Asperger's Diary

Life through the lens of Asperger's Syndrome.

by Lynne Soraya

Pity, Respect, and the We/She Dynamic

By Lynne Soraya on April 25, 2012 in Asperger's Diary

In my last post, I talked about “othering” autism. What exactly is othering? Some who responded to the post seemed to feel that othering and ill will are synonymous. I disagree. In my experience, it can often be done by those with the best intentions. Read More

Interesting article.

Submitted by Anon on April 26, 2012 - 4:04am.

There are a lot of mythologies surrounding disability that won't be understood until there is less othering of those with disabilities.

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Sometimes I'll deliberately

Submitted by Katzedecimal on April 26, 2012 - 6:17am.

Sometimes I'll deliberately use othering language when talking to Neurotypicals about Aspergers. I'll refer to them as "allistics" (or "people with allism") and describe their traits as though they are deficits (that need to socialise that keeps them from concentrating on their work & disrupts others, etc.) It's interesting to watch their faces as the messages sink in - or don't sink in. It tells me which people to keep talking to, and which ones I'm wasting my breath on ^_~

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Identify with article

Submitted by Michael on April 26, 2012 - 3:54pm.

Lynne,
Good writing. It is easy to slip into a us/them type of conversation when talking to/with people who have disabilities.

As I read through your article, though, I wonder if society has made us all a bit hypersensitve to being politically correct in our conversations, and, so, we miss out on building the relationships.

I do hope you and your sister-in-law have reconciled since that incident.

Thanks, again, for writing this.

Blessings

Michael
dismantling disABILITIES