Humanity in Autism

I have been doing some unusual amount of reading regarding congenital disorders lately. It happened ever since I met this wonderful and amazing woman of our time a few days ago. So amazing and unique she is among us because of her autism – and her condition is not a classic one, but a highly-functioning autism that could probably set anyone still at their tracks.

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like you to meet Temple Grandin (whom I ‘met’ on HBO) - a lady of monumental strength that has braved against the strong tides of social stereotypes. In a field that is dominated by mostly brawn-but-no-brains men, she managed to single-handedly revolutionise the US cattle livestock industry; from a brutal system to a much humane one that teaches all of us to treat every living being with dignity and respect, especially if its ultimate sacrifice is meant to keep us alive. And as a frontliner in advocating autism, she will make you understand yourself better as a human being by ensuring you understand what the disorder really is first.

But what made my neurons in the brain all fired up is not regarding how the disorder comes to be. It is rather how the public approaches the whole issue. One of the major highlights that I learnt from the movie ‘Temple Grandin’ and after numerous fact-finding with brain-cracking almost brought me down to my knees with shame. It’s a reminiscence of my childhood during the schooling days.

Before I continue, to give a brief idea what autism is, it is a behavioural disorder with strong evidence of genetic predisposition. Community afflicted with this disorder will have a hard time blending into society and to communicate, but they excel in fields that require logical thinking like math and science. Sounds like Asperger’s Syndrome, but autism is not to be confused for that though both of them share strong similar traits. Most importantly, autistic people comprehend the world in a much different and specific way than us that makes them weirdo in the eyes of many – they pay more attention to details and processes rather than the bigger picture, rendering them to have more inputs from their sensory system. Thus they are more easily irritated (hypersensory) and may act in many different, strange ways to ease themselves.

So here’s the part that my old-self (and also many others) wasn’t aware of: autism can range from very mild, almost-undetectable ones to very severe types like what Grandin has. Remember that you used to laugh at kids who acted all odd and sometimes throwing tantrums, or the ones who you think were dorks and unable to solve the simplest question or carry out the most basic tasks? These people could very well have autism or other types of disorders like Down’s and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). They didn’t ask for these to begin with, and certainly they didn’t ask for your teasing, labelling and discrimination that arrive after. Above everything else, they don’t need your sympathy, but they will really appreciate your support.

As I continue to read further, it was horrifying to discover past related misconceptions which were based on pure assumptions driven by fear and unfamiliarity that could actually plunge the whole family into unnecessary hardship and humiliation. Ever wonder how the term ‘refrigerator mothers’ came into existence? It is used to describe mothers of autistic children whom members of public believe the emotional detachment that the mothers exhibited towards their offspring that offset the disorders in them. Makes you laugh? Think how was it like being a mother of an autistic child back in the 50’s and 60’s.

However, with the knowledge we possess today, fear towards these disorders should be something relatively of the past. Education for both communities is the key here – to integrate the involuntary outcasts and to have the society to accept them. We may have found the root of these disorders, but similarly to Grandin’s thoughts, a cure is not the answer since it will wipe out neurodiversity that makes mankind’s evolutionary feat our greatest survival arsenal in my belief. After all, half of the men and women who had and are going to transform this Earth into a better place for everyone are actually identified with somewhat kind of behavioural disorders with varying degrees, like the great Temple Grandin herself!

Nevertheless, solutions are everywhere. One of my favourite philosophers, Sir Ken Robinson who is a famous education reformist that has encountered numerous cases of ADHD (and other similar disorders) among school children said, there is no such disorder. They are proven on paper, but they are still subjected to plenty of debate. Reason he said that was after helping a child diagnosed with ADHD by her teachers to secure a better future. Recalling from his account, she may not be able to sit obediently or acquire long attention span in class, but her feet were able to lift gracefully in the presence of music much to the astonishment of her joyful mother and bewildered teachers.

So, all this just points towards one thing: that kids with such disorders are just normal after all, like each of our precious selves, they just need some direction to find where their passion really lies in and an avenue to express themselves. It’s actually not that complicated as we think.

p/s ‘Temple Grandin’ is now airing on HBO. Try to catch it!

01.17.08

WARNING: This post contains small dosage of spoiler to the movie Cloverfield. Best viewed using Opera browser.

As I was pacing out from Hall 2 with hands snuck into my pockets, I was in fact trembling. The cinema was really cold, since it was barely 5 or 6 persons including myself according to my faithful memory trying to make sense of where the story was heading during the first 10 to 15 minutes. Or maybe because I just got jolted by unknown but high amount of suspense, disbelief, fear - I was terrified.

What felt like moments before the credits started rolling was running endlessly, scaling tall heaps of rubbles, got bathed by dust and risked of being squashed to death by chunks of debris, got attack by spider-like creatures while trying to avoid crossing the path of the gray, collosal creature of unknown origin performing mass destruction on New York and Manhattan, and of course, trying to keep the video camera alive and running well despite the hindrance it brought to this survival race.

Overall, the movie - in my opinion as a self-acclaimed film critic - managed to score a 7.5 out of 10. It's totally compelling, however it might not suit most people who are especially used to the conventional method of story telling with narrations and dialogues. One might find it closely related to the earlier 1999 horror-documentary The Blair Witch Project where the story is being untangled through the lens of video camera and the limited perspectives of the people captured by it rather than the general overseeing narration of situation and people involved in most other stories. Truthfully, for the first 10 minutes, I was being brought on a rollercoaster ride of motion sickness due to the uncertainty of video camera. However, this method proves to be really successful in conveying the story especially when it is done the 'ordinary people' way as proven in Cloverfield where it captures the emotions, fear, eye-witness experience and the gripping, unpredictable suspense efficiently in such panic-and-run situation that puts audience into the shoes of those people, particularly through the eyes of the one recording the whole event.

The story begins with a group of people in a farewell party right before a series of strong but short tremors hit Manhattan. The next thing they know is that huge explosions have taken place and the head of Miss Liberty somehow ended on the road near them after being flung easily like a baseball. Obviously, it is something huge with limbs that can only carry out that feat. But still, we are not sure of what it is and where it is from then until to towards the middle of the story. Though it's kept secretive at first, but the plot revelation is good to elevate the suspense and provoke the interest of the ones watching, and everything including the monster's appearance seems to be at the right time and purpose.

Right even before the release of Transformers last year, teaser trailers of Cloverfield had been released in cinemas all over America to build the anticipation up. It was short and without title, but only mentioned JJ Abrams as the producer of the movie from the Lost fame. The trailers only depicted that Manhattan suffered from destruction but not knowingly what was that, and it was observable that the degree of damage and the flying head of the Statue could not be due to terrorism or something of today's arsenal. Funny it sounds, cinema-goers at first mistook it as the teaser trailers for Transformers itself. Unconfirmed speculations made by the public include alien invasion, monster ala Godzilla style, and the less convincing one - terrorism. Some went as far to conclude that it's a Cthulhu based on a book by H.P. Lovecraft. In an unaccredited source, it is confirmed by JJ Abrams himself that the humongous alien is - in fact - an alien.

Extra measurements were carefully taken by the producers to ensure that no leak could reach the public until today in Malaysia and certain parts of South East Asia. Our not so-near-neighbour, America will only get to watch it a day later than us. I have to admit and be amazed despite the massive shoots of scenes all over the crowded Manhattan and the huge amount of people were involved, there was no information that was leaked to the public until the movie being reeled in cinemas globalwide. Now that's what I called a brillliant marketing strategy and it won huge response there - but it is not so heavily promoted in Asia. That explains the reason behind the scarcity of audience in the hall today although today's the premier.

For that 90 minutes; I felt like being transported to Manhattan, witnessed the monster with my own eyes, running away from disasters all the time, being manipulated by the uncertain but strickening fear, covered with ash and dust and lost all hopes within the rubble of Manhattan. I might have considered giving it a 8.5 to 9 rating over 10, but the video camera motion-sickness - damn.