Choosing to Help

A personal reflection for a Psychology assignment

Choosing to Help and Myer-Briggs Personality Type

Reflect on your own experiences with choosing to help or not help others.

I think my having autism has probably influenced my thinking and perception quite a bit. Perhaps it may not have been so, if I did not have this disability.

I've had autism almost all my life and for many years I really had no avenue of communication with others, being non-verbal. I also have lots of sensory issues which make me hyperactive and seem almost attention deficit and a bunch of fine motor issues too. There is this huge mind-body disconnect.

Whatever was tried eg: picture icons etc were so limited in nature. The icons were usually ones that the teacher thought I needed to communicate (not what I wanted to communicate). But can human communication be limited to 20 objects on a page for months on end. Very simple lessons (which I could grasp in a few minutes) were repeated months/years on end. It was dismal and I tuned out for most part out of sheer boredom. Of course this was viewed as my not being able to learn by my teachers and other experts in the field. And I was not the only one. Year after year, I would see observe others in my situation or similar situations leading this quite hopeless existence. And from the conversations I would hear, there were hundreds of kids being diagnosed in my area itself.

I had plenty of time to just observe and ponder. Its intriguing - the conversations and discussions you hear and see, when you are assumed incapable of understanding. You may as well be a fly on the wall. It speaks a lot for the human nature - their public vs their private faces. It was perplexing and frustrating, yet ironically educational in way.

On a broarder level, predujuices seemed to permeate all aspects of society. There seemed to almost be this ignorance on the part of many which resulted in negative consequences for other target populations or individuals. There was this broad underlying commonality in all situations.

At 13, I was introduced to typing and finally able to communicate and then finally access an age-appropriate education at 14, that my typical peers took for granted. I found I could make a difference in changing influences and attitudes through my writing. Physically I have many challenges to overcome, but can at least communicate more specifics to researchers and doctors (be part of the solution) rather them guessing what the issues are.

I can be a productive member of society  and a contributing member of society, albeit in my own way. Isn't that the purpose of human existence.

Instructor Feedback: Thank you for being so open.  I can’t help but be intrigued about what you learned and heard while you felt you were a fly on the wall.  I am sure it has given you a perspective on life that many your age have never even thought of.  

What personality factors influenced your response?

My Myer Briggs personality type showed as INFP.

However I don't agree with everything that is listed under this category.

While my silent years have probably developed the intuitive, feeling and sensing part, I am extremely logical in my thinking too when it calls for. I can plan and organize things in my mind. This has become somewhat a necessity for me as I am a very slow typer.  It takes a very short time to organize concepts, details and ideas in my mind or even absorb and analyze information, and a long time to type it all out.  I hope to be a scientific researcher in addition to being  an author/poet/writer.

I can be disorganized in my daily life but that is due to challenges of  autism, not my mind.  I do have emotional regulation challenges too but again that is part of the inability to physically do many tasks as well the teen hormones.

I don't see why a person should be classified into a slot - the human mind has the potential for so much more.  Very true, the depths of the human mind is beyond comprehension, it is quite impossible to put someone in a slot.