tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post2686334755775893433..comments2024-02-13T21:31:57.980-04:00Comments on Facing Autism in New Brunswick: Wikipedia's Misleading List of People on the Autism SpectrumAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838571980003579163noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-58140102801021860212007-05-22T21:28:00.000-03:002007-05-22T21:28:00.000-03:00ChrisYou say you are autistic. I take you at your ...Chris<BR/><BR/>You say you are autistic. I take you at your word. You and every autistic person on that list who can communicate at such an excellent level do not share the same challenges as more severely autistic persons such as my son.<BR/><BR/>To suggest that because some people such as those on the list can communicate so well and accomplish so much means that more severely autistic persons such as those living in institutional care with little or no communication skills might someday "overcome" their limitations is not realistic.<BR/><BR/>That is why the list is so misleading. For the uninformed reader they will come away thinking all autistic persons have such potential. And that is not true.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05838571980003579163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-10723570919189579772007-05-22T19:31:00.000-03:002007-05-22T19:31:00.000-03:00Personality I think that it's great that Wikipedip...Personality I think that it's great that Wikipedipa made a list of people who have some form of autism and were able to make terrific accomplishments They over a lot of barriers. More importantly many probably didn't overcome the barriers of have autism but has used their unique skills to achieve their dreams. If anything the list should give parents and the individuals a sense of hopeUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04585209317238330409noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-89702517926491736112007-05-18T09:18:00.000-03:002007-05-18T09:18:00.000-03:00ballastexistenzThank you for sharing that informat...ballastexistenz<BR/><BR/>Thank you for sharing that information. My point remains the same though. There are many autistic persons who do not, and will not, communicate at anywhere near the level that you do and who are not artists, authors, poets, researchers etc. Unlike you, many of the autistic persons residing in institutional care will remain unknown to the world. Dr. Gupta will not be visiting an insititutional care facility where severely autistic people reside. And Wikipedia will not be publishing a list of such facilities or naming the persons residing therein.<BR/><BR/>This list and other such efforts create a misleading impression of autism for uninformed internet readers. The truly invisible, unheard autistic persons will remain unheard and invisible unknown to the world.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05838571980003579163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-15437101238277497872007-05-18T08:28:00.000-03:002007-05-18T08:28:00.000-03:00I'm on the list (although not fond of the division...I'm on the list (although not fond of the divisions put forth in the list, so my objections to it are a little different than yours). And I do have to be cared for by other people as an adult. So do several of the other people on the list for that matter.ballastexistenzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12543037121691838783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-34247411638649345692007-05-16T19:48:00.000-03:002007-05-16T19:48:00.000-03:00ceilingcrash you are going over old ground on this...ceilingcrash you are going over old ground on this. The fact is that the article in question is on the internet, and it leaves a grossly inaccurate impression of what autism is to readers who know little about autism<BR/><BR/>You can talk abot out all the poets, authors, researcherers etc that you know or believe to be autistic as you wish but the way the article is presented it hides the negative realities faced by so many autistic persons who face more serious challenges than the high functioning high communicating autistic persons on your list<BR/><BR/>The list is misleading. Are you ashamed to acknowledge that many autistic persons are low functioning and have to be cared for by other people as adults?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05838571980003579163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-87858821383365342802007-05-16T13:02:00.000-03:002007-05-16T13:02:00.000-03:00It is a classic error of publication to assume the...It is a classic error of publication to assume the reader will jump to conclusions (which us smart people avoid.) This situation is analagous to, "a list of prisoners who have written important books while in prison." Do we really have to say that not everyone in prison is a noted author?<BR/><BR/>Can we never mention positive aspects of autism without the qualifier that autism is sometimes tragic?<BR/><BR/>Turn it around - when we mention a severely autistic person - must be also be careful to mention that autism in milder forms can be beneficial?<BR/><BR/>I am tempted to add the qualifying text you speak of, but it opens up the above two questions.<BR/><BR/>The fact of the matter is the people listed DID have autism. Nothing else is stated or implied.<BR/><BR/>The purpose of an encyclopedia is to present facts, not teach people how to read and think.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17264217808794329495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-36023571795765244782007-05-16T06:43:00.000-03:002007-05-16T06:43:00.000-03:00Utkarshraj Atmaram I disagree with your conclusion...Utkarshraj Atmaram <BR/><BR/>I disagree with your conclusion. The list IS misleading. You add qualifications in your comment which do not appear on the article page in question. A member of the public may or may not make the same assumptions that you assert in your comment. For many it will be often be seen as representative or will at least leave an impression with them that autism something shared by poets, authors and researchers.<BR/><BR/>If Wikipedia ON THIS ARTICLE page made the qualifiers you mentioned AND informed the world that the list is non representative of the realies of autims, that many non famous autistics have limited communication skills, severe behavioral challengs and live their adult lives in institional care, not writing poetery and authoring novels then I would not have a problem with the list. The article makes no comments to place the list in a context which would convey to the reader the full realities of autism including the very harsh realities for many "people with autism|/Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05838571980003579163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-44058102618044971592007-05-16T06:38:00.000-03:002007-05-16T06:38:00.000-03:00ceilingcrashYou have mild autism. I wish that my s...ceilingcrash<BR/><BR/>You have mild autism. I wish that my son had "mild" autism not the autism that severely restricts his understanding of the world and his ability to communicate that you obviously enjoy.<BR/><BR/>Your comment that "severely disabled people are not famous" misses the point and is silly. Of course the many severely autistic people who live in institutional care are not famous. But the list itself is meaningless unless it is intended to tell us something about the reasons for why the names are listed. In this case autism and severe autism. Whether articulated or not such a list assumes for the reader a representative quality, especially if they are generally ignorant of the subject matter.<BR/><BR/>I know because I am the father of a severely autistic 11 year old boy, and 8 years of autism advocacy, that the list on Wikipedia is not actually representative of autism. A member of the public may not and the list creates a false impression of autism and its severity. Hollywood and CNN like to talk about savants and success stories. They do not want to talk about severely autistic persons who have limited or not communication skills and who engage in seriously self injurious behavior or who live out their adult lives in institutional care.<BR/><BR/>As for other wikipedia articles fine. THIS article should not be used to misrepresent the realities of autism.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05838571980003579163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-43039413931450768482007-05-16T05:09:00.000-03:002007-05-16T05:09:00.000-03:00I'm afraid your interpretation is wrong -- the lis...I'm afraid your interpretation is wrong -- the list is not "misleading".<BR/><BR/>Consider the <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_vegans&oldid=131242135" REL="nofollow">list of vegans</A>, which lists highly notable people including famous authors, musicians and sportspeople. This doesn't mean that <I>all</I> vegans are famous celebrities. Some vegans are famous and notable, and therefore, they're on that list. You can't say that this article is misleading, because it indicates that all vegans are celebrities -- that would be a wrong interpretation.<BR/><BR/>Similarly, the <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_people_on_the_autistic_spectrum&oldid=130949905" REL="nofollow">list of people on the autistic spectrum</A> consists of <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Notability" REL="nofollow">notable</A> people who are known to have a condition on the autistic spectrum. The list doesn't imply that <EM>all</EM> the people on the autistic spectrum are exceptional people who've excelled in their fields.<BR/><BR/>The <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism#Types_of_autism" REL="nofollow">Wikipedia article on Autism</A> clearly mentions, "<I>Autism presents in a wide degree, from those who are nearly dysfunctional and apparently mentally disabled to those whose symptoms are mild or remedied enough to appear normal to others.</I>".<BR/><BR/>The reason why your son Conor or several other people with severe autism don't feature on the list is that <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:NOT" REL="nofollow">Wikipedia is not</A> a directory. The Wikipedia article doesn't aim to be a list of <I>all</I> the people in the world on the autistic spectrum. The article is aims to be a list of <I>notable</I> people who are on the autistic spectrum.<BR/><BR/>The list has very few people with severe autism, because very few people with severe autism have been able to become famous or notable, due to their intellectual and communication deficits.<BR/><BR/>If you know of any such <I><A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Notability" REL="nofollow">notable</A></I> people with severe autism, just <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_people_on_the_autistic_spectrum&action=edit" REL="nofollow">click edit</A>, and add their names to the list. Or alternatively, start a discussion on the <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:List_of_people_on_the_autistic_spectrum" REL="nofollow">talk page</A>.Aam Aadmihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01106228122880454153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-42225603227963220782007-05-16T05:06:00.000-03:002007-05-16T05:06:00.000-03:00Thank you for your attempted insult ms clark. Obvi...Thank you for your attempted insult ms clark. <BR/><BR/>Obviously if I want to become a contributor to Wikipedia I could edit the list. I do not wish to do so and the public generally does not know that the list does not represent the true nature of autism disorders. <BR/><BR/>It says much about you as a person that you disregard the fact that the autistic people who are not poets, authors, etc, the autistic people who live, cared for by others to one extent or another, in institutional care are not disclosed to the world on the Wikipedia list.<BR/><BR/>Do you condone such misrepresentation? It appears you do, judging by your response.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05838571980003579163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-16077607244946939612007-05-16T02:08:00.000-03:002007-05-16T02:08:00.000-03:00I am a wikipedian who happens to have mild autism....I am a wikipedian who happens to have mild autism. I am stunned speechless that anyone, anywhere, should fail to realize that severely disabled people are not famous; their names would be recognizable to nobody, their inclusion in the list pointless.<BR/><BR/>The list not presented as representative; elsewhere wikipedia makes quite clear the debilitating effects autism can have. You will find the articles quite balanced in that they cover the spectrum from genius to disabled.<BR/><BR/>I don't mean to be insulting but ... Wow.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17264217808794329495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-12856095329815552622007-05-15T22:09:00.000-03:002007-05-15T22:09:00.000-03:00Feel free to add your son to the wikipedia list. ...Feel free to add your son to the wikipedia list. Or don't you understand that you can edit wikipedia yourself?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com