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A new study urges trials of MDMA to treat anxiety in autistic adults

thedailybeast.com

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Re: A new study urges trials of MDMA to treat anxiety in autistic adults

#21
post #18

I can say, hands down, MDMA cured me from all and any social anxiety, it showed me that no-one gives a fuck, everybody is just the same and wants to be heard. Its so funny, every time links like this gets posted I just nod and think "Poor bastards, they haven't figured it out yet?" It's been 8 years since I did MDMA, so far no negatives as far as I can tell. Obviously, as with any strong drug/psychedelic, you will be…

First, are you saying you had social anxiety previously and that it was improved for the long term, without continued MDMA use?

Secondly, what evidence is there that psychedelics cause schizophrenia?

Re: A new study urges trials of MDMA to treat anxiety in autistic adults

#22
post #10
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm autistic and I'd rather people call me what I am than have to deal with pretentious, SJW-inspired nonsense like this.

Person-first terminology has been under debate since the 1990s[1][2]. The consensus among professionals (I just now spoke with a clinical psychologist Ph.D student who specializes in ASD research) is to use "individual with ASD/autism". Academia disagrees with you[3]. To be clear, if you would like to be referred to as an "autistic person", no one should have a problem with that. Similarly, you should not have a prob…

>Academia disagrees with you

No it doesn't, a few studies do. I believe this is exactly the kind of pretentious language the individual was talking about.

Re: A new study urges trials of MDMA to treat anxiety in autistic adults

#23
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The consensus among professionals...Academia..." I like the part where you have the gall to lecture people about what they themselves want to be called, using appeals to authority figures who are not themselves Autistic. "Similarly, you should not have a problem with the majority of people with autism preferring "person with autism" Except that the majority of Autistic people prefer being called Autistic people , ra…

I don't know much about this and found your links interesting. Do you know if there have been any surveys of preference?

Good question. I don't know the answer, but Ari Ne'eman and the gang over at ASAN (the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network -- a non-profit run by and for Autistics) would probably be the best people to ask: http://autisticadvocacy.org

Re: A new study urges trials of MDMA to treat anxiety in autistic adults

#24
post #18

I can say, hands down, MDMA cured me from all and any social anxiety, it showed me that no-one gives a fuck, everybody is just the same and wants to be heard. Its so funny, every time links like this gets posted I just nod and think "Poor bastards, they haven't figured it out yet?" It's been 8 years since I did MDMA, so far no negatives as far as I can tell. Obviously, as with any strong drug/psychedelic, you will be…

First, are you saying you had social anxiety previously and that it was improved for the long term, without continued MDMA use? Secondly, what evidence is there that psychedelics cause schizophrenia?

First, yes, I had lots of problems navigating the social sphere, it was like there was some minor detail I just didn't understand, but which was crucial, it felt like it made me look and feel like a idiot. MDMA took all that away, it showed me that no, no one cares, just do your thing and don't bother. I did MDMA a few times during a year period.

Second, NO, psychedelics absolutely do NOT cause schizophrenia in my opinion, BUT people who have underlying symptoms or are prone to it, for them it can very much act like a trigger.

Re: A new study urges trials of MDMA to treat anxiety in autistic adults

#25
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Person-first terminology has been under debate since the 1990s[1][2]. The consensus among professionals (I just now spoke with a clinical psychologist Ph.D student who specializes in ASD research) is to use "individual with ASD/autism". Academia disagrees with you[3]. To be clear, if you would like to be referred to as an "autistic person", no one should have a problem with that. Similarly, you should not have a prob…

"The consensus among professionals...Academia..." I like the part where you have the gall to lecture people about what they themselves want to be called, using appeals to authority figures who are not themselves Autistic. "Similarly, you should not have a problem with the majority of people with autism preferring "person with autism" Except that the majority of Autistic people prefer being called Autistic people , ra…

>I like the part where you have the gall to lecture people about what they themselves want to be called, using appeals to authority figures who are not themselves Autistic.

I was trying to come to the defense of those who dislike being called "an autistic person". People should absolutely be referred to as they please (just as you are saying).

The last study I provided support of my use of "majority" (not in the abstract, unfortunately), though I am open. Your links are compelling and entirely worthy. This is a debate that is highly nuanced and I agree that my comment doesn't tell the whole story. My experience comes mostly from a clinical setting, so that's what I commented on.

I was mostly upset with OP's use of "pretentious" and "SJW-inspired" to describe a preference to which a significant number of people on the spectrum subscribe. I tried to be particularly understanding with my "to be clear" addendum, but probably overstated my confidence with "majority". With that said, I think that you're making the same mistake with claiming the "majority".

Re: A new study urges trials of MDMA to treat anxiety in autistic adults

#26
post #7

Using the term "autistic" is no longer acceptable. People-centered language is preferred (e.g., "individuals diagnosed with autism").

I'm autistic and I'd rather people call me what I am than have to deal with pretentious, SJW-inspired nonsense like this.

Far more troubling is how "autistic" is approaching "retarded" in the popular consciousness, where it has become synonymous with "overweight, fedora-wearing, scraggly-neckbeard-having, My-Little-Pony-loving buffoon".

Re: A new study urges trials of MDMA to treat anxiety in autistic adults

#27
post #22
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Person-first terminology has been under debate since the 1990s[1][2]. The consensus among professionals (I just now spoke with a clinical psychologist Ph.D student who specializes in ASD research) is to use "individual with ASD/autism". Academia disagrees with you[3]. To be clear, if you would like to be referred to as an "autistic person", no one should have a problem with that. Similarly, you should not have a prob…

>Academia disagrees with you No it doesn't, a few studies do. I believe this is exactly the kind of pretentious language the individual was talking about.

I see that I was dismissive with those words; I should have phrased that citation carefully.

Re: A new study urges trials of MDMA to treat anxiety in autistic adults

#28
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This just sounds like another example of the euphemism treadmill.[0] Here's an interesting article from 5 years ago about a NYC agency with "retarded" in the name which refused to remove the word [1] The answer isn't as cut and dried as "professionals say so." [0] http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Euphemism#Euphemism_treadmill [1] http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/08/nyregion/08name.html?_r=0

I believe that the acceptance of neurodiversity will — over a long period of time — phase out the very idea of ASD. In that sense, I see the similarities between the language debate going on here and the debate of "idiot", "moron", etc. My point was not to make an argument that blindly follows known authority, but to let it be known that research finds that the majority of people prefer (consciously and subconsciousl…

No. It won't. "Neurodiverse" individuals do not self-harm or harm others with their outbursts, elope when stressed, and self-stimulate to the point of injury just to deal with the sensory overload.

Autism doesn't just mean whip-smart, or socially awkward. It can mean a hell-on-earth existence for the individual with the disorder, as well as those that live and care for them. Imagine living in fear that someone saying "happy birthday" to your son would cause him to scream and punch and run out into traffic.

"Neurodiversity" is the wrong cause to champion. Awareness that no label is sufficient because the disorder represents a spectrum - that's what needs to be made forefront of the autism dialog to those who don't understand what it means.

Re: A new study urges trials of MDMA to treat anxiety in autistic adults

#29
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The consensus among professionals...Academia..." I like the part where you have the gall to lecture people about what they themselves want to be called, using appeals to authority figures who are not themselves Autistic. "Similarly, you should not have a problem with the majority of people with autism preferring "person with autism" Except that the majority of Autistic people prefer being called Autistic people , ra…

>I like the part where you have the gall to lecture people about what they themselves want to be called, using appeals to authority figures who are not themselves Autistic. I was trying to come to the defense of those who dislike being called "an autistic person". People should absolutely be referred to as they please (just as you are saying). The last study I provided support of my use of "majority" (not in the abst…

Yeah, the "SJW-inspired" phrase made me cringe too. As for majority or not, this is totally anecdotal, but all I can say is that every Autistic adult's blog I come across seems to have Strong Feelings about the matter, whereas blogs written by (presumably) neurotypical parents about their Autistic children either don't even notice the linguistic difference or explicitly use the "with autism" construction. It's enough to give you whiplash.

Also, one can distinguish between "he is a person with autism" (not so great phrasing, implies autism is a severable condition) and "he has mild-moderate autism" (better, more specific/accurate meaning). The latter does not seem to be such a big deal, and I do use it myself.

Re: A new study urges trials of MDMA to treat anxiety in autistic adults

#30
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not trying to make a value judgement, but isn't this sort of counter to how English is typically spoken? Adjectives usually come before the subject, for instance, one would say "look at that red car" and not... well I don't even really know how to organically word it any other way... "look at that car which is red" I guess. The latter sentence sounds very awkward to me.

Indeed you are right. "Sally is a person with autism" is admittedly a mouthful and seems counterintuitive. The difference between Sally and the car is that the car is an object, and Sally is a human being whose neurological differences are often stigmatized.

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