Megan Paonessa

English 111 - L16

Sylvia Gilfillian

“What does Today’s diagnosis of Autism mean?”

December 6, 2011 Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a topic that is not addressed the way it should be. Many people have heard the work autism, but could not define it if asked. Two essays I recently came across, “Joey: A ‘Mechanical Boy’” written by Bruno Bettelheim and “Thinking in Pictures”, written by Temple Grandin, share the common topic at hand, autism. Both essays talk about the struggles autism brings to not only the one diagnosed with the disability, but those around him or her. Also, the essays also explore on how those with autism are treated and looked at differently. Autism is a complex
She goes on to talk about how she is impotent in a conversation unless she has a visual representation. If not, she is unable to grasp the idea of what the person is saying. The autistic mind is very different than someone from the mind of someone who does not have autism. The autistic mind may link two things together, not deliberately, which may cause distractions. This is seen in autistic children very often, also having trouble staying on one topic. If someone that does not have autism links two completely different topics together, someone that is autistic can become very frustrated trying to put together the topics. This frustration can result in shaking and nervousness. A little boy at the pool I lifeguard at is autistic. He can make my job very stressful at time when he does not listen. There was one afternoon when I was the only guard on duty and his mother brought him down for the last hour the pool was open that day. Along with him, there were a couple other families there. He does not understand that he cannot jump head first into the baby pool, like he does in the big pool. I had to repeatedly sit him down and explain to him why that was dangerous. After I would ask him not to do that, I would turn away, and he would be doing it again. This example shows how stressful it is dealing with