lot till he is 6 (when the funding is cut off).

Since we have caught it so early (he is only 2.5) the therapies he has already started going to should hopefully help him much more than had we caught it later on.

My wife listened to this episode too which was great to be able to bounce things off each other about it. Would have liked to have know a bit more about his day to day with his students but it was still a great listen.

It's been very hard at times to think about things we normally wouldn't be worrying about at his age;
- Will he be able to make friends?
- Will he be able to find someone to love him?
- Will he be able to support himself?
- Will he actually love us, will he know what love even is, etc....
- Is he going to be subject to bullying more?

... it was very confronting and overwhelming for a while there.

Luckily our daughter is not only patient with us in dealing with him (so far...) but she is also mimicking the way we deal with him which only helps solidify what he is learning.

But now we are at the stage where regardless of his diagnosis, he needs speech therapy and some social therapy to help him. So we are going to do whatever we need to to help him on his journey. We're both very involved, active parents and replicate his therapies at home so that we can make the most of it for him.

A big issue we are finding with kids who have Autism in my daughters pre-primary is that not a lot of people know what autism is. So the parents are quick to judge and you can see their kids replicating this judgement - it angers me and I have to bite my tongue often. I think that if there is an autistic kid in a classroom then everyone including students, teachers, parents should be given a little heads up as to what it is about. If it were their child they wouldn't appreciate the judging that is imposed on these kids that I see.

[BrianAlt]

A friends child was diagnosed early on and immediately started therapy. Now the young girl is 15 and doesn't display any symptoms. Keep doing everything you need to do. It will make all the difference in the world.