Autism as a broken arm

[blimix]

Imagine if the medical community regarded broken arms the way they regard autism.

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DSM-V: "Yelping syndrome is a condition characterized by yelping in inappropriate situations. People with yelping syndrome are antisocial. They avoid shaking hands, even when the handshake is offered in good faith. People with yelping syndrome never play baseball."

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At the therapist:

"Doctor, I've been reading about the experiences of people with yelping syndrome, and I can relate to most of it. I think I might be on the yelping spectrum."

"You can't be. You shake hands easily. People with yelping syndrome don't shake hands."

"Shaking hands didn't come naturally to me like it does to most people. But I learned how to get by using only one hand, so I can do it just fine. So can some other yelpers."

"So you're the expert now?"

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Parents: "My son won't do dishes. Whenever I bear hug him, he yelps. My life is so hard! I'm thinking of sending him to behavioral therapy to get him to stop yelping. #YelpingAwareness!"

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The yelping spectrum community: "Yelping isn't a symptom; it's a trauma response. What it feels like for us is that our arm really hurts when people subject us to certain sensations, or demand certain actions of us. We're working really hard to accommodate you. Could you please stop making our lives harder, or at least meet us halfway?"

Society: "LOL, nope."

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(It is really frickin' sad how little was changed to write this.)

Comments

[eirias]

<3
I snerked a lot.