Hi, I’m MissLunaRose and I’m an editor who specializes in autism. I believe that the Autism and Asperger’s categories should be merged. Here’s my thinking: 1. Asperger’s is just a subtype of autism. The difference is so small that the diagnoses were recently merged into the “Autism Spectrum” diagnosis in the DSM-V. 2. Autistic people’s abilities vary widely in many different areas. Distinguishing between “autism” and “Asperger’s” is very similar to using the high/low functioning binary—which the autistic community considers arbitrary, outdated, and useless. 3. It’s counterproductive to need to categorize articles under both “Asperger’s” and “Autism.” Merging streamlines this, and lets articles use more categories (e.g. an article on finding a job while autistic could be under Autism Spectrum and Career instead of Autism and Asperger’s). The new category could be named Autism, Autism and Asperger’s, Autism Spectrum, or something else. What do you think we should name the category? Do you support the merging?
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I think this is probably a good idea - it seems like these days the distinction is pretty arbitrary, and it’s falling out of practice to use the individual terms. I see 36 articles under the Asperger’s category and 56 under Autism. @MissLunaRose
, do you think it’d make sense to put them all under Autism, or do you think a new name is needed? Does anyone else have opinions on this ( @Maluniu
, category queen?)? I actually don’t know how often categories are merged, so if there are wiki reasons not to do it, that’s worth weighing up, too. But I do see Luna’s point about the naming being outdated, both by current preferences of the Autistic community and by the DSM definitions, so it seems like an update and reshuffle could be helpful to readers. Any thoughts?
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I was asked by @Maluniu
to drop by and offering categorising advice, so here I am.
At the outset, I’d say that if we did have a new category, which seems reasonable from what @MissLunaRose
and @Anna
have said, I’d favour “Autism Spectrum”, as that seems to be the official term from what you’ve said above @MissLunaRose
, and within reason, we like to try to be as official as possible. I haven’t done the linked reading - I started to but found it was copious and would require me to think deeply about the issues and right now as I recover from illness, I am not in the right headspace for that. So, setting aside my lack of knowledge re terminology, diagnostic issues, etc., here are some categorising issues based on what I’ve read in this thread, if you’d be so kind as to answer them: Assuming we created Autism Spectrum as the parent category: 1. Would you consider placing the category Aspergers Syndrome under Autism Spectrum, as a sub-category, an acceptable solution, to cover the articles which do not have a new home under suggestion (2.) below but still contain the term Aspergers in the title? This makes for a very easy category change to bring it into the right parent category (Austism Spectrum) before sorting further in a refined manner. 1a. If you do not find this appropriate, can you please clarify how accurate it is that we even identify articles with Aspergers in the title, since as @Anna
states “it’s falling out of practice to use the individual terms”
? But then I see that @WarriorOfEden
is pointing out (in yet more reading I have not done but can see quality links) that the term is still used to denote differences in the range. My neighbour’s son was diagnosed with Aspergers recently and they’re none the wiser that they shouldn’t be using the term. Perhaps my headache is causing me to misread things, so feel free to set me straight.2. Could you see your way to plotting out a range of sub-categories here, that could be used to divide the large amount of articles into? You mention “an article on finding a job while autistic could be under Autism Spectrum and Career instead of Autism and Asperger’s”.
That’s one possible sub-category and it’d be really helpful if you could kindly find a few more, so that in doing this tidy-up, we could have the articles arranged in a way that makes better sense and doesn’t just lump the lot together making what we don’t much like - a very big category with no breakdowns. Asking this is standard practice whenever a contributor requests a big change as we might as well get it right from the outset and it’ll help direct the thinking on finalising the change. P.S In Categories, from a logistical angle, we don’t “merge” so much as create and uncreate categories. If only it were as easy as a redirect… That is why it is so important to hone down the sub-categories when a new parent category gets created, to be complete and not waste the opportunity. I hope this helps. I have fuzzies in my head, so excuse any fuzzy thinking here.
I think the best course of action, as Flickety said above, would be to change the existing Asperger’s category to a subcategory under the Autism category. I’m not sure whether changing the existing Autism category’s name to Autism Spectrum is entirely necessary, though, seeing as Asperger’s is at its core a type of Autism.
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@MissLunaRose
Thanks for asking after me. I’m mostly recovered but probably still as ditzy as ever.Some further comments for you… 1. I apologise if my question didn’t make sense - I’m also clearly confused but am trying my best to understand from the perspective of categorisation. For now, I feel that your request for a category change may be trying to address a wider problem inherent in some of the articles themselves, which is a larger project I’d imagine and isn’t going to be resolved by categorisation in and of itself but I’ll address this below. As an aside, it might help if I explain that wikiHow has this “binary” issue you are referring to in a lot of areas, often to do with any area that could present either parenting/adult/guardian perspectives or children’s/dependent perspectives. wikiHow does not direct the perspectives given by authors, that arises organically, driven by whomsoever turns up and feels like adding their knowledge and experience, in the wiki way. As a result, nobody (in categories) deliberately sets out to create one perspective over another and the categories are a little like laws, they follow the trend and try to round up what already exists and make coherent sense of it all, a basic form of housekeeping. It is the community from all around the world who sets the tone and gives perspectives, so if “subtle binarisations” are occurring, it may well end up being self-perpetuating due to what is already in place inside
the articles, influencing more of the same. As such, I’m less certain it’s the categories that are suggesting superiority or implying incapacity on behalf of any person and am more concerned about the content of any articles that may be doing so. However, ensuring that appropriate placement of the articles occurs via better synched categories is certainly going to help direct attention to not perpetuating distinctions at a categorisation level from this point on, so that can only be a good thing. With any luck, new categories will encourage authors/editors to do away with non-technical terminology, but it’s not a given. So, this leaves 2 issues still: i. It is hard for editors who are not across any field with complexities and subtleties requiring deeper knol to place articles accurately into sub-categories. As such, very clear sub-categories MUST exist to make this easier for the unfamiliar, especially when we cannot rely on any one person to tend what lands in the sub-categories for years on end. Your suggested sub-categories look good to me but we still need some more concise direction. (See 2. below) ii. The content of the articles themselves is not a categorisation issue and I cannot help but feel that even with the proposed category fixes, some of your concerns will not be addressed. If some/many articles contain errant information, editing is the only solution for them. This is as simple as someone-with-knowledge opening them up and removing such information. It is as complicated as finding someone-with-knowledge who has the time and will to do this. I do hope we will find such people available who will be inspired by the proposed category changes to get stuck into that aspect.2. Thanks for the sub-category suggestions. Just letting you know though, we’ll need a little more help from you to ensure we get this spot on. (The kind suggester always gets asked this, so please don’t feel singled out.) We would need a list of the articles per each suggested sub-category. (As for the articles left sitting under “Autism Spectrum”, this listing often helps to make it clearer whether there’d be additional groupings possible once the rest of the articles have been shifted into better sub-cats.) In summary, for this topic it’s really important that the sub-category content is absolutely clear, both to help the final decision about these sub-categories, and to ensure accurate shifts into new categories. Your help in directing this would be truly appreciated, then we can direct our energies to getting this completed. *Clarity edit made to add {in categories}
Ha. I did it. Who needs sleep? I have a slippery slope of productivity! AUTISM DIAGNOSIS PROCESS Assess Your Child for a Potential Autism Spectrum Disorder Cope with an Autism Diagnosis Know if You Have Asperger’s Syndrome Make Your Parents Talk to You About Your Autism* Recognize Autism Symptoms in Yourself Recognize Signs of Autism in a Child Recognize the Signs of Autism Spot Autism Tell Parents You Think You Have Autism Test for Asperger’s Understand Differences Between Classic Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome Come to Terms With Being Diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome at a Late Age Identify Asperger’s Syndrome Know if You Have Asperger’s Syndrome Recognize Aspergers in a Toddler *Seems to be written for people who aren’t sure if they’re autistic. COACHING AUTISTIC PEOPLE Teach Figurative Language to Autistic People Find Support for a Child with Autism Help Children with Autism Deal with Transitions Help a Family Member Who Has Autism or Asperger Syndrome Help Your Child Diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder Parent a Young Adult who has Autism Support a Child with Autism in Recreation Programs Teach Children with Autism Treat Autism Teach Children with Autism to Swim Use Social Stories Desensitize Children with Asperger’s Disorder or Autism Help a Person with Asperger’s D/O to Develop Voice Prosody Socialize Kids With Asperger Syndrome Teach People with Asperger’s Disorder Self Hypnosis Teach Children with Aspergers to Start a Conversation INTERACTING WITH AUTISTIC PEOPLE (for articles that don’t focus specifically on teaching) Use Calming Techniques to Help People with Autism Spectrum Disorders Babysit a Child who has Autism Calm an Autistic Child Calm Down a Person with Autism Communicate With a Person with Autism Deal With a Boyfriend Who Has Asperger’s Syndrome Communicate With People Who Have High Functioning Autism Deal with an Autistic Person Handle Someone With Autism Handle the Most Challenging Autism Behaviors Reduce Aggressive Behavior in Children with Autism Love a Child With Sensory Integration Issues or Oversensitivity Support Someone with High Functioning Autism Talk to a Child with Autism Talk to Someone with Autism Understand a Person with Autism Cope With an Asperger’s Syndrome Father Cope with an Asperger’s Syndrome Mother Deal with a Spouse with Asperger’s Syndrome Go Back to School With Someone with Asperger’s Relate to Someone who Has Asperger’s Syndrome Understand Aspergers Syndrome AUTISM SPECTRUM Argue That Vaccines Cause Autism Spectrum Disorders ((We could also make a section called “dangerous propaganda” for this one…)) Be a Good Student With Autism or Other Special Needs Disorders Control Your Laughter when You Have Autism Deal with an Autistic Guy with a Crush on You Deal With Bullies when You Have Autism or Asperger’s Syndrome Deal with Having High Functioning Autism Deal With Sensory Processing Disorder As a Teen Explain Autism to Children Discern Friends from Foes As an Autistic Person Get a Girlfriend When You Have Asperger Syndrome Live With Asperger’s and Develop Social Skills Live With Autism Observe Autism Awareness in April Raise Autism Awareness Stim Discreetly Support a Family With a Child who has Autism Communicate With Your Partner when You Have Asperger’s Avoid Discrimination when You Have Aspergers Syndrome Be Successful in Life if You Have Asperger’s Syndrome Come to Terms with Having Asperger’s Syndrome Cope With Asperger’s Syndrome Cope With Having ADHD and Asperger’s Syndrome Deal with Having High Functioning Autism Express Love when You Have Asperger’s Deal With People Who Don’t Understand Asperger’s Syndrome Live a Normal Life with Asperger’s Syndrome Go Back to School with Asperger’s Make Friends if You Have Asperger’s Syndrome Survive Socially when You Have Asperger’s Syndrome Survive School with Asperger’s Syndrome Tell People You Have Asperger’s Syndrome NOT QUITE SURE The following articles could go into “Coaching Autistic People” or “Autism Spectrum” because they are written for both autistic people and their parents/caregivers. Cases like these make me wish that we could add more than 2 categories to an article… Make a Calming Down Corner Make a Weighted Blanket Reduce Sensory Overload We could possibly make a category about autism and school, since I noticed a lot of those, but there could be too much overlap with other subcategories. So I’m not sure.
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Thanks @MissLunaRose
, your work on the breakdown is exactly what we needed. Thank you so much, it’s super helpful, inspiring and much appreciated. I hope you managed to get some good sleep! Some comments: - Double categorisation is fine, it’s just that the rule is to get articles down to their most specific category above all. Double categorisation can get out of hand when less experienced editors assume it must be done as a matter of course, then someone eventually has to clean out the parent category to ensure that the articles are placed in their specific sub-cats. But where double categorisation is warranted, it’s perfectly fine. Of the three articles you’ve pointed out - each easily overlaps with other areas, such as HSPs, victims/survivors of violence, introverts, anxiety, etc., and probably are best double categorised with the parent category of Stress, Anxiety Management. In really rare situations, a triple categorisation can also occur, but that is a very unusual exception. (P.S. If an article has been mis-categorised, always feel free to change it. Many people categorise the articles, so mistakes inevitably occur.) - I love the “dangerous propaganda” idea.But in such a case, an article premised on wild speculation could also be NFD’d for inaccuracy. Do feel free to do that when editing. - I think I can see some more breakdowns in the leftover articles but would prefer some time to mull over. We have a base rule of a minimum of 5 articles per new category, so there seem to be a few there, e.g., I can see a lot of coping/dealing with topics. As for your editing the articles, thank you so much for your generosity in giving your time and knowledge. That is a truly wonderful gift you’re giving and it is much appreciated. As you go, always feel free to change the article’s direction completely if you consider that works better, or NFD it if it’s just not right. You are never bound by the existing content, or even by keeping an article on the site - if you have much better enhancements, then go for it; if you think the article is just not right, then the NFD is a good option. Also, feel free to ask for help with articles via Collaboration Corner in these forums - you are never alone on this site and someone may know something you’re curious about or be prepared to pitch in alongside you. Finally, please do take it at your pace. Never feel that we’re expecting this of you now that you’ve written down your intentions - things change and we appreciate whatever contribution you’re willing and able to give. @Maluniu
, are you happy to do the new categorisation for this section? I’m a bit snowed under with edits at the moment. If you can’t, that’s cool, I will have to make the time!
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@MissLunaRose
and @Flickety
Thank you soo much for all the clarifications, explanations, and lists. It honestly couldn’t have been organized and detailed more better. I’m all cool with everything and I have an upcoming half week off from work (the latter part of this week), so it’s manageable on my end of things!
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Thanks @Maluniu
, sorry for slow response, I am trying hard to read the forums more regularly… I appreciate you making the time to make these changes, that’s super kind. Another thank you!
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