Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Christian Grey Has Autism?!


I didn’t think I would post again tonight, but I’ve been given no choice. There are some things that just need to be stated and here it is.

This is my response to an article that I read tonight, Christian Grey has autism written by Allison Zeiring Walmark. I have also included the link to this article so that those who read this post may have access to what I consider an article written in very poor taste by a self-proclaimed “arm chair expert.”

My response

I'm so glad that I took the time to read this article before deciding to share it on twitter. I don't quite know what to say, but I will do my best to say it gently. I am 47 years old and diagnosed with Asperger's Disorder. Living on the spectrum for 47 years does not qualify me as an expert. There are some defining issues that allow professions to issue a diagnosis, but even then the lines between Asperger's and some other diagnosis are very thin at best. I do not understand how you feel that you are qualified to make such a statement as this, "Secondly, I know autism when I see it. Autism and my family have had a complicated, often contentious “frenemy-like” relationship for four plus years. Ethan, my 6-year-old son, was diagnosed at age 2." Please explain to me how you know so much about Autism with the limited amount of exposure you speak so highly of. Your child does not define what living on the spectrum is. Your child is your child who happens to be on the spectrum. It appears that you know something of your child, but very little else. Also, how dare you say Autistics have no empathy. I myself and many of my Aspie friends are highly empathetic, almost to a flaw. We are often overwhelmed by emotions. So with regards to your knowledge of Autism, I strongly suggest that you put down your pen for a while and continue working on building your knowledge base. And please...please remember to write more responsibly. Thank you.

As I stated earlier, here is the link for the article Christian Grey has autism. Please take a moment to read this article and you will understand why I and a few others replied the way we did.

http://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/964339/a-spectrum-of-grey (if clicking on the link does not work, try cutting and pasting it in the web address line at the top of this page).
 
Christian Grey has autism

Christian Grey — yes, that Christian Grey — has autism. How do I know? Well, for starters, I’ve read the Fifty Shades trilogy at least five times, so in addition to making me one of the more pathetic people in this world, it also makes me an armchair expert on the comings and goings (pun intended) of Christian Grey. - written by Allison Zeiring Walmark

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just wanted to comment on your response to the Christian Grey story that I think you put it very well, and had a valid complaint.
It brought to mind a recent youtube video I watched from a female aspie vlogger responding to general comments she gets about not having emotions - in her case she has them, in fact very strongly (i.e. meltdowns) but doesn't expose others to herself like that when she can prevent it. Meanwhile, there was a video response to hers from a young man who said in some ways he agreed but in other ways he really does feel robotic when it comes to emotions (he specifically mentioned feeling more emotional over characters in a book, than the passing of family members)... Both perspectives are equally valid within the realm of autism, it is an inability to process emotions in a way that is considered "normal". Those who have an excess of empathy to the point of melting down over what NTs would consider small things, AND those who fail to empathize with other people, can fall within expectations for autism.
More likely than not, though I haven't read the books, Grey is actually a meyers-briggs personality type of INTJ - which happens to be extremely analytical and womewhat lacking empathy - it is often mistaken for autism. However the autistic, like everyone else, have utterly different personalities from person to person and don't fit into any one personality type.

Unknown said...

I loved the book Fifty Shades Of Grey. I am so glad i enjoyed Christian and Ana's story. I like christian grey