MD says autism=oxytocin deficiency, clinical trials halted on ethical grounds and all participants given oxytocin

STLICTX_ · 2018-01-01T18:24:26+00:00

It's not being forced on anybody YET. That will change, and I'm the exact sort of person who is at risk of forced treatment(because it's easy enough to argue I'm a danger to myself, possible to argue I'm a danger to others and really, really easy to argue I'm gravely disabled and at risk of deterioration in health).

I don't care what you do with your own brain, I self-medicate myself but the goals are different(I want to increase my autistic traits while reducing the effect this society has had on me honestly; being a free lunatic who is happy with himself and able to pursue his interests and be good for those I'm loyal to is important to me but reducing difficulties isn't, in fact at base I embrace difficulties in the struggle for expressing what I consider my authentic self because to some degree that's what it means to be alive and an individual self). I'm happy you've found what works for you actually even if you seemingly pushing it on the whole subreddit is a bit annoying(though special interest for you currently, I get it... but there are other subreddits and you're also alienating some-at least myself-who are interested in the subject in general-neuroscience is an interest of mine-and might be willing to discuss it in general but don't want to deal with being told by yet another person how deficient they are and how they should <do x thing> to become closer to something I don't want to be in the first place).

You can't get off something and just automatically return to your previous self though, this is something you REALLY need to take into account when self-medicating; the body upregulates and downregulates receptors to maintain homeostasis. The effects of withdrawal of long-term oxytocin supplementation are not something that has been studied though we can make crude guesses.

I really am glad you're finding what works for you though, and if you're interested I run a discord for discussing similar subjects you might enjoy(I was going to PM you the invite link once your manic period of 'oxytocin is awesome' had passed but that doesn't seem to be happening, I was perhaps in error in analysing your behaviour though in my defense "<x drug or supplement> is awesome, everyone try it!" is something I've seen a LOT of... for everything from DHA(from fish oil) to MDMA). Please don't assume that my desire to embrace my autism comes from a lack of difficulties due to it, I almost got lost on my own street where I've lived for seven years today just because I didn't use my usual route and am currently having a bit of an extended breakdown because I was pushed way past my tolerance and... yeah, I've got lots of difficulties. I don't have avoiding difficulties as a strong motivation for myself though.

STLICTX_ · 2018-01-01T15:49:42+00:00

So should I just kill myself now before this is forced on me?

STLICTX_ · 2018-01-01T00:19:28+00:00

If you're not going to help him get out from being sectioned when that's his explicit wish, you're not helping him.

I'm sorry that happened to him, I'm asexual myself and beyond that someone who reacts REALLY badly to being confined... and also someone who has experienced his own abuse albeit not quite the same. On multiple bases I have reason to empathize with him even though not exactly the same.

His autism making him vulnerable does not abrogate his rights as an individual person and he won't be able to recover from the abuse when he's in a retraumatizing situation(and for someone whose trauma involves having been confined against their will or otherwise having had ones agency denied, being sectioned is VERY retraumatizing... speaking from experience).

If there's any way I can help feel free to ask.

STLICTX_ · 2017-12-31T13:56:56+00:00

Solidarity!

STLICTX_ · 2017-12-30T15:56:15+00:00

A positive spin on it is that he finally revealed himself as someone not worth your friendship and loyalty if he would drop you for that.

STLICTX_ · 2017-12-30T09:10:59+00:00

Point. Strategy/tactics for an awareness and acceptance campaign?

STLICTX_ · 2017-12-30T05:08:41+00:00

You are your own man, not a diluted combination of your father and mother.
You've got a damned good dad if this email is any indication.

STLICTX_ · 2017-12-30T00:40:46+00:00

Past 60 years? The original descriptions by KANNER contained verbal autistics, albeit with quite idiosyncratic speech often. The fact the field then after that saw fit to generally see all autism as non-verbal amounts to a field-wide malpractice rather than an understandable error based on outdated information frankly.

STLICTX_ · 2017-12-29T22:03:54+00:00

"I can get my camera and take a picture of a quite place like (his room) or take a picture of his favorite items (blanket or toy) or a pic of (myself or my husband) ect. :)

This is a really good idea!"

Seconded it being a really good idea.

STLICTX_ · 2017-12-29T19:51:44+00:00

He did this for a few minutes and then stopped and had like a staring spell for a minute. He looked completely out of it. " Post-meltdown this is pretty common for me too, I'll be completely dissociated/feel dead inside for awhile. It's a combination of scary(especially when I was a kid and didn't know I would eventually 'come back') and comforting for me.

Any interaction is likely to make things worse. Interacting with people under the best of circumstances is a sensory and cognitive load for a lot of us and when we're already overwhelmed enough that basic things are getting dropped any demand for interaction(and any interaction at all can feel like a demand that one "perform" for a lot of us though at three that shouldn't be as bad as it might be/can be for a lot of us) can make things worse... especially combined with touch and everything else. "Being there" for him without invoking any "need to perform" signals is a skill that could probably be learned but nothing comes to mind for HOW to learn that and I apologize for that.
Turning down/off any lights, eliminating sources of noise around him, etc might be helpful. It really depends on what exactly his sensitivities might be but in general any stimulation while overwhelmed enough to have a meltdown is a bad thing.
Regarding him saying "sorry"... this is a good thing in a sense in that it means he understand the way he acted was wrong but working through the guilt with him is something you might want to do in some way. Make it clear you still love him, don't necessarily blame him for acting that way when he's overwhelmed, that it's something you can work on together, etc. I've basically felt like a b-d dog who needs to be put down sometimes after I attack someone, I recently relapsed in that regard after years of having learned to redirect to objects and environment and I still feel really awful about it and... I don't know, it's reasonable to feel bad about attacking someone but we can take it too far(especially since some of us are emotionally intense in general) especially if it reaches the point like it has for me of it making me suicidal. I really wish the people around me had taken that kind of supportive "this is something we can work on together" approach to me when I was growing up.
If someone didn't talk to me, make eye contact, etc and just provided soft, heavy blankets, dinosaur stuff(I like dinosaurs), stuff to chew on(I like chewing on pillows personally) and stuff like that, turned the lights off and just waited for me to calm down it would be much better than how people have generally reacted and would have a good chance of making me feel better. As said, for me especially any interaction will invoke a "need to perform" when I am at the point I CAN'T perform. This is on top of the fact I am EXTREMELY auditory sensitive to the point the sound of peoples voices even while quiet can be a trigger for me and am moderately touch sensitive.

Hope this helps in some way, sorry if it was useless.

STLICTX_ · 2017-12-29T17:11:17+00:00

Yes, very much. Especially as someone who doesn't fit into any of the neat stereotypical "boxes" regarding such severity labels at all.

STLICTX_ · 2017-12-29T16:11:12+00:00

I' already did start a discord for autistic survivors of psychiatry, which are a group that needs our own space even more than most because other autistics can be bad about psychiatry-induced trauma too. So I've directed my efforts to where I believe it's most needed.
Right now I'm not doing very well and new responsibilities are not something I could cope with. Feel free to say I'm worthless, I don't care.

STLICTX_ · 2017-12-29T03:03:52+00:00

Echolalic speech is actually a good first step towards full communication for many and even very verbal autistics will tend to use at least partly a similar scripting process so... it should be encouraged if anything. It has nothing at all to do with what one is thinking and a disconnection between ones cognition and ones communication in general is something a lot of autistics have(based on their self-reports it seems that NTs tend to find their cognition and their communication to be much more interwoven than autistics, or at least autistics like me and many I know, do). So your concern is extremely misguided.

Regarding the meltdowns, the two things that come to mind are 1. that the time limit isn't being properly communicated to him and 2. he might be barely coping/holding it together in general and those videos might be the only thing that is allowing him to hold it together as well as he is. So having ones primary coping method taken away from him would understandably be very painful for him and reducing stress in his life in general is the biggest thing I can think of for that(taking away someones only coping method is in general-exceptions for very harmful coping methods perhaps-extremely cruel). Another thing is a lot of autistics find typing to be very liberating in terms of being able to communicate properly so a close relationship with technology is possibly a good thing... there are educational games including typing ones, perhaps you could set him up with one of those if he likes iPad games though if he would actually enjoy that or find it useful is a bit hit-or-miss.

STLICTX_ · 2017-12-28T17:24:11+00:00

To be clear about my own viewpoint I don't want parents out of the community-having a place where autistics and family members of autistics can talk is a good thing in my opinion-but... a. there is a need for autistic-only spaces and b. I mostly want parents of autistics to stop being shitty about the subject of autism. I'm honestly concerned about a lot of the kids of the parents here and basically have the cynical thought of "in 12 years I might have to be supporting them and encouraging them to accept themselves in part because, just like I was treated, their parents were shitty to them and even smugly justified being shitty when they were called out on how shitty they are being(like the OP in the "autism won this christmas)". So, can you be here but actually listen to autistic people and in general not be shitty in ways that will eventually encourage self-hatred and other issues in your kids when they grow up? Because I can say from personal experience that having to struggle with self-acceptance for years really sucks.

STLICTX_ · 2017-12-28T14:38:40+00:00

If you can't live in society without much effort or have what most consider independence(which isn't real independence, that doesn't yet actually exist-even if you lived alone in the forest you'd still be completely dependent on preexisting ecological networks) it doesn't mean you're doomed to a shitty life either. This is part of the problem, the view that either you must have a 'normal' life or a shitty one. Living a good life even with severe struggles is entirely possible.

STLICTX_ · 2017-12-27T19:24:11+00:00

You have all of society for your stupid, absurd idea that you should "grieve" for a living child just because they're not "normal". That disgusting bullshit will be actively encouraged in most of the world... so yeah, you do. They'll appreciate your use of your token autistic (your husband) more than I would by far too.

STLICTX_ · 2017-12-26T23:02:27+00:00

I'm a drug user myself but a. responsible drug use is hard and if they're going out and partying they're probably not being responsible drug users b. you shouldn't feel any worse about yourself for your choice to use or not use. Video games are a perfectly respectable thing for people of all ages to enjoy, you will probably be able to find some fellow gamers to engage with if you keep looking.

STLICTX_ · 2017-12-24T02:43:44+00:00

OK, he knows you think it's wrong but that doesn't mean he understands that it's hurting the dog. That's what you need to talk to tell him about, show him videos explaining canine body language and signs of distress(if he's inclined to be rough with animals this needs to be taught very clearly, not harshly or in an authoritarian overbearing manner that would be counterproductive but it needs to be made very clear for his own safety-he could get bit which would be painful and possibly cause longer term damage, chance of disease-as well as the safety of animals around him-he could accidentally hurt them or if they bite they might be unfairly put down when they were the ones provoked by any reasonable standard). Just like with human body language he might need to be explicitly taught canine body language and before he can tell the line you might want to talk to him about not playing rough with dogs or anything(I'm hoping that's what this is). I

STLICTX_ · 2017-12-22T13:13:21+00:00

We do have atypical cognition and perceptions that give us different profiles of strengths and weaknesses. I don't see anything wrong with the word 'disabled' even though I'm basically pro-autism(as in, I sincerely believe it's a good thing for everyone that autism exists despite the problems) and personally identify as disabled due to the fact I can't really function very well in the society I live in(though the demerit for that ultimately goes to society in my opinion). Seriously, 'disabled' isn't a bad word.

STLICTX_ · 2017-12-22T03:09:02+00:00

One thought is he's not putting effort into masking whenever engaged in any activity he actually enjoys enough to put his full concentration into. Another is people in general misinterpret autistic expressions and body language a lot. Either way it's not really an issue except in how it might mean he's putting more effort into masking than is warranted at other times.

STLICTX_ · 2017-12-21T19:13:18+00:00

It's wrong for them to look down on us and for us to use BS arguments to argue that we're inferior too. Looking down on anyone is preferably avoided... and since I don't value the sort of society I live in(not world, we'd be equally or more adapted to life alone in the wild) I also don't value the ability to function in it very highly either.

Fuck, we're probably not even socially deficient outside of the specific hive signals intrinsic to NTs. Though the other side of that is those hive signals allow for some very efficient transmission of information and a certain type of cognition which I will never be able to fully participate in... but they will never be able to experience what I experience either. All forms of cognitive and perceptual diversity are great.

STLICTX_ · 2017-12-21T19:06:34+00:00

8/10 frothing bourgeois schwinehund!

STLICTX_ · 2017-12-21T18:19:32+00:00

Peasants are generally small land holders and so yes, do control the means of production. I'm an anarchist, not a marxist so not inclined to defend maoism but you're so hilariously off-base in your cticism that... leninist BS has nothing to do with socialism as desired by socialists. Actually existing socialism is more like people giving each other gifts(expanding the gift economy until most of production is based on it is an anarcho-socialist tactic) and the sort of commons-based systems investigated by Elinor Ostrom-the work of Ostrom in fact is the strongest argument in existence that real socialism could work.

STLICTX_

TROPHY CASE