When I read your title, I was about as hellbent on ripping you to shreds -- but your words make perfect sense. As a psychology student (a few classes away from my BS degree << ironic, no?) and having been assessed as an adult with Asperger's, I know from my own experience that the psychiatric & psychological field is way off base when it comes to "treating" quirky folks because popping a pill is so much easier than actually doing the WORK to help people assimilate to their environment.
That's not to say we should be lemmings.
BIG PHARMA can kiss my A**. While there are some people who require medication, it's my opinion that it should be the very last resort.
I suffer with depression. My husband has bouts of PTSD from his military service and volunteer work as a fireman. He's seen some terrible things and sometimes he feels transported back to them based on whatever might have triggered him.
It's sad that we are labeling so many of our children with illnesses when in fact, I believe we have given them this course on silver platter instead of allowing them to learn how to cope. I wrote a bit about it in my blog Sticks and Stones have their place. I'd be interested in hearing your opinion about it. https://steemit.com/mindset/@merej99/mindset-sticks-and-stones-have-their-place
As for language... In the U.S. we've gotten very lazy. It's easier to say "I Have" instead of "I experience" or "I suffer with". But let me just conclude with this: I, as well as my son, was born with a form of autism, therefore we have autism. The depression, anxiety, anger that stems from that is something we suffer and experience. But we find ways to cope and play well with others.
Thank you for the thought-provoking post. :)
Hi merej99, sorry for the late response. I want to thank you for sharing your thoughts on the issues I raised. I have not dedicated much time to the study of autism but from what I've heard, it is still rather mysterious, even in the eyes of the experts.
Regarding your post, I want to say how sorry I am for your experiences with school bullies. Although, I would quibble with your generalized description of kids as 'assholes'.
Having raised 3 boys and having been a kid...I am pretty confident that kids are 'assholes' - or maybe I should rephrase that as 'kids have the potential, and often use their superpowers, to be assholes.' LOL
Asperger's, which was placed on the autism scale in the DSM-V, is definitely somewhat of a mystery by the simple fact that no two people on the scale are exactly alike in the severity of their symptoms - which is why traditional therapies will never work (in my opinion). But this thread just gave me an idea for a post!