Power from Autism

[Birdhead]

I think where we were all butting head was whether or not Darryl was "supposed" to have autism or not, and whether or not him being autistic had anything to do with kind of suppressing his abdal abilities. Which, in all honesty, makes sense to me, but I don't want to offend anyone again. O_O

I think the issue some people are feeling is that it's a bit awkward that in order for Darryl to actively do good in the world, he cannot be autistic (he could passively do good in the world by being an Abdal, of course). Even if he wasn't born with autism, it becomes a bit uncomfortably like those TV storylines where someone gets hit by a bus/falls off something/whatever and becomes physically disabled, but by becoming a good person/learning a lesson/doing whatever, they become able-bodied again. This is insulting for all sorts of reasons - first off, for most people with disabilities, just like for most people with autism, don't ever have that option. Secondly, although most modern stories of this kind aren't quite What Katy Did, stories like this still make parallels between disability, or autism, and goodness or the capacity to do good. There's a third issue, as well - the idea that in order to have a happy ending, autistic people must be cured. Of course Darryl's autism is hard for his family to deal with. But to an autistic person, reading about how their autism makes it impossible for the people around them to be happy, and makes it impossible for them to be wizards, may be quite an on the nose thing to read - apart from anything else, it's untrue. (Bearing in mind that autistic people reading the book probably do not have autism as severely as Darryl does.)

ETA: I want to clarify. I'm not trying to say that this is a bad "autism book". For a start, I'm not qualified to make that judgement, and we've already heard from people in this thread from people who are much more qualified than I am. Certainly some people feel that Darryl is a fairly sensitive portrayal of an autistic kid, and I concur that what the book says about the right wizard for the right job is a valuable acknowledgement that different people's skills and personalities are right for different jobs. However, my opinion as above that miracle cure storylines are problematic still stands. Even when the "disease" is LP-inflicted - I mean, what does that even mean, that Darryl wasn't "meant" to be autistic? A lot of people who are wheelchair users weren't born wheelchair users.

Anyway. That is just my $0.02. As for the autism suppressing his Abdal activities - I think it's canonical that it did not, and equally canonical that he didn't become autistic from suppressing his Abdal activities. Rather, becoming autistic was a tactic the LP was using to prevent him from doing the things Abdals usually do - go out and be saints, for example.

[Trialia]

I honestly don't think Darryl was a badly-written character. He's one of the more realistic spectrum characters I've read, and I've read a few.

Permafry... it may work that way for you, but it doesn't for me (I have Asperger's, as that info is not on this page). I actually have a far more difficult time understanding other people and how they think than most of my neurotypical friends, in my experience. I think all of us on the spectrum have related issues in areas that can sometimes vary between individuals. Like Blue said, different for every person.

[Wolf]

I'm so nervous to post anything in this thread now! I don't mean to bring up any points of contention...

I think where we were all butting head was whether or not Darryl was "supposed" to have autism or not, and whether or not him being autistic had anything to do with kind of suppressing his abdal abilities. Which, in all honesty, makes sense to me, but I don't want to offend anyone again. O_O

Since the thread's called what it's called though, does anyone think that Darryl's autism developed because he had to suppress his abilities? (Or am I going to be jumped on again...?)

[SilveredBlue]

as someone who has autism spectrum disorder, i know for a fact that Darryl was a badly-written character. anyone who truly has autism knows that autism has great power (as long as you don't become trapped in your own world like Darryl). It lets you be able to understand the world more than "normal" people. without my autism, i wouldn't be as smart as i am now. my autism lets me understand "impossible" concepts with ease. so i have do disagree with DD on this, because his autism was most likely the reason why he was able to accept the fact that he was a wizard so easily.

I'm not going to disagree with you on the point about power from autism- after all, only a person on the spectrum knows how it looks from the inside, and possibly it's different for every single person.

However, the important part is not the power from autism: but the point that another person made earlier: Darryl wasn't meant to have autism. It came suddenly around age 9, according to the book, which is abnormal although not impossible. (From what I understand, autism is most often diagnosed in the 1-3 year old age range.) Also, Darryl seems to have an extreme, lower-end-of-the-spectrum case.

Which was given to him by the Lone One. Note that: wouldn't It want to strip all good aspects from any 'gift' it gives? This was a defensive move, remember: since Darryl was going to have immense latent power as an abdal when he became a wizard, the Lone One tried to prevent the adminstration of the Oath through this abnormal onset of autism, which was never a part of Darryl's personality- a foreign entity that didn't allow him to learn or use perseptive powers. (Although his innate intelligence did come out in the incredible worlds he built.) Thus, him recovering from it was that of a person with the flu recovering: getting rid of the foreign intruder.

I don't think DD is saying that autism is foreign, bad, etc, in general: only this specific, LP-imposed case.

Hope this makes sense!

Wolf: In the end, Darryl trapped It inside the 'gift' it had given him: in effect binding it inside a universe occupied with nothing but the LP's twisted form of autism, symbolized in Nita's dreams as a machine-like clown. Just to clear up.

[permafry_42]

as someone who has autism spectrum disorder, i know for a fact that Darryl was a badly-written character. anyone who truly has autism knows that autism has great power (as long as you don't become trapped in your own world like Darryl). It lets you be able to understand the world more than "normal" people. without my autism, i wouldn't be as smart as i am now. my autism lets me understand "impossible" concepts with ease. so i have do disagree with DD on this, because his autism was most likely the reason why he was able to accept the fact that he was a wizard so easily.

[Wolf]

Oh, for Pete's sake... I didn't mean any offense to anybody. What are we supposed to call the thing people "diagnose" us with that keep us from being "normal" like everybody else?

I think the real debate here was whether or not Daryl was meant to be autistic. No offense to DD, but I think he bounced back too quickly from it after his Ordeal. As you guys have said, it's kind of impossible to imagine your life without it-- and almost right away Daryl's parents are giving him chores? And, as I understand it, the autistic "part" of his brain in trapped inside himself? (Remember the clown?) I get that that's part of him being part of a Pillar, but doesn't that kind of mean he's still kind of autistic as well, and not fully "cured" seeing as how his Ordeal seems to have "caused" his autism?

[Trialia]

Wolf... For some of us, bipolar disorder is an illness. I hate the numbness that some medications impose on me because it stifles my creativity, but I could very well do without the suicidal mixed episodes and the bouts of psychosis, so I'll thank you not to imply that the disorder isn't an illness just because your personal experience of it doesn't lead you to regard it as one. Not everyone feels the same way you do.

I have Asperger's, too, mildly. People have asked me if I'd give that up, but I honestly don't know. There are things about it that drive me nuts, and things that I value. It varies.

[Wolf]

Ink.Knight: hey, sorry, i really didn't mean any disrespect by it; my cousin actually has asperger's as well, and my friend's cousin, as well. Sometimes people just don't know what to call it; I have bi-polar disorder and people call that an illness. It all has to do with the brain, I suppose. And yes, for everyone out there that doesn't believe it, people with this... condition? (i guess would be a better word??) are usually geniuses in some aspect. The movie Rain Man was a particularly breakthrough movie which brought light onto the subject of autism in general.

And.. let me see if I can word this right... as a "Pillar" (I'm saying this cuz I know I'm gonna spell the other word wrong ) -do you think that when he came into his power, he realized in some way what Ponch really was on some level??

[Ink.Knight]

I've got a mild form of Autism called 'Asperger's Syndrome' and I personally can't imagine living without it. It's part of who I am. If I didn't have it, I wouldn't be me.

While I can see why Darryl may have considered his more severe case fairly crippling, a part of me still can't comprehend his giving up a part of himself. I suppose he had little choice...

And I guess the autism is still a part of him, it's just sort of...in another place.

I guess him 'getting rid' of his autism was supposed to be a way of leaving a part of him behind without really losing anything, but to me, Darryl's losing an important part of himself, even if it was a hassle at times...

I know exactly what you mean! I also have Asperger's, though I was only diagnosed recently as is common for us. The fact is, since I found out I've been studying and thiking about it alot. I totally agree with you. If someone were to come up with some sort of 'cure' for Autism, I wouldn't take it. Simple as that. I've had it my entire life, even if I didn't know I had it. And it's made me who I am now.

Wolf: Autism isn't an illness. It's caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain in most cases. And a ton of us are smarter than 'normal' people because of it. I'm not bragging by the way. It's been proven time and time again. Hell, Einstein was probably Autistic, is thought process was odd enough for it.

[Wolf]

Ohboy.

So... here's what I think. It's about the same twisted-ness as everybody else, so I think you'll be able to follow along.

I don't think Daryl was meant to be autistic, either. But I do believe that him being what he is had something to do with his being autistic, or is tied in, in some way. Maybe him being a "Pillar" and over-using that power to fight the Lone Power (being in so many different places at once) is what caused his autism. Like... using the power caused his illness.

Awesome. I just tried to explain my thoughts and I'm still confused!

[dorotheia]

I think there's also something to be said for the changes the mind makes when it doesn't function properly.

So Darryl's mind influences the way he thinks about wizardry and approaches it. It's a gift and a curse, because it defines him and hinders him. Sorry if this doesn't make sense, I made it up on the fly. If it's so, I'm not sure if it applies after the events of AWA. But I think what happened then is perhaps limited to how much Darryl allows the autism to influence him.

Another thought... could Darryl's autism keep him from recognizing his abdal state in the first place? Like a self-protection. If you're strange already, you don't question other parts of your strangeness that may come from other places. Or your condition keeps you from recognizing them as strange. "It's normal to be that way; it must be because of the autism..." So he never suspects. Unless someone tells him. I wonder if all human abdals have the same situation? Maybe different disorders? And what do alien races do to cope? DD hasn't disproved it, so maybe it's true. *raises eyebrows* Darryl would never know about that side of his autism, so he'd never think to "protect" himself from it.

But I'm not sure if every powerful wizard would have such an equalizing balance. Except, if they got that powerful, would they even be wizards?

[Caitlin]

I think there's also something to be said for the changes the mind makes when it doesn't function properly. There's usually some sort of compensating going on to make up for whatever imbalance is present- so many truly gifted people have some form of developmental impairment, it's enough to suggest that the two are related in some form.

It follows then, that one who is exceptionally gifted at wizardry would have something else to equal them out (Darryl's autism). Thoughts?

[smile]

That is really insightful : )

Though it didn't work out for the Lone Power... If Darryl wasn't autistic, It wouldn't be locked up in the world Darryl made. And Darryl gained something from his autism... I do not think anyone wants someone to be autistic, but he was so innocent and... so willing to do anything to stop even one part of The Lone Power. Maybe that was just him, like other wizards, not his autism.

An abdul can be in multiple places at the same time. Maybe when Darryl became autistic, he couldn't focus on the other place. He was still in multiple places, but couldn't function in more than one place.

[Zergplex]

I just finished this book for the first time and I think I made a connection. I don't think Darryl was ever meant to be autistic.

Try to follow my logic here. Darryl mentions twice in the book (I can look up the quotes later on for the exact wording) that the Lone Power did this to him, and it seemed implied to me that the Lone One did it to prevent Darryl from becoming a wizard, or at least an effective one. I don't think Darryl would have been affected by the illness naturally, and that it was a way for the Lone Power to try to limit him (which backfired in a lot of ways). After all autism struck him at 8 (just under the age that kids start to be given the choice to become Wizards, which seemed to be 10/11 at the earliest).

I think that might be why it was easier for him to leave that piece of himself behind then others might, that it was something that was added and not natural to him. It was still part of him (just as all the 'gifts' of the Lone One are) but not something that would have occurred without interference.

-Ronny

[SaxySullivan]

My friend's brother is also autistic, and he is obsessed with the weather channel. He knows more about the weather than anyone I know.