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Health

Autism – Disability Meets Ability!

June 24, 2012

Susanna Mittermaier
Susanna Mittermaier

Autism is considered a handicap in this reality.

Looking up the diagnosis in DSM IV, describes a list of limitations, like qualitative impairment in social interaction, qualitative impairment in communication and restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behaviour.

What if autism is a totally different way of functioning beyond the polarity of thoughts, feelings and emotions? What can we learn from the autistic way of functioning?

Working with children and adults with autism as a clinical psychologist has put everything I was taught in my education up side down. Meeting autistic people asked of me to put everything I have learned aside and to be open up to a totally new world.

Very soon in my career as a psychologist it became clear to me that seeing autistic people as limited, was both incorrect and also a perspective that did not create greater possibilities. I was asked to be the question. What is really going on here? Is this truly a handicap? What am I aware of here? What are autistic people capable of that may not match anything I have learned?

What has always been surprising to me is how the diagnosis autism describes autistic people from a perspective of disability. The diagnosis describes how these people function and do not function from a perspective of this reality. It describes autism as an inability to communicate, a lack of feelings and emotions and difficulties with social interaction. Thoughts, feelings and emotions are considered as valuable in this reality. This is how people define themselves and
attach meaning to who they are and why they are doing what they are doing.

What if we are so much more than that? What if we know so much more than we can think? What if we perceive so much more than we can feel? What if we are so much more than our emotions? What if there was so much more receiving possible? Is that what autism can teach us?

Everything is now!

Autistic implies a receiving of all information, information from everything and everyone around without filtering that information through thoughts, feelings or emotions. It is a nonlinear way of functioning. Everything happens at once and time is not relevant. Everything is now! Imagine being in nature and lowering all your barriers and allowing yourself to receive everything without categorizing, without censuring cognitivly what it is, just receiving it all. Notice how calm that makes you be. Notice how fast you pick up everything. That is an autistic way of being. If you would think about what you perceive, it would be much slower.

The word autistic comes from the Greek word ” autos” which means ”self”. It has later been translated into ”morbid self admiration” and ”withdrawal”. The question is what if autism is not about a morbid curiosity of self or a withdrawal but an ability to receive oneself in everything. A being where the lack of separation that is created by thoughts, feelings and emotions and cognition does not make sense. It is what we think, judge, compute and decide that creates a separation between us and what actually is and what truly is possible. Not censuring information through thoughts, feelings and emotions allows us to be, to be with everything and receive everything. Everything is the opposite of what it appears to be and nothing is the opposite of what it appears to be! Everything is the opposite of what it appears to be and nothing is the opposite of what it appears to be! And one more time! Everything is the opposite of what it appears to be and nothing is the opposite of what it appears to be! If your head starts spinning when you read this, don’t worry! That is highly appropriate! I am inviting you to a different possibility to access what you truly know beyond logic! Are you up for it? So what if the autistic way was a heightened way of being with everything without separation or withdrawal, without the cognitive or emotional way of dissecting and analyzing?

What if withdrawing from what is, withdrawing from the world is to translate what is into thoughts, feelings and emotions? What would you choose?

The question is! What makes us think that autism is a wrongness or a handicap that needs to be changed!

Trying to make people with autism function according to a linear way, a world where things have a cause and an effect, where time is of matter, does not make sense to them. It is like forcing a round ball into a square box. It will never fit. Trying to make autistic people feel is extremely frustrating to them. Why? Because feelings do not make sense to them. Feelings are not relevant in their world. The question is! What makes us think that this is a wrongness or a handicap that needs to be changed!

Autistic people are very clear in their way of communicating

What we learn when we study autism is the “fact” that autistic people are limited in their way of communicating. We learn that they start talking later than other children and that their way of talking is stereotypical. What if communication is not primarily verbal? What I found working with autistic people is that they are very clear in their way of communicating. Their way of processing information is extremely fast and it asks of other people to step up.

psychic-awarenessThinking, feeling and communicating in words takes a long time. Try it! Say “apple”. Now think “apple”. Now just get the picture, a knowing of an “apple”. Which was fastest? The instantaneous picture of things and of many things at the same time is how autistic people process information. It is like having a movie in your head where every picture in that movie is shown in the now, at the same time.

For autistic people to hear us talk is extremely slow. They hear: “P a s s m e t h e s a l t p l e a s e”. Can you see how frustrating that is, hearing slow talk all day long and can you see how that can create outbursts? Being present with autistic people and being aware of what is going on in the now allows you to see very clearly what they are communicating to you. So instead of using verbal words, next time you talk to someone being autistic give them the pictures in your head of what you would like to them to do. Explore and play with a different way of functioning and communicating!

So! What amazing abilities do autistic people have? What autistic abilities do YOU have that acknowledging them would allow you to access so much more of you? Would you like to know more? Are you interested in more information and tools for autism, Asperger, OCD, ADHD? I offer workshops sessions for children, adults, teachers, parents, everybody who is asking for more ease and greater possiblites!

To contact Susanna Mittermaier (Author of this Post) Click Here

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Noel McInnis

Jun 26, 2012

You’re right on target! Please see my web page on autism as a new evolutionary order, at http://www.noelfrederickmcinnis.com/content/plea-damaged-children-autism-new-evolutionary-order – and how I dealt with my own diagnosis of “borderline autism” at http://www.noelfrederickmcinnis.com/content/how-i-got-way-owning-my-gifts-autism

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Susanna Mittermaier

Jun 26, 2012

Thank you and I am so grateful for the contribution you are! I checked out your webpage and I wonder what else is possible and what contribution we can be to create a greater possibilities for all the X-men in the world!?

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Vrinda Pendred

Oct 14, 2012

I run a charitable publishef house / website for writes with neurological conditions. I thought perhaps you would find this article interesting. It’s about autism from an autistic viewpoint, and shows it as simply another personality type and not a disability. http://t.co/A81bG6BG

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Line

Jun 26, 2012

Cool, only why are you cutting feelings out of the equation completely? What if autistic people do feel only it is different from what neurotypical persons classify as feeling? What if we embody it all and then some?

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Susanna Mittermaier

Jun 26, 2012

Thank you for your comment, Line! I was not cutting out feelings from the equation. Consciousness includes everything. What I am inviting to is the possibility of perceiving, which is greater and different than feeling. Feeling is a way of translating your awareness into polarity. Autistic people get projections upon them about  the necessity of feelings instead of the allowance of the awareness that they are. What greater space of possibilities can we be?

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Lori

Nov 14, 2012

I’m with you! I see the Gifts of Autism. It’s a choice-how we want to interpret/see Autism. check out my website. www.thegiftsofautism.com

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Susanne McClure

Nov 4, 2014

What about the intense physical issues too many of the autistic kids face, including inability to potty train, bowel disbiosis, seizures, extreme food allergies, to just name a view?

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Crystal

Apr 14, 2016

I love this article! It definitely opened up my mind a great deal to what my son “deals” with. He is high functioning and has extreme melt downs and a difficult time verbally communicating so this felt spot on to everything that I see on a daily basis.

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Jeni

Nov 30, 2017

Hi I just found this article. I’ve had the same realization with my son/autism. Everything is now, they live in the present moment. Isn’t this what many spiritual teachers are talking about , living in the now, being present, be mindful etc? Where part of humanity are trying to ‘wake up’ to be more present, to be free of the stress and strain they experience?

Everything is now with my son, he is also very visual, for example, school uniform is hung up the night before where he can see it – usually on a hook somewhere! Put it in the wardrobe and he will never find it 😉

Additionally, you mention using ‘mind pictures’ to communicate. Couldn’t this be seen as a form of telepathy? (If you believe in it). I know when I have processed some emotions or done some healing work, my son will mirror back to me what I’ve just processed. Usually verbally. He doesn’t know I’ve done the ‘work’ he just picks up on it.

Finally, what I find fascinating, if those with autism live in the now, why do they like things ‘separate’ and need to divide things/people? Separating food on a plate, wet and dry food don’t go together, separating friends eg school friends are school friends and cadet friends are cadet friends, they don’t mix. My point is, let’s just say Autism is about living in the now, present moment, 5D/Unity consciousness as where to ‘separate’ as in separating people, things etc is 3D consciousness/Duality. ‘They’ appear to be in between dimensions/levels of consciousness just like the rest of us. Whereas, they are already in the NOW and humanity via DSM V wants them to confirm to their level of consciousness and what is acceptable.

Mum to teenager with a diagnosis of Autism & Epilepsy. Complementary Therapist who also works alongside adults with a diagnosis of autism.

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