Is Ann Coulter Autistic?

Ann Coulter said something stupid today.

Yes, I know that sentence is redundant. Bear with me here.

In reply to a discussion that Republican senators would have to have a member of  their family killed before they would support the gun bill, Ann suggested we start with Meghan McCain.

MSNBC's Martin Bashir suggested that Republican senators need to have a member of their families killed for them to support the Democrats' gun proposals. (Let's start with Meghan McCain!)

 Her remark led people wondering if she has autism since she seems to have no empathy for people.

I think it's great that people are more aware of autism and thinking about what it means. But I'm not ok with the general public thinking that anyone who acts like a heartless jerk is autistic. Because that's not how we are.

I think one of the problems is that a lot of the general population use 'empathy' when they mean 'sympathy' or 'compassion.'

Empathy is the ability to read another person and know what that person is thinking or feeling.

Sympathy is sharing what the other person is feeling.

Compassion is when you have a strong feeling of sympathy and an urge to allieviate it.

It does appear that Coulter lacks empathy. She also appears to lack sympathy and compassion. Most autistic people I have seen have a high degree of sympathy and compassion but they are not good at reading people and knowing that they are thinking or feeling, therefore they lack empathy.

Maybe Ann Coulter is a psychopath. Or she might have some other type of personality disorder. But I don't believe she has a neurological disorder.

Also, she talks too damn much to be autistic. Autistics don't like talking for no reason but that is all Ann does. Autistics like facts and logic, two things you won't find in an Ann Coulter rant.

I'm going to come right out and diagnosis Coulter as not autistic.

When We Say We're Different, We Mean It

I'm reading on an online support group about a mother asking what she should do with her son. He is PDD NOS, in college, studying to be an engineer, loves gaming and doesn't socialize much. It sounds like he is AST, Autism Spectrum Typical. In our world, he's normal. But she wants him to be NT normal, so she's asking how to get him out to socialize more.

Many people on the spectrum have a much lower need for social interaction to be satisfied. NTs don't understand this and always ask what they can do to encourage more socialization.

Nothing. We just don't need it.

I work in customer service, I talk on the phone 8 hours a day to people, I also have to deal with social interaction in the break room, walking down the hall, at the grocery store and various other places throughout the day.

People are everywhere! I have to step outside what is normal for me and interact with them every day, all day. I am more than maxed out on social interaction. Being alone at home is RELAXING, it's not a bad thing.

NTs really need to understand that when we say we're different, we really are different. Maybe because it's because NTs are so used to their words not meaning what they say, but when autistics speak, we say exactly what we mean.

We are different. We have different needs. Different things give us pleasure and different things cause us stress.

When we say we are different that isn't code for "we're pathetically waiting around for you to come save us and teach us how to be NT."

We are wired differently. Literally, the way the connections are formed in our brains is different from NT people. It will always be that way. Forcing me to go make small talk to someone doesn't make me NT, it makes me annoyed.

Would you be so eager to change your child if they were born blue eyed instead of brown eyed? Would you be so concerned about 'fixing' their blond hair if you felt they really should have been brunette?

Why the obsession with 'fixing' autistics?

We're not broke; we're different.