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U.S. autism data project sparks uproar over ethics, privacy and intent

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Re: U.S. autism data project sparks uproar over ethics, privacy and intent

#91

It’s interesting to muse about the larger picture here. What is it that makes autism so dangerous? To me it looks like part of an almost spiritual war against empathy/compassion by traumatized individuals trying to fight their own Jungian Shadow.

“I told you once that I was searching for the nature of evil. I think I’ve come close to defining it: a lack of empathy. It’s the one characteristic that connects all the defendants. A genuine incapacity to feel with their fellow man. Evil, I think, is the absence of empathy.”

      ― G. M. Gilbert, American psychologist who worked on the Nuremberg trials

Re: U.S. autism data project sparks uproar over ethics, privacy and intent

#92
post #33

The criteria for diagnosing ASD today are vastly different from those that would’ve resulted in an autism diagnosis shortly after the abolishment of lobotomy, it is hardly surprising the rate keeps going up as you widen the net.

> shortly after the abolishment of lobotomy That's an important bit of context whenever RFK Jr. talks about how conditions like Autism and ADHD weren't a thing when he was growing up - his own aunt, who may well have had one of those conditions, was dealt with by giving her a lobotomy and then hiding her away. Those are the supposedly better times he's harkening back to. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosemary_Kennedy

Lobotomy was not given to young children even when it was a thing...

Re: U.S. autism data project sparks uproar over ethics, privacy and intent

#93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The criteria for diagnosing ASD today are vastly different Not that much. The difference between now and 50 years ago is that a) we don't just throw them into asylums, b) we actually have accessibility of getting diagnosed, c) employment opportunities suitable for many people with mental disabilities (such as factory line assembly) have gone down the drain.

> Not that much. Very much so. What we now call Autism Spectrum Disorder was referred to as "childhood schizophrenia" in the DSM-2 [1], things only started moving in the right direction with the DSM-3 [2] when it was finally sort-of recognized as an independent disorder of "infantile autism", but some core elements of ASD like sensory processing differences were only recognized in the DSM-5. There's a good overview a…

And let’s not forget that until the DSM-V, a child could not be diagnosed with both autism and ADHD (see section E at the bottom of this table [0] showing changes from the DSM-IV to DSM-V):

> The symptoms do not occur exclusively during the course of a pervasive developmental disorder, schizophrenia, or other psychotic disorders and is not better accounted for by another mental disorder (e.g., mood disorder, anxiety disorder, dissociative disorder, or a personality disorder).

The DSM-V states that they can exist together. In fact something like 28-44% of people with Autism exhibit some form of ADHD. [1]

It just goes to show that we’re still evolving in how we understand things. And then we can get into things like twice exceptionality and Asperger’s…and yeah. Lots to learn.

[0]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519712/table/ch3.t3/

[1]: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6...

Re: U.S. autism data project sparks uproar over ethics, privacy and intent

#94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll quote Kennedy's dehumanizing comments for context, that people can compare the two styles of rhetoric: - "Kennedy said many autistic children were “fully functional” and “regressed … into autism when they were 2 years old. And these are kids who will never pay taxes, they’ll never hold a job, they’ll never play baseball, they’ll never write a poem, they’ll never go out on a date. Many of them will never use a to…

What percentage of the millions of twiteraty proudly putting autism in their bio would you guess are "non-toilet trained"?

Seeing some of them still wear diapers, I'm going to assume percentage higher than 0%.

PS. I'm aware what it is.

Re: U.S. autism data project sparks uproar over ethics, privacy and intent

#95

One thing this will do is disincentivize high functioning autists from identifying themselves as autists, which is a very good thing IMO. Just look at this channel https://www.youtube.com/@NationalAutisticSoc/videos . There is a lot of survivor-ship bias on this channel towards high functioning autists who can talk in front of a camera. Just to give an idea to those not familiar with the difference between high funct…

Why do you consider that a good thing?

Re: U.S. autism data project sparks uproar over ethics, privacy and intent

#96

One thing this will do is disincentivize high functioning autists from identifying themselves as autists, which is a very good thing IMO. Just look at this channel https://www.youtube.com/@NationalAutisticSoc/videos . There is a lot of survivor-ship bias on this channel towards high functioning autists who can talk in front of a camera. Just to give an idea to those not familiar with the difference between high funct…

activities that would result in "identifying themselves as autists" include: seeking a diagnosis in the first place, getting the help of a mental health professional, frequenting support groups and forums, and wearing a fitbit or smart watch. It's really not a good thing when people, high functioning or not, are forced to choose between getting the help they need and being targeted by their government.

> and wearing a fitbit or smart watch.

Since when is wearing smart watches only for autists?

Re: U.S. autism data project sparks uproar over ethics, privacy and intent

#97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What would you suggest Americans actually do? They voted this in knowing this would happen. It’s one thing to shout into a void about some vague disagreement, but it’s entirely different to actually take some form of real action. What should that action comprise?

1. Join up on your local 50501 protest, next one is on May 1: https://www.fiftyfifty.one/events 2. Continue speaking loudly about the various criminal acts of this administration and continue reinforcing the importance of not tuning it out 3. Find promising candidates and fund their run in 2026 to flip the house and strangle the administration with impeachments over their long list of violations of the Constitution 4…

Is it peace, to point the gun?

Is it war, to fire the gun?

Re: U.S. autism data project sparks uproar over ethics, privacy and intent

#98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Do not commit the sin of empathy"

“The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy” — Elon on Joe Rogan It’s a core tenant of this Curtis Yarvin / neo reactionary ideology that seems to be shared by a lot of VCs

The previous silicon valley giants were to a large degree followers of Ayn Rand. This society selects, grooms and idealises a certain psychological profile.

Re: U.S. autism data project sparks uproar over ethics, privacy and intent

#99

One thing this will do is disincentivize high functioning autists from identifying themselves as autists, which is a very good thing IMO. Just look at this channel https://www.youtube.com/@NationalAutisticSoc/videos . There is a lot of survivor-ship bias on this channel towards high functioning autists who can talk in front of a camera. Just to give an idea to those not familiar with the difference between high funct…

There isn’t a definitive test for autism. High functioning autists would have been considered quirky or odd in the past. We label everything now though
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