The message is gradually filtering down through the professional literature that AS people overwhelmingly respond very poorly to conventional forms of psychotherapy, most especially that old market staple, talk therapy. But because most professionals are loathe to take our perspective into account, there is very little discussion of why therapy fails so miserably with most of us.
But the big reason is just exactly what you touched upon: due to their training, they habitually try to relate to us by means of non-AS models of behavior, observation, inference, and perspective-taking (assuming they bother with any real perspective-taking at all). It is as if, upon dignosis, they instantly forget that they are dealing with a set of radical and pervasive neurodevelopmental differences, and instead, approach the AS person as they would any off-the-rack neurotypical who suffers from some collection of garden-variety neuroses.
Obviously (to us), such an approach is almost guaranteed to do further harm, but our misgivings about the course of therapy in session are conveniently pathologized as (neuro-)typical "resistance."
"Catch-22" in action. Welcome to Hell, where the expert's misattribution is proof of your sickness. Nice, huh?
Seriously, I have yet to meet any therapist who had sufficient insight into AS even to avoid doing further harm, much less to actually be of help.
No, wait, I have to make one exception: in exploring my options with regard to AS, one therapist earned my very highest respect with the words, "I don't feel qualified to advise you."
But the big reason is just exactly what you touched upon: due to their training, they habitually try to relate to us by means of non-AS models of behavior, observation, inference, and perspective-taking (assuming they bother with any real perspective-taking at all). It is as if, upon dignosis, they instantly forget that they are dealing with a set of radical and pervasive neurodevelopmental differences, and instead, approach the AS person as they would any off-the-rack neurotypical who suffers from some collection of garden-variety neuroses.
Obviously (to us), such an approach is almost guaranteed to do further harm, but our misgivings about the course of therapy in session are conveniently pathologized as (neuro-)typical "resistance."
"Catch-22" in action. Welcome to Hell, where the expert's misattribution is proof of your sickness. Nice, huh?
Seriously, I have yet to meet any therapist who had sufficient insight into AS even to avoid doing further harm, much less to actually be of help.
No, wait, I have to make one exception: in exploring my options with regard to AS, one therapist earned my very highest respect with the words, "I don't feel qualified to advise you."
Will the wonders never cease ...
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