[Garfie]

Originally Posted by vesavius

Well.. She has self-diagnosed herself as being on the spectrum.

I have to disagree here. Well, they might be autistic traits I agree (I DM for a social club playing D&D with Asperger kids) but having them doesn't make you necessarily autistic.

It's just my personal view based on what we have seen here but I don't see Ali as that or if she is it's so mild as to be irrelevant. That's just my personal view on the TV that we have seen though. I could be wrong I know.

I’m not sure why you’ve said her condition is self-diagnosed, as personally, I’ve seen nothing to suggest that, and I can definitely see strong Autistic traits in her.

Ali’s Autism is not so mild it is irrelevant - if it was irrelevant she wouldn’t have any traits or symptoms. Yet, she clearly does have symptoms, which have been repeatedly displayed by her misunderstanding of social settings and through her difficulty in functioning effectively and appropriately within them..

Given that my work is to identify, support and mentor students on the Autistic Spectrum, I can only come at this from my experience.

I think the important thing to recognise is that Autism is, by its very nature, a wide spectrum, and that is how it is officially understood. Therefore, if someone has Autistic traits, they have Autistic Spectrum Disorder -ASD. A diagnosis of ASD means you have some form of Autism, which can present in various different ways, depending on which traits a person has. Basically, therefore, if you have Autistic traits, you are, in fact, officially classed as Autistic.

Ali is more high-functioning and has a milder form of Autism, which basically means she is still Autistic, but that her traits would place her on the less impactful end of the Spectrum.

Asperger’s actually means a person has very high-functioning Autism - this diagnosis would mean that an individual is intellectually extremely able, and will generally be a high achiever academically and professionally. Their condition will impact on how they think, understand and function on a social basis. It is still a form of Autism though.

I can understand why some people perceive Ali in a certain way, and why she can be judged very negatively or harshly. I recognise myself that her Autistic traits are not enabling her to present herself well at all at times, and I certainly don’t agree with much of her thinking or her interpretations of others or situations.

Sadly, the vicious and distressing cycle she has found herself in, is not unusual for people with Autistic traits, and she definitely needs someone with understanding of her condition to help guide her out of certain ways of thinking and away from certain behaviours. I honestly believe she will perceive things very differently once she has had time to review the footage and her own behaviour. I think she will have some sadness and regrets, and will judge herself harshly.

Ironically, her behaviour is , in fact, emphasising the impact of her Autistic traits, rather than the irrelevancy of them.