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Different not Broken

Kitsune

I haven’t been on here much the past week so apologies if this has been posted before:

https://annsautism.blogspot.com/2019/05/autistic-people-so-new-research.html?m=1&fbclid=IwAR0EGamhKSl_MBHXtRCrnqLuHKZO7S8NSefVQdMXEr_beIQmyKeDtWQAD94

See, we do have effective social communication! It’s just different from that of non-autistic people. This is why it works so well when we are friends with other autistic people!
Don’t get me wrong, I have non-autistic friends and they are lovely people. But this article helps to explain something that I’ve been noticing for some months. That when autistic people are together in a friendship group, they actually appear ‘normal’, because when you’re spending time with and talking with people who’s brains work the same way as yours, it is normal! I get such an enormous sense of validation from speaking with my autistic friends, I finally have social mirrors, it’s not ‘just’ me!

Parents

  • Excellent blog post! I agree with and like this part the most:

    Shall we take a moment to shuffle uncomfortably in our seats, reflecting on the endless books, articles,training programmes and materials describe autistic people as deficient in social understanding? All recommending that it's the autistic people who do 100% of the changing?

    Actually, autistic people generally understood each other well.  We always have.  The problem is that the non-autistic people didn't understand us.

    And we didn't understand the non-autistic people.

    So, may I invite researchers, writers and trainers to take a deep breath, and decide to look anew at autistic people?

    What's needed is interpreters and social language experts.  Those who can skill both groups in the 'language' of the other group.  Those who can meet people from the other group and say, "You are wonderfully different.  I would love to learn your natural communication style, as a new language, a new way of interacting.  And I would love to show you our own way of communicating, which is different.  Together, we can learn not to misunderstand one another, and both of us can learn to communicate more effectively with one another.  Together, we can both learn how to be friends, colleagues, and do great things together."

    Can we do that? 

    I think we can.

  • in reply to Roswell

    I totally ‘get’ what this article is saying. When I’m with my autistic friends, it’s like we’re on the same wavelength. There’s something refreshingly genuine and authentic about friendship between people who can tune into each other a lot better than people without the same neurodiversity.

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  • in reply to Roswell

    I totally ‘get’ what this article is saying. When I’m with my autistic friends, it’s like we’re on the same wavelength. There’s something refreshingly genuine and authentic about friendship between people who can tune into each other a lot better than people without the same neurodiversity.

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