Autism Is Not Anxiety

I just found this. While I do not have a problem with expecting autistics to try new things, I do have a problem with the constant equating of autism with “anxieties” and nothing more than that. Of course, according to behaviorist theory, escape and/or avoidance will develop when a stimulus is associated with an aversive stimulus, and this anxiety reaction may be treated through exposure. Also, of course, a child or an adult can get used to things by repeatedly being exposed to them. However, it is far too simplistic to assume that just because the autistic child is now finger-painting, means their sensory discomfort is gone. I might be conditioned to stay in an environment that is sensorially overstimulating, but that doesn’t mean the sensory overstimulation is not happening. I may even, like the picky eater child, be conditioned to know that “tantrumming” is a waste of energy, so not “tantrum”, but that still says nothing about the actual sensory experiences in my head. Therefore, Rowen’s assumption that treating the anxieties of autistic children is like rewiring their brains, is complete and utter nonsense. If they were actual anxieties – and autistics do have anxiety sometimes -, yes, she may be right, but she clearly has a stereotypical view of autism. Autism is a developmental disability, not an anxiety disorder!