They lost me at Asperger's Syndrome
Ill-defined, psychologically controversial, impossible to diagnose, pop-psychology nonsense.
shareikuto-yagawa, your post is judgmental and untrue. Asperger's Syndrome is a form of Autism with scientifically documented differences in brain make-up and activity. There are a number of studies on the subject, which I suggest you look up before passing your judgment on to the rest of the world.
No, it's not. You're wrong. Move one symptom up or down the scale of criteria for quantifying autism and you're no longer in "aspergers" zone anymore. You might as well give every symptom its own equally meaningless buzzword.
shareWhat do you mean it "lost you"
Regardless of whether you believe in it or not the fact is that people do get diagnosed of it, real or not, and it was therefore perfectly valid for the plot that Max be given this diagnosis.
Whether or not he actually had Asberger's or another condition is irrelevant.
A lady walks into a cocktail bar and orders a Double Entendre.The barman gives her one
This is already happening. See my reply above (or below). Still, no need to be bitter about it. From a metaphysical perspective, one could wax as acerbic about your complaints the next cold or flu you get.
shareYou are the biggest ignorant i've ever seen.
You clearly havnt been close or met anyone with psychological issues.
I think it might be beneficial if we DID give each symptom its own "buzzword."
I do know that Asperger's/autism are very real conditions - but I admit I am part of the "overdiagnosed" crowd. Its the fact that we're talking about spectrums and levels, the afflicted could have this symptom but not that one, this group over here but not that one over there, etc...
...we all have it.
Most of us are going to be sensitive to loud noises or sudden movements. Its reflex! Most of us are going to find life complicated, because it is!
Some people are going to be introverted, while others are extroverted. Some people have good handwriting, some have bad. In fact, most of us probably have bad handwriting because anything important that others will see is most likely typed nowadays. What's the point of having stellar handwriting on a shopping list?
I can take any symptom of Asperger's and apply it to myself - and that is what I see is the problem (not that its not a real condition, just that its easy to fit the bill!).
If obsessing over certain topics is a symptom, then everyone who goes to a Star Trek convention dressed up should be checked by a doctor.
If talking about a certain topic regardless of the receiver's interest is a problem, then we ALL need to go get checked. We ALL have talked about something someone is not interested in....and we kept going. Its just human nature, for goodness sake.
We all have undesirable qualities about ourselves and I don't think its wise to immediately suspect something may be "wrong" simply because we possess them.
Why can't it just be, "it is what it is?" Own your traits, don't feel ashamed of them! You go to that Star Trek convention and speak Klingon! You go on with your bad self! haha
With the exception of seeing and speaking to Mr. Ravioli, I don't see anything "wrong" with Max. He's a bit odd and quirky, but I wouldn't say he was CLINICAL otherwise. He's just a lonesome homebody and they do tend to be a certain way, and they do tend to have anxiety over life scenarios that half of us wouldn't have an issue with.
But there's still another half that DOES. Why does he have to have Asperger's? Why can't he just be a "lonely geek?" With the exception of Mr. Ravioli, that's what he is - he's just a lonely, geeky type of guy. There's a million of them. Some people just turn out that way - there's nothing "wrong" with their brain.
Several years ago, our newspaper ran a story about a little local boy with autism. His mother was quoted that "Billy" had received a train set for his birthday, and he and his father had been playing with it before bedtime. In the morning, Billy woke up before everyone else, opened his train set box, and put the pieces together himself.
"...and that's when I knew something was wrong," said Mom.
WHAT?!
If I woke up one morning and my child put a toy like that together herself, I'd be BRAGGING, not taking her to the doctor! Why is putting a train set together a bad thing? Why isn't it a great accomplishment? Your kid's a freaking genius, woman! Instead, you're telling him its "bad." He's going to live his entire life thinking something is "wrong" with him. Its a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Sure, maybe Billy DOES have autism. Maybe it was just bad reporting by the paper, but putting a train set together is NOT the end of the world.
To me, its not that the conditions don't exist. Its that there are some very questionable people swept up in this mess thinking that they're "abnormal."
Some people like the idea that there's "something wrong with them" and that it has a medical name. That way, they're not responsible for their weird behavior, fears, or anxieties.
It's okay to be weird. It's okay to have fears and anxieties. You don't have to assign a medical condition to it. You can own it and embrace your unusual personality, or even overcome your problems. Max accepted his personality and wouldn't allow himself to be diagnosed. He wasn't happy, but that was his choice -- not the inevitable result of his "condition."
When you resign yourself to having a "mental illness" like Asperger's, you're helpless. Some people like being helpless. Takes the pressure off. Makes everyone else seem insensitive, while you quietly suffer and pity yourself.
Max fell into depressions, but he didn't pity himself. He thought everyone else was the weirdo. It's how he chose to live.
I couldn't be more in agreement with you.
Its a bit like giving yourself up to a "higher power," but the higher power is DNA. Its not under your control - its not your fault. Just medicate and hope for the best.
There is still much unknown about this syndrome (remember: a syndrome is not a disease, but an identification of symptoms/markers only). It is really not a form of autism. It is only recently being re-categorized under the ASD umbrella for political reasons; i.e., because people identified by Asperger Syndrome do not receive the same social/educational services as those with autism. There is, and will be, much disagreement within the psychological community for some time because of this. As it is, many of the Asperger Syndrome markers are already being split; so, the controversy will probably become inconsequential long before it is settled.
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