It's all designed for the glorification of the most successful.
Not all of it's crooked but some of it
I honestly see NTs glorify the most successful of us, I don't see ND advocates doing that. NTs always focus on the "differences" between "higher functioning" people and "lower functioning" people, and most NTs I know just think having an Asperger's diagnosis means you're an awkward savant that can program/do math/(insert some technical hobby here) good, if they know anything about it at all.
If it weren't for ND advocates I also wouldn't know half of the stuff I do about autism, including the fact "higher functioning" people do assumed "lower functioning" things such as rocking, vocal stimming, echolalia, etc. and often need some of the same supports "lower functioning" people do. The NT given information doesn't tell us things like that and divides us a lot more than ND advocates do. I probably wouldn't have even accepted that I am most likely autistic after being told I'm basically not autistic enough during my last assessment, if I didn't have the information I do from them.
I think I understand where your frustrations come from, Statest16. I'm sure those who try to present autism as being merely a difference/different neurology have the best intentions and seek acceptance, but it does sometimes paradoxically lead to trivialising the condition and our struggles.
I've been in environments that accommodated me fully and despite being Level 1, the specific autism-related issues I have didn't vanish. The environment decreased my stress levels which helped me in return function better, but some impairments and limitations are still there. I, too, wish people didn't gloss over this.
I wish these movements would be more cohesive and inclusive, sometimes I feel there are too many factions or separate individuals representing only the segment they can relate to.
I hate they think we all must have some fantastic gifted talent that will make up for our disability. a few autistic people have talents, but they'd probably have those talents if they weren't autistic too. It's annoying to have to explain to people I don't and it's not true. lot of parents think their kids will grow up to be famous artists or tech geniuses because their autistic.
I hate they think we all must have some fantastic gifted talent that will make up for our disability. a few autistic people have talents, but they'd probably have those talents if they weren't autistic too. It's annoying to have to explain to people I don't and it's not true. lot of parents think their kids will grow up to be famous artists or tech geniuses because their autistic.
I hate the whole "autistic savant" stereotype too. But I think that's usually what NTs believe due to some media representations, I don't remember any activists promoting this image.
I think I understand where your frustrations come from, Statest16. I'm sure those who try to present autism as being merely a difference/different neurology have the best intentions and seek acceptance, but it does sometimes paradoxically lead to trivialising the condition and our struggles.
I've been in environments that accommodated me fully and despite being Level 1, the specific autism-related issues I have didn't vanish. The environment decreased my stress levels which helped me in return function better, but some impairments and limitations are still there. I, too, wish people didn't gloss over this.
I wish these movements would be more cohesive and inclusive, sometimes I feel there are too many factions or separate individuals representing only the segment they can relate to.
There definitely are people that trivialize autism in the ND movement, but in my experience they're a loud minority and have more "extreme" views about autism. The loud minority will always seem bigger than they are and I don't think they're something to shun the ND movement as a whole over, or that we should throw all the work they've done away just because a few people try to peddle that autism is just a "difference".
I also don't see a lot of ND advocates say we're all "gifted" and it honestly seems like at least most modern ND advocates don't like that view, unless they're part of that loud minority. I don't know about older ND advocates though.
Still, the "gifted" view mainly comes from media only depicting us as useful if we have some savant-like talent. There's never been an inbetween in media, we're either burdens or have a useful talent that negates that burden. I used to watch documentaries and other things about autistic people, and even decades back they've all been about those two things (mainly the latter), which is why I can't handle watching them anymore.
I've been in environments that accommodated me fully and despite being Level 1, the specific autism-related issues I have didn't vanish. The environment decreased my stress levels which helped me in return function better, but some impairments and limitations are still there. I, too, wish people didn't gloss over this.
What specific impairments and limitations still caused problems for you, in such environments, despite the accommodations?
I hate they think we all must have some fantastic gifted talent that will make up for our disability. a few autistic people have talents, but they'd probably have those talents if they weren't autistic too.
Not necessarily. Some kinds of talents (e.g. math) really do seem to be much more common among autistic people than among NT's. Of course, not all autistic people have such talents.
I hate they think we all must have some
fantastic gifted talent that will make up for our disability. a few
autistic people have talents, but they'd probably have those talents if
they weren't autistic too. It's annoying to have to explain to people I
don't and it's not true. lot of parents think their kids will grow up
to be famous artists or tech geniuses because their autistic.
I thinks parents should be on the lookout for possible talents and encourage any talents that they do see. Parents also should aim to provide an environment that would allow various kinds of talents to manifest and makes learning fun. But, of course, there's no guarantee that their kids will grow up to be famous artists or tech geniuses, and parents need to accept that fact, too.
Hylian said:
There definitely are people that trivialize autism in the ND
movement, but in my experience they're a loud minority and have more
"extreme" views about autism. The loud minority will always seem bigger
than they are and I don't think they're something to shun the ND
movement as a whole over, or that we should throw all the work they've
done away just because a few people try to peddle that autism is just a "difference".
I
also don't see a lot of ND advocates say we're all "gifted" and it
honestly seems like at least most modern ND advocates don't like that
view, unless they're part of that loud minority. I don't know about
older ND advocates though.
The earliest ND advocates that I'm aware of (e.g. Judy Singer and Jim Sinclair) never claimed we're all "gifted" either.
I think the latter idea comes mainly from mass media sensationalism. It also comes from some autistic people (and parents thereof) who were probably over-reacting against the extreme negativity of many parents' groups back in 1980 to 2010 or so.
In any case, as far as I can tell, most ND activists have always seen themselves as part of the disability rights movement. This means its leaders do see themselves as disabled, although -- just like the disability rights movement in general -- they argue that their disability could be greatly lessened with accommodations.
I, as a person who's never worked due sz and ASD, have no useful talents . To try escape from the stark reality of being one of life's abject failures I join high IQ societies , and get my name on high IQ lists . It's a total scam. At least 95% of people on this forum could get on those societies.
If it wasn't for the support I get I'd be a suitable case for a group home.
I, as a person who's never worked due sz and ASD, have no useful talents . To try escape from the stark reality of being one of life's abject failures I join high IQ societies , and get my name on high IQ lists . It's a total scam. At least 95% of people on this forum could get on those societies.
If it wasn't for the support I get I'd be a suitable case for a group home.
If you are able to score high enough on IQ tests to be able to get into a high IQ society, then you probably do have potential talents but never had the good fortune to have good enough teachers. I strongly suspect the latter to be a big problem for many autistic kids.
But there's also the question of whether any workplace exists, or could exist, that could sufficiently accommodate your needs, even if your talents were to be developed. For some of us that's possible, but not for all of us.
It's via high range tests done by a mix of psychometricians and those who have backgrounds in higher mathematics(PhD) etc who've previously scored very high on supervised tests. It has its detractors and supporters.
My problem is, it may or may not be common with others here, that my practical intelligence is low(adaptive functioning)
These are doctors,medical and otherwise, that are on one of the lists.
Dr Evangelos Katsioulis, psychiatrist
Dr George Petasis Studied Medicine in Aristotle University
Thessaloniki Greece. Managing Director of Allonse Ltd New Media Services.
Dr Benoit Desjardins Associate Professor of Radiology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Dr Claus Volko Computer and Medical Scientist
Dr Paul Moroz Professor Paul Moroz BSc(Hons) MBBS PhD(Dist) FRACS. Surgical Oncologist and Professor of Surgery
Dr Nikolaos Katevas, MDs, BSc, MSc, PhDc
Dr Eick Sternhagen Fields of education: Economy, Latin, ev. theology, Doctorate in Latin of late Middle Ages, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster – WWU, University of Münster, Germany.
Dr Manahel Thabet The youngest – and only – Arab with a PhD in Financial Engineering, she writes research papers on quantum mathematics. Her work to revolutionize our understanding of math and physics is poised to earn her a second PhD, at the age of 32.
Dr Donato Stolfa Nutritionist Biologist Specialized in Human Nutrition
Dr Jeremy Saget Weightless Flight Surgeon
ZeroG Instructor
United Nations rotary wing Aeromedical Evacuations Flight Surgeon
Dr Bishoy Goubran Bishoy Goubran, MD. Is a clinical researcher in the field of Behavioral and Cardiovascular medicine. Bishoy’s research line is in psychosomatic medicine
Dr Daniel Piersee Doctor of Pharmacy in Pharmacy @ University of Iowa
Dr Jawdat Wehbe Cardiologist - electrophysiologist · Heart and vessels
I echo what Mona said.
The "public school" system in the UK (especially boarding schools) did not exactly accommodate to alternative learning styles.
I wouldn't be able to get myself into a "high IQ society." I'm just not "smart" in that sense.
I've been in environments that accommodated me fully and despite being Level 1, the specific autism-related issues I have didn't vanish. The environment decreased my stress levels which helped me in return function better, but some impairments and limitations are still there. I, too, wish people didn't gloss over this.
What specific impairments and limitations still caused problems for you, in such environments, despite the accommodations?
The most prominent would be alexithymia, non-verbal communication leading to misunderstandings and difficulties switching focus.
Let me know if you want me to elaborate, it could get long.
I, as a person who's never worked due sz and ASD, have no useful talents . To try escape from the stark reality of being one of life's abject failures I join high IQ societies , and get my name on high IQ lists . It's a total scam. At least 95% of people on this forum could get on those societies.
If it wasn't for the support I get I'd be a suitable case for a group home.
Most people don't recognise or value talent if it's not or cannot be monetised. It's a problem, but it doesn't mean the talent doesn't exist.
I've been in environments that accommodated me fully and despite being Level 1, the specific autism-related issues I have didn't vanish. The environment decreased my stress levels which helped me in return function better, but some impairments and limitations are still there. I, too, wish people didn't gloss over this.
What specific impairments and limitations still caused problems for you, in such environments, despite the accommodations?
The most prominent would be alexithymia, non-verbal communication leading to misunderstandings and difficulties switching focus.
Let me know if you want me to elaborate, it could get long.
What general type of job was this?
If nonverbal communication was an issue, then, it seems to me, you probably weren't in quite what I would call an autistic-friendly environment. See Autistic-friendly social skills vs. blending in with NT's. I would be interested in your thoughts about this.
Also it seems to me that an autistic-friendly hiring program or job placement agency needs to concern itself with whether the individual's attention profile is suitable for a given job. Some jobs require frequent rapid shifts of attention, while other jobs require the ability to focus on one thing for long periods of time. In some job settings it might make sense to team up people with different attention profiles, and to divide up the work based on what kind of attention profile is required.
There are plenty of jobs for which an autistic person with a suitable attention profile could perform better than the average NT with otherwise similar qualifications. See, for example: TSA may have the perfect job for autistic workers -- and likewise plenty of other jobs further up the economic food chain.
(Note: The above news story, written back in 2013, makes a generalization about autistic people that is out-of-date, given changes in diagnostic criteria. Back in the DSM IV days, a person couldn't be diagnosed with both autism and ADHD; it had to be one or the other. Now that that autism and ADHD are allowed to be co-occurring, it turns out that about one third of autistic people also have ADHD. So the news story's claim about autistic people's attention profiles applies only to those without co-occurring ADHD.)
I, as a person who's never worked due sz and ASD, have no useful talents . To try escape from the stark reality of being one of life's abject failures I join high IQ societies , and get my name on high IQ lists . It's a total scam. At least 95% of people on this forum could get on those societies.
If it wasn't for the support I get I'd be a suitable case for a group home.
Most people don't recognise or value talent if it's not or cannot be monetised. It's a problem, but it doesn't mean the talent doesn't exist.
I should point out that non-monetizable talents can be leveraged to help develop abilities that are more monetizable.
For example, there is a well-known correlation between musical ability and mathematical ability.
Also, if a person has artistic ability, then that person should be taught math in a way that emphasizes geometry and various physical phenomena. I strongly suspect that some (not all) alleged "dyscalculia" is not a true lack of math ability per se, but rather an artifact of the one-size-fits-all way that math is commonly taught.
I've been in environments that accommodated me fully and despite being Level 1, the specific autism-related issues I have didn't vanish. The environment decreased my stress levels which helped me in return function better, but some impairments and limitations are still there. I, too, wish people didn't gloss over this.
What specific impairments and limitations still caused problems for you, in such environments, despite the accommodations?
The most prominent would be alexithymia, non-verbal communication leading to misunderstandings and difficulties switching focus.
Let me know if you want me to elaborate, it could get long.
What general type of job was this?
If nonverbal communication was an issue, then, it seems to me, you probably weren't in quite what I would call an autistic-friendly environment. See Autistic-friendly social skills vs. blending in with NT's. I would be interested in your thoughts about this.
Also it seems to me that an autistic-friendly hiring program or job placement agency needs to concern itself with whether the individual's attention profile is suitable for a given job. Some jobs require frequent rapid shifts of attention, while other jobs require the ability to focus on one thing for long periods of time. In some job settings it might make sense to team up people with different attention profiles, and to divide up the work based on what kind of attention profile is required.
There are plenty of jobs for which an autistic person with a suitable attention profile could perform better than the average NT with otherwise similar qualifications. See, for example: TSA may have the perfect job for autistic workers -- and likewise plenty of other jobs further up the economic food chain.
(Note: The above news story, written back in 2013, makes a generalization about autistic people that is out-of-date, given changes in diagnostic criteria. Back in the DSM IV days, a person couldn't be diagnosed with both autism and ADHD; it had to be one or the other. Now that that autism and ADHD are allowed to be co-occurring, it turns out that about one third of autistic people also have ADHD. So the news story's claim about autistic people's attention profiles applies only to those without co-occurring ADHD.)
There DSM IV theory was at least how it was explained to me at the time;Was that a person with autism couldn't be ADHD(then they just said ADD)because the symptoms were assumed already in autism.Like a quadriplegic couldn't be paraplegic because the symptoms were assumed.
There was also a running theory around maybe 06' or 07'ish that ADHD was part of the spectrum itself and was just a mild form of mild autism.
P.s There have been real cases of people who sustained a cervical spine injury but didn't loose any function in the lower body but this is like a 1 in 20,000 occurance.I actually met such a person while driving taxi
Also in the early 2000's there was the "autism nucleus of an atom theory".
Where classic autism was the atom's nucleus and Aspergers,PDD-NOS, Retts syndrome and Childhhood disintigrative disorder were sort of planets that revolved around the nucleus of the atom.
I've been in environments that accommodated me fully and despite being Level 1, the specific autism-related issues I have didn't vanish. The environment decreased my stress levels which helped me in return function better, but some impairments and limitations are still there. I, too, wish people didn't gloss over this.
What specific impairments and limitations still caused problems for you, in such environments, despite the accommodations?
The most prominent would be alexithymia, non-verbal communication leading to misunderstandings and difficulties switching focus.
Let me know if you want me to elaborate, it could get long.
What general type of job was this?
If nonverbal communication was an issue, then, it seems to me, you probably weren't in quite what I would call an autistic-friendly environment. See Autistic-friendly social skills vs. blending in with NT's. I would be interested in your thoughts about this.
Also it seems to me that an autistic-friendly hiring program or job placement agency needs to concern itself with whether the individual's attention profile is suitable for a given job. Some jobs require frequent rapid shifts of attention, while other jobs require the ability to focus on one thing for long periods of time. In some job settings it might make sense to team up people with different attention profiles, and to divide up the work based on what kind of attention profile is required.
There are plenty of jobs for which an autistic person with a suitable attention profile could perform better than the average NT with otherwise similar qualifications. See, for example: TSA may have the perfect job for autistic workers -- and likewise plenty of other jobs further up the economic food chain.
(Note: The above news story, written back in 2013, makes a generalization about autistic people that is out-of-date, given changes in diagnostic criteria. Back in the DSM IV days, a person couldn't be diagnosed with both autism and ADHD; it had to be one or the other. Now that that autism and ADHD are allowed to be co-occurring, it turns out that about one third of autistic people also have ADHD. So the news story's claim about autistic people's attention profiles applies only to those without co-occurring ADHD.)
I wasn't thinking about my job, but I can clarify. Before switching to freelancing I worked for the same company for a long time and "earned" all the accommodations I needed (this took some years): in my case, sensorial protection and no obligations whatsoever for socialising or group activities, including business lunches/dinners and other work events disguised as parties (fortunately, being expansive, having to smile a lot or chit-chat isn't highly valued where I live). Having to switch focus quickly or often was also rarely an issue; for the most part, I was allowed to do things as I saw fit without much if any interference, as long as the end result was of consistently higher quality than most could offer. They didn't know I was autistic and until roughly 10 years ago, neither did I. Personally, I found that you get more leeway in technical or highly skilled jobs, especially if you're hard to replace. I'm still on good terms with them and they keep offering me work as an outside contractor.
But getting there took a lot of time and effort and it included an epic burnout/breakdown. And some of these accommodations are rather extraordinary and country-specific: they were obtained through a mix of high performance, strong local work laws and the existence of an actual serious medical (physiological) issue.
Some of the things I personally believe would help autistic people with such things:
1. Better access and more variety in training programs/courses tailored towards their specific learning style and needs: things like Specialisterne that would also cover other areas, as not everybody can do tech. These should cover both learning a profession and further developing your professional skills - the second can be very important if you don't want to end up stagnant or easily replaceable/disposable. Most of such courses I attended were targeting NTs for obvious reasons and I found them stressful and not always useful. 2. Less prohibitive costs of education in countries that have them. 3. Better work/disabilities laws in some countries and better awareness and education for both employers and employees in regards to their rights and obligations. 4. Training people on the spectrum to advocate for themselves and teaching them negotiation strategies and techniques along with how to efficiently communicate with an NT employer, or at least having access to someone who can advise and represent you if you cannot do it yourself
What I was initially referring to: my ideal environment is at home, where both I and my son have basically zero stressors and everybody is also given plenty of space, alone time and support if they need it.
Non-verbal is easy amongst ourselves since I basically created "data-bases" that associate body language and behaviours with the emotions they represent and I can navigate them now almost automatically. This works because I pay attention and know/understand my wife and kids well, but they are not universal: if you bring a stranger or acquaintance into the house, the environment won't help significantly. Even after decades of studying body language both in regards to reading it and sending signals, I still can't always process a lot of information in real-time and react fast enough. No matter how much you educate someone in regards to autism, some of the reactions towards odd body language are instinctive and meant to protect people: the vague "off feeling" they get could be a warning that I'm dangerous and it's unreasonable to ask someone who doesn't know you well it to ignore it. So, for me, such accommodations only work if everybody I interact with knows me well and cares about me.
Especially when you have small kids, switching focus quickly and thinking on your feet is crucial and it's not always feasible or wise to rely too heavily on your partner or put most of these responsibilities on others.
It's all designed for the glorification of the most successful.
I don't agree that it's "all designed for the glorification of the most successful." It's true that "glorification of the most successful" does occur and is often over-emphasized in the mass media.
This over-emphasis on the most successful people is probably an over-correction of a previous tendency toward extremely negative portrayals of autistic and other disabled people as burdens on their family and on society as a whole.
However, the disability rights movement aims to advocate for disabled people of all ability levels. It doesn't always succeed at so doing. But that doesn't mean that the disability rights movement is fundamentally wrong. It means there are gaps in its activism that need to be filled in by other activists.
Statest16 said: Not all of it's crooked but some of it
Crooked in what ways? Can you give some specific examples?
I've been in environments that accommodated me fully and despite being Level 1, the specific autism-related issues I have didn't vanish. The environment decreased my stress levels which helped me in return function better, but some impairments and limitations are still there. I, too, wish people didn't gloss over this.
What specific impairments and limitations still caused problems for you, in such environments, despite the accommodations?
The most prominent would be alexithymia, non-verbal communication leading to misunderstandings and difficulties switching focus.
Let me know if you want me to elaborate, it could get long.
What general type of job was this?
If nonverbal communication was an issue, then, it seems to me, you probably weren't in quite what I would call an autistic-friendly environment. See Autistic-friendly social skills vs. blending in with NT's. I would be interested in your thoughts about this.
Also it seems to me that an autistic-friendly hiring program or job placement agency needs to concern itself with whether the individual's attention profile is suitable for a given job. Some jobs require frequent rapid shifts of attention, while other jobs require the ability to focus on one thing for long periods of time. In some job settings it might make sense to team up people with different attention profiles, and to divide up the work based on what kind of attention profile is required.
There are plenty of jobs for which an autistic person with a suitable attention profile could perform better than the average NT with otherwise similar qualifications. See, for example: TSA may have the perfect job for autistic workers -- and likewise plenty of other jobs further up the economic food chain.
(Note: The above news story, written back in 2013, makes a generalization about autistic people that is out-of-date, given changes in diagnostic criteria. Back in the DSM IV days, a person couldn't be diagnosed with both autism and ADHD; it had to be one or the other. Now that that autism and ADHD are allowed to be co-occurring, it turns out that about one third of autistic people also have ADHD. So the news story's claim about autistic people's attention profiles applies only to those without co-occurring ADHD.)
There DSM IV theory was at least how it was explained to me at the time;Was that a person with autism couldn't be ADHD(then they just said ADD)because the symptoms were assumed already in autism.Like a quadriplegic couldn't be paraplegic because the symptoms were assumed.
There was also a running theory around maybe 06' or 07'ish that ADHD was part of the spectrum itself and was just a mild form of mild autism.
Thus surprises me because, while most autistic people do have attention issues, the attention profile of most people with autism is very different from the attention profile of most people with ADHD.
Autistic people tend to have difficulty multitasking and shifting their attention rapidly from one task to another, but tend NOT to have difficulty focusing on one task for long periods of time (at least provided there aren't too many sensory distractions).
On the other hand, most people with ADHD tend to have difficulty focusing on one task (unless they happen to be very fascinated by the task, in which case they can hyperfocus), but tend NOT to have difficulty multitasking or shifting their attention rapidly from one task to another.
I, as a person who's never worked due sz and ASD, have no useful talents . To try escape from the stark reality of being one of life's abject failures I join high IQ societies , and get my name on high IQ lists . It's a total scam. At least 95% of people on this forum could get on those societies.
If it wasn't for the support I get I'd be a suitable case for a group home.
Most people don't recognise or value talent if it's not or cannot be monetised. It's a problem, but it doesn't mean the talent doesn't exist.
I've been in environments that accommodated me fully and despite being Level 1, the specific autism-related issues I have didn't vanish. The environment decreased my stress levels which helped me in return function better, but some impairments and limitations are still there. I, too, wish people didn't gloss over this.
What specific impairments and limitations still caused problems for you, in such environments, despite the accommodations?
The most prominent would be alexithymia, non-verbal communication leading to misunderstandings and difficulties switching focus.
Let me know if you want me to elaborate, it could get long.
What general type of job was this?
If nonverbal communication was an issue, then, it seems to me, you probably weren't in quite what I would call an autistic-friendly environment. See Autistic-friendly social skills vs. blending in with NT's. I would be interested in your thoughts about this.
Also it seems to me that an autistic-friendly hiring program or job placement agency needs to concern itself with whether the individual's attention profile is suitable for a given job. Some jobs require frequent rapid shifts of attention, while other jobs require the ability to focus on one thing for long periods of time. In some job settings it might make sense to team up people with different attention profiles, and to divide up the work based on what kind of attention profile is required.
There are plenty of jobs for which an autistic person with a suitable attention profile could perform better than the average NT with otherwise similar qualifications. See, for example: TSA may have the perfect job for autistic workers -- and likewise plenty of other jobs further up the economic food chain.
(Note: The above news story, written back in 2013, makes a generalization about autistic people that is out-of-date, given changes in diagnostic criteria. Back in the DSM IV days, a person couldn't be diagnosed with both autism and ADHD; it had to be one or the other. Now that that autism and ADHD are allowed to be co-occurring, it turns out that about one third of autistic people also have ADHD. So the news story's claim about autistic people's attention profiles applies only to those without co-occurring ADHD.)
TSA would be horrible job for us. you have to deal with very angry and sometimes violent people. you have to touch people. good job for me would been some form of quality control, but doesn't exist anymore in usa. The possible only good thing to come from being autistic is high attention to detail, but with there being no jobs needing that it just hamples my life. It irritates people around me. normal person would just buy an item. I see the defects in said items and try to find the lest defective one.
good job for me would been some form of quality control, but doesn't exist anymore in usa. The possible only good thing to come from being autistic is high attention to detail, but with there being no jobs needing that it just hamples my life. It irritates people around me. normal person would just buy an item. I see the defects in said items and try to find the lest defective one.
It's not true that quality control doesn't exist anymore in the U.S.A. Google "quality control jobs" and "quality assurance jobs" and see what comes up.
Comments
Not all of it's crooked but some of it
If it weren't for ND advocates I also wouldn't know half of the stuff I do about autism, including the fact "higher functioning" people do assumed "lower functioning" things such as rocking, vocal stimming, echolalia, etc. and often need some of the same supports "lower functioning" people do. The NT given information doesn't tell us things like that and divides us a lot more than ND advocates do. I probably wouldn't have even accepted that I am most likely autistic after being told I'm basically not autistic enough during my last assessment, if I didn't have the information I do from them.
I've been in environments that accommodated me fully and despite being Level 1, the specific autism-related issues I have didn't vanish. The environment decreased my stress levels which helped me in return function better, but some impairments and limitations are still there. I, too, wish people didn't gloss over this.
I wish these movements would be more cohesive and inclusive, sometimes I feel there are too many factions or separate individuals representing only the segment they can relate to.
I also don't see a lot of ND advocates say we're all "gifted" and it honestly seems like at least most modern ND advocates don't like that view, unless they're part of that loud minority. I don't know about older ND advocates though.
Still, the "gifted" view mainly comes from media only depicting us as useful if we have some savant-like talent. There's never been an inbetween in media, we're either burdens or have a useful talent that negates that burden. I used to watch documentaries and other things about autistic people, and even decades back they've all been about those two things (mainly the latter), which is why I can't handle watching them anymore.
I thinks parents should be on the lookout for possible talents and encourage any talents that they do see. Parents also should aim to provide an environment that would allow various kinds of talents to manifest and makes learning fun. But, of course, there's no guarantee that their kids will grow up to be famous artists or tech geniuses, and parents need to accept that fact, too.
My problem is, it may or may not be common with others here, that my practical intelligence is low(adaptive functioning)
Let me know if you want me to elaborate, it could get long.
There was also a running theory around maybe 06' or 07'ish that ADHD was part of the spectrum itself and was just a mild form of mild autism.
P.s There have been real cases of people who sustained a cervical spine injury but didn't loose any function in the lower body but this is like a 1 in 20,000 occurance.I actually met such a person while driving taxi
Where classic autism was the atom's nucleus and Aspergers,PDD-NOS, Retts syndrome and Childhhood disintigrative disorder were sort of planets that revolved around the nucleus of the atom.
I haven't seen this theory around recently
I wasn't thinking about my job, but I can clarify. Before switching to freelancing I worked for the same company for a long time and "earned" all the accommodations I needed (this took some years): in my case, sensorial protection and no obligations whatsoever for socialising or group activities, including business lunches/dinners and other work events disguised as parties (fortunately, being expansive, having to smile a lot or chit-chat isn't highly valued where I live). Having to switch focus quickly or often was also rarely an issue; for the most part, I was allowed to do things as I saw fit without much if any interference, as long as the end result was of consistently higher quality than most could offer. They didn't know I was autistic and until roughly 10 years ago, neither did I. Personally, I found that you get more leeway in technical or highly skilled jobs, especially if you're hard to replace. I'm still on good terms with them and they keep offering me work as an outside contractor.
But getting there took a lot of time and effort and it included an epic burnout/breakdown. And some of these accommodations are rather extraordinary and country-specific: they were obtained through a mix of high performance, strong local work laws and the existence of an actual serious medical (physiological) issue.
Some of the things I personally believe would help autistic people with such things:
1. Better access and more variety in training programs/courses tailored towards their specific learning style and needs: things like Specialisterne that would also cover other areas, as not everybody can do tech. These should cover both learning a profession and further developing your professional skills - the second can be very important if you don't want to end up stagnant or easily replaceable/disposable. Most of such courses I attended were targeting NTs for obvious reasons and I found them stressful and not always useful.
2. Less prohibitive costs of education in countries that have them.
3. Better work/disabilities laws in some countries and better awareness and education for both employers and employees in regards to their rights and obligations.
4. Training people on the spectrum to advocate for themselves and teaching them negotiation strategies and techniques along with how to efficiently communicate with an NT employer, or at least having access to someone who can advise and represent you if you cannot do it yourself
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What I was initially referring to: my ideal environment is at home, where both I and my son have basically zero stressors and everybody is also given plenty of space, alone time and support if they need it.
Non-verbal is easy amongst ourselves since I basically created "data-bases" that associate body language and behaviours with the emotions they represent and I can navigate them now almost automatically. This works because I pay attention and know/understand my wife and kids well, but they are not universal: if you bring a stranger or acquaintance into the house, the environment won't help significantly. Even after decades of studying body language both in regards to reading it and sending signals, I still can't always process a lot of information in real-time and react fast enough. No matter how much you educate someone in regards to autism, some of the reactions towards odd body language are instinctive and meant to protect people: the vague "off feeling" they get could be a warning that I'm dangerous and it's unreasonable to ask someone who doesn't know you well it to ignore it. So, for me, such accommodations only work if everybody I interact with knows me well and cares about me.
Especially when you have small kids, switching focus quickly and thinking on your feet is crucial and it's not always feasible or wise to rely too heavily on your partner or put most of these responsibilities on others.
good job for me would been some form of quality control, but doesn't exist anymore in usa. The possible only good thing to come from being autistic is high attention to detail, but with there being no jobs needing that it just hamples my life. It irritates people around me. normal person would just buy an item. I see the defects in said items and try to find the lest defective one.