Said in the voice of Jack Black:
"They went blind from overexposure to pure awesomeness!
-------------My eyes!!
------He's too awesome!!!!"
~Kung Fu Panda
Research after research has shed light on the fact that the Autistic brain is different, but in so many cases it is far superior. Sometimes so superior that it makes it hard to function. They have figured out that Autistics process motion so much faster than the rest of us. Children with Autism see simple movement twice as quickly as other children.(Science Daily) We've all heard the term Autistic Savant for a reason. The Autistic brain has astonished us over and over again.
Oftentimes though, these super abilities become debilitating. Many Autistics who successfully function in society, have had a combination of learning how to manage their over-abilities, and having the resources and support around them to figure it out. For others it's just not possible. I feel like the difference between low functioning and high function autism is this very thing. If you are SO incredibly sensitive to every touch, smell, or sound, that it is all you can do to just process being in a quiet room, your brain will never be unoccupied enough to learn new things. I dislike the notion that low functioning Autism means low intelligence. This has been proven over and over again to not be true.
Autism is like a power. Whether you think its good or bad, it is definitely powerful. It is the strength of that power that dictates the severity of said Autism. Imagine Superman. If you turned up his super hearing, and you turned up his super vision and you turned up his feeling, he too would be in a corner rocking, but the more you turn them down, the more he could process, function....even if it was more than he was built to handle. Now if you tried to take his powers away, would he be superman anymore? No,you say! He would be Clark Kent!
I say no.
He would not.
Clark Kent was just superman in disguise. He still had his powers, he had just figured out how to "pass" as one of us. Take those powers away and he would not be the same being he was. Our kids are superheroes. I think we need to be content to help them learn how to be as functional as Clark Kent, but still remember that they are forever Supermen, just some with their senses and powers ON more than others.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130508131829.htm
