Ode to Asperger's (Revision 2)

[rayheinrich]

Sorry to disagree: see 'sensory overload' and 'intense world' theory. People on the spectrum (like me) often see every detail of the world around them vividly and in a very immediate and intense way. It can produce extreme distress, but it's a result of not being able to stop paying attention to every little tiny detail of every single thing, not a 'deficit' in attention.

That "attention deficit" in "attention deficit disorder" comes from:

"He can't pay attention in class."

So the "deficit" is not in the lack of attention, it's the inability to control it.

Maybe the disorder should have been called:
"concentration deficit disorder"
"inability to focus disorder"
"distraction abundance disorder" (my fave )

Or more prosaically:
"Everyone else saw the tiger about to slash him to pieces;
but Ray, observing its beautiful strips, noticed the ones on
the right were slightly wider than the ones on the left."

BUT!!

My critique wasn't about better names for "attention deficit disorder",
it was about you titling your poem:

Ode to Asperger's

when you were describing (as you just have again):

"Attention deficit disorder".

Now I'm fine with poets taking all sorts of liberties with our known
universe for some sort of demonstrable reason, but in this case I
can't seem to find one and am left to assume that you confused
the two terms.

Please feel free to justify.

ray


Definitions and such:

A.D.D. (Attention deficit disorder):
Often fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes.
Is easily distracted and forgetful. Has trouble holding attention while
performing daily tasks. Does not seem to listen when spoken to directly.
Does not follow through on instructions and duties (loses focus, side-tracked).
Has trouble organizing tasks and activities.


Level 1 autism (Asperger syndrome*):
Difficulty initiating social interactions. Unsuccessful response to social
overtures of others. Decreased interest in social interactions. Engages in
communication with others, but to-and-fro conversation with others fails.
Attempts to make friends are odd and typically unsuccessful. Inflexibility of
behavior causes significant interference with daily life. Has difficulty
switching between activities and problems with organization and planning.


*The diagnosis of Asperger syndrome was eliminated in the 2013 fifth edition
of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) and replaced
by a diagnosis of level 1 autism spectrum disorder.

(All this smushed together from Mayo clinic and
Medline (U.S. National Institutes of Health) sites.)