Alex Ong, 25, pushes elderly lady off the bus

[LOLMum]

aurorin:

Look at what a little understanding can do....


Thanks to those who kindly explained about what is autism and how ASD can affect one's behavior, reactions now are more tempered. Yes, the action of the individual is wrong because he can cause grievious hurt, even if unintentional (impulse control and emotional regulation are some of the toughest thing for an individual with ASD) but now, pple thinks Alex should get some help or intervention to help him manage those issues instead of calling for his blood.

This post is not to refute the fact that Alex is wrong.. But I am quite concern how often people get riled up over pieces of information posted up in the social media and start to \"advocate\" for some form of social justice (the comments were no less violent than the act itself sometimes) without even attempting to look or consider other factors in the situation. People seems to become very judgemental and easy access to any information on the Internet means anyone can be Judge Judy...

I've seen terrible comments made about Alex and his parents when the video came out, and then subsequent disdain and disbelief that Alex is diagnosed with ASD (must be an excuse)... How about stopping for a minute and consider that that is actually true... (in fact those very traits that people deride him of: his scarf, his \"ridiculous\" attempt at defending himself, his inability to see how what he say makes him even more despicable, points to a socially awkward individual with limited social understanding and interaction skills.... The hallmark of individuals with a condition know as Autism Spectrum Disorder).... Will the people who made those comments now feel necessary to perhaps frame their comments in a different way?

I would like to believe that Singaporeans are basically gracious and understanding people... After all, I often hear how other immigrants from certain countries have problems fitting in to SG because they are different from Singaporeans in these aspects... And if everyone and anyone, could just take a moment to allow for more information to present itself before reacting emotionally (thereby inciting further emotional responses - esp towards the people involved), perhaps there can be less judging and more helping.

Surely, in life, we can afford to take time in order to be kinder and more gracious to those around us...

:goodpost:

[iRabbit]

Thanks schweppes for taking the effort to explain to us the issues faced by ASD sufferers. I am now at least able to understand their behaviour better.


Based on the good English posted by this AO guy - he can write better than me, doesn’t look like someone with only 3 'O’s - can I say that ASD doesn’t interfere with the intellectual ability of a person; only the behavoral aspect is impacted?

[aurorin]

FQW:

Thanks schweppes for taking the effort to explain to us the issues faced by ASD sufferers. I am now at least able to understand their behaviour better.


Based on the good English posted by this AO guy - he can write better than me, doesn't look like someone with only 3 'O's - can I say that ASD doesn't interfere with the intellectual ability of a person; only the behavoral aspect is impacted?

Perhaps I can share some info on ASD...

As ASD covers a spectrum, there are those who are mildly affected as well as those who are more severe. Often ASD presents co-morbidly with some form of intellectual disability but not all individuals with ASD are intellectually challenged. There are very high functioning individuals with average or above average, even superior IQ, and have less impaired receptive and expressive language skills. A term associated to this form of ASD is Aspergers syndrome but some will argue that we shouldn't put Aspergers under the autism umbrella. Another form of ASD which gets a lot of media attention are the autistic savants, individuals highly impaired by their Autism but have remarkable splinter skills in particular areas (e.g. Drawing, music, numbers, computing etc)...

Purely because ASD is such a broad spectrum, and intellectual impairment has many different degrees, when u combine the two, there is a myriad of presentations for people who are diagnosed with Autism. It makes diagnosis and intervention more complex and require expertise and experience to do that... That said, we do understand Autism in terms of certain traits and characteristics and their unique learning style to develop fairly successful intervention programs across the spectrum which needs to be individualized. In the field, the metaphor for Autism is being akin to a form of \"culture\" that requires understanding rather than seeing is as an \"illness\"....

Hope that provide more info for those who are interested...

[autumnbronze]

aurorin:

Look at what a little understanding can do....


Thanks to those who kindly explained about what is autism and how ASD can affect one's behavior, reactions now are more tempered. Yes, the action of the individual is wrong because he can cause grievious hurt, even if unintentional (impulse control and emotional regulation are some of the toughest thing for an individual with ASD) but now, pple thinks Alex should get some help or intervention to help him manage those issues instead of calling for his blood.
.
.
.

This post is not to refute the fact that Alex is wrong.. But I am quite concern how often people get riled up over pieces of information posted up
in the social media and start to \"advocate\" for some form of social justice (the comments were no less violent than the act itself sometimes) without even attempting to look or consider other factors in the situation. People seems to become very judgemental and easy access to any information on the Internet means anyone can be Judge Judy...

I've seen terrible comments made about Alex and his parents when the video came out, and then subsequent disdain and disbelief that Alex is
diagnosed with ASD (must be an excuse)... How about stopping for a minute and consider that that is actually true... (in fact those very traits that people deride him of: his scarf, his \"ridiculous\" attempt at defending himself, his inability to see how what he say makes him even more despicable, points to a socially awkward individual with limited social understanding and interaction skills.... The hallmark of individuals with a condition know as Autism Spectrum Disorder).... Will the people who made those comments now feel necessary to perhaps frame their comments in a different way?

I would like to believe that Singaporeans are basically gracious and understanding people... After all, I often hear how other immigrants from certain countries have problems fitting in to SG because they are different from Singaporeans in these aspects... And if everyone and anyone, could just take a moment to allow for more information to present itself before reacting emotionally (thereby inciting further emotional responses - esp towards the people involved), perhaps there can be less judging and more helping.

Surely, in life, we can afford to take time in order to be kinder and more gracious to those around us...

:goodpost:

[autumnbronze]

Schweppes jie and aurorin,


Thank you for taking the time to share with us what ASD is :salute: and :celebrate:

I have certainly been enlightened after reading your posts :idea:

[ImMeeMee]

aurorin:

Look at what a little understanding can do....


Thanks to those who kindly explained about what is autism and how ASD can affect one's behavior, reactions now are more tempered. Yes, the action of the individual is wrong because he can cause grievious hurt, even if unintentional (impulse control and emotional regulation are some of the toughest thing for an individual with ASD) but now, pple thinks Alex should get some help or intervention to help him manage those issues instead of calling for his blood.
.
.
.

This post is not to refute the fact that Alex is wrong.. But I am quite concern how often people get riled up over pieces of information posted up in the social media and start to \"advocate\" for some form of social justice (the comments were no less violent than the act itself sometimes) without even attempting to look or consider other factors in the situation. People seems to become very judgemental and easy access to any information on the Internet means anyone can be Judge Judy...

I've seen terrible comments made about Alex and his parents when the video came out, and then subsequent disdain and disbelief that Alex is diagnosed with ASD (must be an excuse)... How about stopping for a minute and consider that that is actually true... (in fact those very traits that people deride him of: his scarf, his \"ridiculous\" attempt at defending himself, his inability to see how what he say makes him even more despicable, points to a socially awkward individual with limited social understanding and interaction skills.... The hallmark of individuals with a condition know as Autism Spectrum Disorder).... Will the people who made those comments now feel necessary to perhaps frame their comments in a different way?

I would like to believe that Singaporeans are basically gracious and understanding people... After all, I often hear how other immigrants from certain countries have problems fitting in to SG because they are different from Singaporeans in these aspects... And if everyone and anyone, could just take a moment to allow for more information to present itself before reacting emotionally (thereby inciting further emotional responses - esp towards the people involved), perhaps there can be less judging and more helping.

Surely, in life, we can afford to take time in order to be kinder and more gracious to those around us...

well said. :goodpost:

[ImMeeMee]

having a child with ASD has taught me not to be judgemental. When things happen which we think are socially and morally not acceptable, perhaps we may want to step back and think about whether there are any underlying reasons that are driving the person as such, before heaping comments.


That’s not to say that we condone the behavior. What the person did to push the old lady off the bus was wrong, whether he is neurotypical or ASD or with certain mental issues, he definitely needs help to ensure that he does not repeat the same thing again, and that may even extend to the extreme of restraining his freedom if he has the potential to harm himself or the people around him, where the case may be.

All that is asked of our community is to be kind towards this group of people whose actions sometimes could be beyond them.

there is a saying ‘always be kind, for everyone is fighting a hard battle.’

[Ichigokun]

phtthp:

verykiasu2010:

now I think I am autistic because I can't stand noise

autistic or not, a lot of us also can't stand noise.
esp. when those horrible non stop drilling sound goes on and on.
example:-

i) during lift upgrading, construction workers use that drilling machine to hack up the floor, to make way for the new lift.

ii) during house renovation, people hammer nail into wall, or use drilling machine to hack up floor tiles.

iii) piling of construction work going on at MRT site, to dig a hole deep into the tunnel for MRT train, etc.

Yes, agree that people need to be sympathetic towards autistic kids. Because they did not choose to be born this way.

We can't stand the noise, we usually get headaches or something but usually we just leave the place or try to ignore it.

How could an autistic person push an old granny like that just because he doesn't like the noise.

Old people have fragile bones, their immunity system is weak and their psychological thinking is more fragile and it is easy to scare them.

Alex Ong might have psychological problems himself but now he scared the old granny by pushing her too.

It's quite easy to scare old people. Sometimes just a simple push can give them something to worry about for a few days or even weeks.

[Ichigokun]

pinkblue:

Old and cranky still alright but some old ppl do have poisonous mouth.

In the past old people have suffered alot ma... They must find a way to relieve stress, don't blame them if they are a bit cranky or have a poisonous mouth. Their days left are limited. Just let them do what they want.

[Ichigokun]

phtthp:

whatever it is - even if he's truly autistic,

still must educate him that it is wrong to push elderly folks.

Old folks' bones are brittle.
There is high risk that when elderly fall down that flight of steps from the bus, it may cause injury like :-
- they can't walk up straight in future because their spine / leg may be injured,
- or worse cause elderly to be wheel chair bound for life, after that fall.
Then who's going to look after them, sitting on wheel chair for the rest of their live ?

consider different scenario :-

a) what if the victim is our own mother - being pushed down the bus like that, end up hospitalized due to the fall & subsequently unable to walk upright properly, but with a curved spine ?

b) what if the victim is his own mother - being pushed down by another bully who repeated exactly the same action as what he did ?

c) what if the victim is we ourselves one day, when we grow old, frail, our bones density decrease due to aging & our hair turn white / grey ?

No matter what happen, the Truth is:-
it is still WRONG to push old people down the bus.

The consequences are dangerous & disastrous, should anything go wrong.
Be it happening to someone else mother, to our own mother, or to his mother, or even to ourselves one day when we grow old. All of us will grow old eventually.

I agree. Our backbone might be protecting our spine but once it fractures or breaks, your spine WILL be affected.

Our spine is vital for our daily necessities such as walking etc.

If the old lady were to injure her spine when her back hit the ground, she might become paralyzed for life permanently.

I read the Chinese Newspaper the other day. A lawyer read the story and said that IF THE OLD LADY sued Alex Ong, he could be fined or jailed up to two years for attempted assault.