If there is one thing I have learned in my life, it is that the Eternal Neurotypical will never ever bother to treat you with respect or dignity, so you shouldn’t bother
I also venture that there are many, many more undiagnosed high functioning autistics than all those diagnosed with autism, asperger, adhd, add, anxiety put together.
Probably because autism being a spectrum has some wild extremes and a lot of grey in-between those extremes.
Fine. What simple, convenient steps do they (Autistica) propose that neurotypical people take relating to this?
SEN provision is hopeless for children – from personal experience, a combination of head teachers not wanting to acknowledge the need, and a massive lack of funding and support for SEN specialists and teachers who do actually want to help kids on the spectrum.
Then once you’re 18 – bam – any provision for support vanishes. Good like trying to get a PIP for a condition that is only debilitating for a small percentage.
Like all mental health provision in the UK, budgets have been slashed and staff let go.
Oddly enough, it’s business that is stepping in – Microsoft, GCHQ (yes, the spies), and a slew of cybersecurity and testing companies deliberately want to hire people on the spectrum – pattern matching, comfort in repetitive tasks, comfort with a set routine – are all in demand. And those companies are all happy to provide a workplace adjust to the sensory needs of those on the spectrum.
And that’s not surprising because most out-there media representations (like quirky children who are cute and wander off occasionally and play alone with their toys) is all people get to see. If only it was just that!
The only adults portrayed in media tend to be the gifted ones, those whose intelligence, skills or interests give them something to be known for. Adults without that, and with only the more disabling traits, there is no representation whatsoever – so it makes perfect sense that Brits largely have no idea about it unless they have experienced it personally or via someone they know.
Along with basically all other special educational needs and mental health issues. Part of the problem is media representation of those with autism, with a lot of people thinking those with autism are either Rain Man or a mute who cannot function without 24/7 care (with no in between). The other part is that neurotypical people tend to shy away from those with autism, even those who are high-functioning, almost out of fear. You cannot learn about something properly when you are presented with false information and you avoid an entire community.
Lacking so much understanding, the article’s been posted a month late.
World Autism Day is the 2nd of April.
For the benefit of everyone ‘autism’ is “high functioning autism” where as “low functioning autism” is an autistic person with other concurrent disabilities which are their own diagnoses. How autism interacts with these other conditions determines their support level. L1 is autism without other visible disabilities, L2 is with other visible disabilities. Presumably L3 is autism concurrent with Intellectual Disability.
As a high functioning autistic person myself I can relate,
I went to the job agency and my mum wanted to tag along to see how it went, anyways I was filling it details and put autism down, the lady at the agency noticed this and started speaking slowly and much more clearer to me, then started speaking it directly to my mum like I wasn’t able to understand the english language.
When I finally got a job in a warehouse, the manager was like yeah due to your autism we have put you into scanning the labels, because your autistic your good at picking out information and recognising mistakes, the amount of assuming which happened was unbelievable.
Fast forward one month later, they said i’d be getting paid way much more then I was getting at an hourly rate, and that was the end of that.
on a side note, why do we have more national and international days of things more then actual days in a year?
Given my younger brother is on the spectrum i fucking know all too well that we lack understanding because members of my own family lack understanding including me and my brother is not the only person i’ve known on the spectrum.
Now as for lack though he got diagnosed with Asperger’s at around 10 and my mother was supposed to see a specialist every fortnite who’d help both my mother and brother but the “lack” was so bad she didn’t start seeing someone until he was 18 and she kept on pestering them every 6 months and they’d say the same shit “we’re looking into it but we’re currently over worked and understaffed” which wasn’t a lie.
I am either treated like a child or someone faking it. I’m neither! I’m an adult who can function exceptionally well in some areas and absolutely not at all in other areas.
I’m coming to the realisation that i may be on the spectrum, how would I go about a diagnosis? Therapy?
As a brit who is not only autistic but my wife and all 3 of my boys are autistic i do get that feeling with a lot of people they dont understand it properly.
When my son got his diagnosis, his primary school teacher stared blankly when we told her that he had asperger’s syndrome (Autism). The STEM teacher was useless because he wasn’t educationally-stunted, just socially crap, but no so socially crap that he was disruptive either. However, the socially-crapness was causing him great troubles.
Secondary school came along and they are much better at understanding and dealing with it.
The general public think the autistic spectrum is a gradient, when it’s better to consider it a group of traits, each with their own gradient (i.e. a spectrum!).
The NHS removed my autism diagnosis years ago without telling me, had my benefits stripped away.
I had a hard time forming and identity for myself as a child due to abuse, I tried to get therapy for years but was denied over and over.
A month ago I felt as though everything had been a lie, my identity had gone again, I had a severe psychotic episode as a result of this stress and now I show symptoms of schizophrenia, they only made me an assessment after I had this psychotic episode.
My dad was the same, they left him to rot and go mental hence all the abuse, social services never did a damn thing when all of it came to light.
I also see the same people who bullied me in school post every year on Facebook about mental health awareness day, for years I resented everyone and everything.
This is the reality for a lot of people in this country, people have died because of this ignorance.
As someone who was looked at for autism when I was younger (but wasn’t diagnosed), but do have at least one neurodevelopmental disorder, shit be hardddd. I remember back in Year 7 and 8 having a friend I would spend every day with who had autism.
Whilst I was perfectly able to front a ‘normal’ persona around others, I was able to feel empathy with how others didn’t really see him as a human – but more of a nuisance. Most students treated him like a child and refused to see him as someone capable of nuanced thought.
Let me clarify that he did often have emotional outbursts, but despite that he was not a fool. I remember sitting with him discussing shit and having a merry old time. He left high school by the end of Year 8 to be home schooled which was probably for the best for him.
I have always tried to have an optimistic outlook on people, assumed that most people are probably as knowledgble and as kind as I am (to clarify, I am not a fucking saint I am just stay out of people’s way and respect other’s self-identity and feelings) however recently I have kinda been a bit depressed realising how fucking mean some people are.
Because the truth is not only are people not knowledgable (which is fine – we can’t be all knowing) about things that they probably should be, they assume that they know fucking everything about other’s experiences of the world even if they have never met a person w/autism in their entire life. They are fucking ignorant. This doesn’t even apply to people with autism – people have a lot to say about migrants, the poor, drug addicts, muslims, LGBT+ folk, ect without not reading a single word written by people of these groups.
I just want everyone to be fucking happy and to listen to one another, and if I am a pussy for thinking that so be it. If there is one take away you can get from me is to simply listen more, no matter how much you think you know someone you have NO right to think you know them better than themselves – ffs we aren’t telepathic yet.
2022 and we’re still judged by stereotypes and myths,seems you can’t educate the ignorant
Wide lack? You can’t have a wide nothing. They have a wide lack of skill with the English language.
I don’t remember but was Elon Musk autistic too he was able to accomplish much.
21 comments
If there is one thing I have learned in my life, it is that the Eternal Neurotypical will never ever bother to treat you with respect or dignity, so you shouldn’t bother
I also venture that there are many, many more undiagnosed high functioning autistics than all those diagnosed with autism, asperger, adhd, add, anxiety put together.
Probably because autism being a spectrum has some wild extremes and a lot of grey in-between those extremes.
Fine. What simple, convenient steps do they (Autistica) propose that neurotypical people take relating to this?
SEN provision is hopeless for children – from personal experience, a combination of head teachers not wanting to acknowledge the need, and a massive lack of funding and support for SEN specialists and teachers who do actually want to help kids on the spectrum.
Then once you’re 18 – bam – any provision for support vanishes. Good like trying to get a PIP for a condition that is only debilitating for a small percentage.
Like all mental health provision in the UK, budgets have been slashed and staff let go.
Oddly enough, it’s business that is stepping in – Microsoft, GCHQ (yes, the spies), and a slew of cybersecurity and testing companies deliberately want to hire people on the spectrum – pattern matching, comfort in repetitive tasks, comfort with a set routine – are all in demand. And those companies are all happy to provide a workplace adjust to the sensory needs of those on the spectrum.
But it’s not enough – many struggling to deal with interviews, let alone land a job. The National Autistic Society have some great guidance and education (https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/what-is-autism).
The real problem is that mental health support and education is totally lacking in the UK, deliberately so. Instead of pissing away money brainwashing school children with [British Values](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/380595/SMSC_Guidance_Maintained_Schools.pdf) the money would be much better spent educated them about all forms of mental illness: not just identification, but where to go for help and support.
And that’s not surprising because most out-there media representations (like quirky children who are cute and wander off occasionally and play alone with their toys) is all people get to see. If only it was just that!
The only adults portrayed in media tend to be the gifted ones, those whose intelligence, skills or interests give them something to be known for. Adults without that, and with only the more disabling traits, there is no representation whatsoever – so it makes perfect sense that Brits largely have no idea about it unless they have experienced it personally or via someone they know.
Along with basically all other special educational needs and mental health issues. Part of the problem is media representation of those with autism, with a lot of people thinking those with autism are either Rain Man or a mute who cannot function without 24/7 care (with no in between). The other part is that neurotypical people tend to shy away from those with autism, even those who are high-functioning, almost out of fear. You cannot learn about something properly when you are presented with false information and you avoid an entire community.
Lacking so much understanding, the article’s been posted a month late.
World Autism Day is the 2nd of April.
For the benefit of everyone ‘autism’ is “high functioning autism” where as “low functioning autism” is an autistic person with other concurrent disabilities which are their own diagnoses. How autism interacts with these other conditions determines their support level. L1 is autism without other visible disabilities, L2 is with other visible disabilities. Presumably L3 is autism concurrent with Intellectual Disability.
As a high functioning autistic person myself I can relate,
I went to the job agency and my mum wanted to tag along to see how it went, anyways I was filling it details and put autism down, the lady at the agency noticed this and started speaking slowly and much more clearer to me, then started speaking it directly to my mum like I wasn’t able to understand the english language.
When I finally got a job in a warehouse, the manager was like yeah due to your autism we have put you into scanning the labels, because your autistic your good at picking out information and recognising mistakes, the amount of assuming which happened was unbelievable.
Fast forward one month later, they said i’d be getting paid way much more then I was getting at an hourly rate, and that was the end of that.
on a side note, why do we have more national and international days of things more then actual days in a year?
Given my younger brother is on the spectrum i fucking know all too well that we lack understanding because members of my own family lack understanding including me and my brother is not the only person i’ve known on the spectrum.
Now as for lack though he got diagnosed with Asperger’s at around 10 and my mother was supposed to see a specialist every fortnite who’d help both my mother and brother but the “lack” was so bad she didn’t start seeing someone until he was 18 and she kept on pestering them every 6 months and they’d say the same shit “we’re looking into it but we’re currently over worked and understaffed” which wasn’t a lie.
I am either treated like a child or someone faking it. I’m neither! I’m an adult who can function exceptionally well in some areas and absolutely not at all in other areas.
I’m coming to the realisation that i may be on the spectrum, how would I go about a diagnosis? Therapy?
As a brit who is not only autistic but my wife and all 3 of my boys are autistic i do get that feeling with a lot of people they dont understand it properly.
When my son got his diagnosis, his primary school teacher stared blankly when we told her that he had asperger’s syndrome (Autism). The STEM teacher was useless because he wasn’t educationally-stunted, just socially crap, but no so socially crap that he was disruptive either. However, the socially-crapness was causing him great troubles.
Secondary school came along and they are much better at understanding and dealing with it.
The general public think the autistic spectrum is a gradient, when it’s better to consider it a group of traits, each with their own gradient (i.e. a spectrum!).
[This article is a decade old now but I doubt it’s become incorrect.](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/british-public-wrong-about-nearly-everything-survey-shows-8697821.html)
The NHS removed my autism diagnosis years ago without telling me, had my benefits stripped away.
I had a hard time forming and identity for myself as a child due to abuse, I tried to get therapy for years but was denied over and over.
A month ago I felt as though everything had been a lie, my identity had gone again, I had a severe psychotic episode as a result of this stress and now I show symptoms of schizophrenia, they only made me an assessment after I had this psychotic episode.
My dad was the same, they left him to rot and go mental hence all the abuse, social services never did a damn thing when all of it came to light.
I also see the same people who bullied me in school post every year on Facebook about mental health awareness day, for years I resented everyone and everything.
This is the reality for a lot of people in this country, people have died because of this ignorance.
As someone who was looked at for autism when I was younger (but wasn’t diagnosed), but do have at least one neurodevelopmental disorder, shit be hardddd. I remember back in Year 7 and 8 having a friend I would spend every day with who had autism.
Whilst I was perfectly able to front a ‘normal’ persona around others, I was able to feel empathy with how others didn’t really see him as a human – but more of a nuisance. Most students treated him like a child and refused to see him as someone capable of nuanced thought.
Let me clarify that he did often have emotional outbursts, but despite that he was not a fool. I remember sitting with him discussing shit and having a merry old time. He left high school by the end of Year 8 to be home schooled which was probably for the best for him.
I have always tried to have an optimistic outlook on people, assumed that most people are probably as knowledgble and as kind as I am (to clarify, I am not a fucking saint I am just stay out of people’s way and respect other’s self-identity and feelings) however recently I have kinda been a bit depressed realising how fucking mean some people are.
Because the truth is not only are people not knowledgable (which is fine – we can’t be all knowing) about things that they probably should be, they assume that they know fucking everything about other’s experiences of the world even if they have never met a person w/autism in their entire life. They are fucking ignorant. This doesn’t even apply to people with autism – people have a lot to say about migrants, the poor, drug addicts, muslims, LGBT+ folk, ect without not reading a single word written by people of these groups.
I just want everyone to be fucking happy and to listen to one another, and if I am a pussy for thinking that so be it. If there is one take away you can get from me is to simply listen more, no matter how much you think you know someone you have NO right to think you know them better than themselves – ffs we aren’t telepathic yet.
2022 and we’re still judged by stereotypes and myths,seems you can’t educate the ignorant
Wide lack? You can’t have a wide nothing. They have a wide lack of skill with the English language.
I don’t remember but was Elon Musk autistic too he was able to accomplish much.