Forum: Editors/Reviewers Hangout

The rules must be known before they can be broken with confidence.

I know, that's why I listed the website first.

About the use of the word 'that' in Formal English you can get a sentence along the lines of: John knew that it would work.

About using the word 'that' in Vernacular English you get a sentence like: John knew it'd work.

The meaning of the two sentences above is the same, but they read a bit different. The word 'that' after 'knew' is required in Formal English but superfluous in Vernacular English, and the main point of what I mean about the word 'that.' Also, you can safely contract 'it would' to 'it'd' the word 'can' becomes optional, and you can paraphrase some bits to shrink it while streamlining the flow.

Do I need to put a :) at the end of almost every sentence I write?

Probably. I have a Asperger's Syndrome and tend to take things extremely literally at first glance, many people would say I was pedantic in how I see things.

I sure I'm along there somewhere, but there's no point in asking for a diagnosis if there is no treatment.

Asperger's is a section along the range of issues they call the Autistic Spectrum. It is not as clear cut and as diagnosable as something like a cut in the hand. Many of the ways Asperger's presents can be confused with things from Downe Syndrome up to Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). The reality is the whole Autistic Spectrum represents a range of issues related to something being hardwired in the brain different to what the current medical people call normal. Thus there is usually little or nothing that can be done to treat it. In some cases, like ADD drugs can be used to alter how the brain works to change the behaviours, but, for most cases, the person has to just accept and live with the situation. In a few situations people can develop strategies to help them cope, but that is all.

a typo edit, and the an edit to add: Sometimes the difference in the way the brain works makes it easier for the person to survive in other environments. I once read a report where the best lead scout to have in a hostile environment was a person with ADD because of the way they kept looking at everything little happened within their eye sight they didn't see.

Asperger's is a section along the range of issues they call the Autistic Spectrum. It is not as clear cut and as diagnosable as something like a cut in the hand. Many of the ways Asperger's presents can be confused with things from Downe Syndrome up to Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). The reality is the whole Autistic Spectrum represents a range of issues related to something being hardwired in the brain different to what the current medical people call normal. Thus there is usually little or nothing that can be done to treat it.

What you say is true, but ...

*** Lecture Mode On ***

Asperger's is a long ways from the other forms of Autism. While the symptoms vary, most people with Asperger's can learn to function normally (so few people suspect they have a mental health disorder), though it fairly easy to spot (to those familiar with it): intense focus, an inability to pick up on subtle social cues, poor social behavior and very high productivity.

As a result, many high tech business tend to favor hiring people with Asperger's, although like many with a variety of mental health issues, they tend to favor the arts, in one form or another.

I make a great example. After majoring in Economics in college, I talked my way into a computer job because by being highly productive, I could make my own rules (i.e. they'd make exceptions for my sometimes erratic behavior). My lack of social skills kept me from being promoted beyond a certain level, but I functioned very well in the business world.

From what I've been able to pick up, many authors both here and elsewhere have Asperger's and other mental health issues. Many of these conditions tend to be found in the same people.

But the long of short of this is that the people of Asperger's aren't easily lumped into the whole Autistic spectrum because the are so high functioning. This is a sore point with those with Asperger's, and something that those in the Autistic community refuse to admit because those with Asperger's raise their social standing, but their issues are vastly different. Combining them into a single treatment pool means poor treatment options for them.

In general, while Asperger's victims suffer as children, they generally 'learn' how to adapt in their late-teen/early college years (the same time their peers come down with Schizophrenia). After that, most find jobs which give them enough leeway to get by (like I did). Unfortunately, in their later years (around their 50s and 60s) their conditions tend to worsen and their coping mechanisms tend to fail, leaving them largely unable to work in most environments. That's when many of us in the tech industry switch over to writing: we hopefully earned enough to keep our heads above water and need something to do because we're so dedicated, but largely can't hold normal jobs.

While it's believed both Asperger's and Autism is caused by the same thing (now believed to be some sort of immune disorder in the brain), they're normally diagnosed at different ages, indicating it doesn't occur at the same development stage--though that can't be definitely established due to lack of symptoms.

*** Lecture Off ***

Asperger's is a long ways from the other forms of Autism.

Personally, I wouldn't pack Downe Syndrome in with Asperger's but the psychs do, I don't know enough to be sure.

I agree with you about diagnosis, I had major issues as a kid and developed ways to manage most of the differences. It was only when my son was diagnosed in his mid teens that I was also checked and diagnosed. However, by the time my son was diagnosed he was what the psychs called his peak training period and they doubted he was able to develop ways to handle it. There are other issues that affect his situation, but that's the situation we live with. On the down side, the comping strategies I developed in the 1960s did not translate into the changing world of the 2000s and my ability to function in a work environment went down when the work environment moved the playing field on me. That's life.

Personally, I wouldn't pack Downe Syndrome in with Asperger's but the psychs do, I don't know enough to be sure.

The key is, while neither is a "mental disorder" in the strict sense, they're both the result of damage to the brain (thus the 'mental' classification). One's a nerve disorder while the other is a developmental disorder, but the damage seems to be related to the brain.

On the down side, the comping strategies I developed in the 1960s did not translate into the changing world of the 2000s and my ability to function in a work environment went down when the work environment moved the playing field on me. That's life.

Again, that's probably due more to your age and the decrease in your coping abilities effectiveness (ability's?). But it sounds like we went through something similar.

The other issue is that many of these (like Asperger's, ADHD, OCDC and Schizophrenia, or at least Schizo-Affective Disorder) are related disorders.

One benefit, though, is it provides us author's with better insights into the mindsets of the mentally ill (for developing characters), though it also means that many of us are worse at "showing" how people respond--since it's largely invisible to us aside from a few clues we've learned to monitor.

Could I interest either of you in a discussion about the willful self-delusion and stupidity of beliefs in Gods? :)

Have a nice day, and please be kinder to each other :)

Is there a problem with forum replies under the new system? I posted this, hit review to check what I wrote, and the entire post vanished.

Repeating myself again ...

Sorry, but I didn't mean to browbeat, but this is one of (my many) bugbears, since these conditions are not well-understood by society in general and it's also important in an environment like this (where many are likely to suffer from these conditions) that people understand what they're facing.

While I've discussed this in the past, I don't recall Ernest discussing his Asperger's tendency, so I wanted to ensure he understood the distinctions and how the workarounds vary over time. Basically, my response was a pure 'info dump' delivered without context or appropriate phrasing.

Sorry for coming across overly strong (something I NEVER do)! ;P