Should autistic people campaign for recognition as a distinct part of humanity rather than be labelled as disabled?

No, I think that it should be classed as life long disability but saying that i also believe that more needs to be done to separate both mental health services and neurodevelopmental services into two completely separate services on the basis that current mental health services in the UK doesn't accommodate mental health intervention or treatment for individuals with neurodevelopmental disorder such as autism and ADHD.Autism is disabling because the majority of humanity have created society, infrastructure, employment model design specifically for neurotypical people.

From a logical standpoint dividing and separating individuals in to a sub groups is not an ideal solution to this problems and promotes segregation of individuals with autism and promotes non inclusion in a variety of things that the majority of people like myself would like to have equal opportunities to pursue and access.

From an autistic individuals standpoint the term "it a different way of thinking" doesn't help the majority of us and enables non autistics to not take any disabling situations from autistic individuals non serious manner that leads to mental and physical health issues with autistic individuals.   

The world's population is majority filled with neurotypicals, Individuals with autism is very few and among the individual with autism less than a 1/3 of them have autism with no comorbidities and there is a very small proportion of those who are able to successful integrate in to society with very little to no help and support. Among those individuals who have autism and are able to successfully integrated and succeed into society less than one in hundred understands and recognise that compounding factors including access to opportunities and among other environmental and economic avantages.  

it benefits everyone with neurodevelopmental disorder such as Autism, ADHD and other learning disabilities to band under one banner because more people means power to promote change the majority of the neurodiverse population needs to succeed in neurotypical world.      

Blue said:

Individuals with autism is very few

I disagree - the older I'm getting, the more aspies I'm meeting.    

Basically, it seems that anywhere where someone has a skill or can provide a niche service or has to be technical or engineering or computing or architecture, you'll find all the aspies - mostly undiagnosed because of their age and they are in their comfort zone so they don't have all the problems of dealing with NTs.       Conversely, wherever you find inefficiency, incompetence, sloppiness and failure, that's where all the NTs hang out.    The control the world not necessarily through numbers but by status and manipulation.      We tend to be poor at fighting our corner and also we have better and more interesting things to be doing than playing BS games all the time - we just get on with our specialist skills.    We 'don't exist' as statistics.     The only ASDs who are on the radar are the ones needing more help because they are in the wrong place - their life or job or environment isn't conducive to personal success.

Just my observations......

Blue said:

Individuals with autism is very few

I disagree - the older I'm getting, the more aspies I'm meeting.    

Basically, it seems that anywhere where someone has a skill or can provide a niche service or has to be technical or engineering or computing or architecture, you'll find all the aspies - mostly undiagnosed because of their age and they are in their comfort zone so they don't have all the problems of dealing with NTs.       Conversely, wherever you find inefficiency, incompetence, sloppiness and failure, that's where all the NTs hang out.    The control the world not necessarily through numbers but by status and manipulation.      We tend to be poor at fighting our corner and also we have better and more interesting things to be doing than playing BS games all the time - we just get on with our specialist skills.    We 'don't exist' as statistics.     The only ASDs who are on the radar are the ones needing more help because they are in the wrong place - their life or job or environment isn't conducive to personal success.

Just my observations......

I live rural and  totally  agree ,the difficulties are far more and the exploitation is far worse .

Its a far more conservative area.

Unless you have experienced it, you do not really understand.

I understand asd has a  1 % rate  in the uk in school children .so i would say your statement of 1 in 160 in the population is accurate.

I think it understates what being autistic is really like when people say nearly everyone is a bit autistic . 

i am focusing on rural location from experience, there are more autistics in rural locations across the UK then their is in urban areas but little to no support for those in rural location across the UK, Those autistics who live in major towns and cities do not experience a fraction of the challenges that still exist for those who live in villages across the UK.with many of them not having simple opportunities.

many of these autistic individuals from rural location are stuck living with their aging parents with no means to move to the nearest city. for me the nearest town is over nine miles away with no public transportation and to the nearest city its over forty five miles away with no transportation. access to opportunities are not a simple as those living in towns and cities.      

You seem to be totally fixated with a very tiny group of very autistic people in rural locations -  however, the vast majority of autistic and aspie people were in towns and cities and did just fine until life became too complicated and socially intense in the 80s.  

   There used to be no computers, few telephones, no internet or multiple tv channels.    Gas came from the gas company, electricity from the electric company etc.  Most jobs were for life and came with a proper pension.     All very simple and sensible.

I agree with this however majority of those with individuals with autism where in fact working in bottom of the barrel jobs such as livestock, Slaughter and agriculture and where often crippled or harmed in horrific accident before the thirty fifth birthday. Most of the where exploited by their employer paid very little and purposely where made to put their hands in chemicals like fertilizer they new was hazardous and toxic and this continued until 1980.

Unless you lived in major parts of the cities and thriving towns districts moderately functioning autistics where unemployed, abused by the majority by religious individuals and where left to their own devices and ended up ending their lives.

If you look at 1950s life, aspie men and women would be considered the pillars of society.

The man goes to his boring job - performs admirably, doesn't create a fuss, maybe a bit of a 'boffin', comes home expects dinner on the table and then spends the evening reading the paper, making models with his son and smoking his pipe.    A jolly good chap.

The subservient wife cooks and cleans and sends their perfect Jane & Johnny off to school and meekly waits for her very predictable, boring, nerdy husband to come home.   

Nothing extraordinary, nothing racy - predictable, routine, solid people.

Then everything became complicated and we couldn't keep up with this new social-biased world.

This is a great thread. There is an issue with females being properly diagnosed. NT females are willing to put up with ND males - to some degree. And even society is OK if males don't exert proper social graces. But females?? From my experience it's incredibly difficult to just do my technical 'thing' without being expected to navigate social norms. 

I started Anti-Oedipus and moved in to A Thousand Plateaus (Deleuze & Guattari) to comprehend WTF is going on. And it's mind blowing. Add other books I've read. Lately I've been trying to work further on my 'agreeableness', which is still a subtle art of manipulation. The redundancy of transmitting and receiving 'orders' as opposed to being in communication. It's wild.

More thoughts later perhaps... 

I'm finding the 1:160 unrealistic - maybe lower-functioning, very obviously autistic people are in that ratio.   I think you're concentrating on the lower-end outliers.

I'm finding the majority middling auties and aspies and high-functioning are everywhere - quietly doing their thing - mostly undiagnosed.    I'm feeling it's about 1:3 in my estimation.    I can spot them a mile away - 'aspie-dar'..

I meant very few when compared to neurotypicals. the statics at the moment are something around 1 autistic individual to a 160 neurotypical individuals they fundamentally hold to power because their is more of them than us. They have designed the typical workplace to pander to status and manipulation which many autistic people including myself can't seem to emulate or want to emulate. 

We do exist as statistics to a majority of UK businesses and its wrong. A large majority of large companies are hiring autistic individuals for the wrong reasons such as an inclusion statistic on company charters and financial incentives from local authorities and employment charities.

The majority of autistic individuals that the majority of the media point fingers at for being extremely successful had monumental support from simple things as encouragement from their family and understanding, The majority of them where within reach to critical infrastructure such as resources that a vast majority of regular autistic individuals don't have access or the opportunities or the financial advantage to provide and promote a child on the spectrums special interests giving them the critical advantage of skill that outways the social awkwardness that many autistic individuals needs to procure long term and sustainable employment or creating a business or an empire.

There are many examples of this being the exact case, with many autism influencers and Autism oriented business are primarily from upper middle class families in society. In fact the National Autism Society are also responsible for this as they tend to operate in financially influential areas of major cities across the UK avoiding providing work programmes across rural england. .    

Many autistic individuals are not given the accommodation and support in post high school education such as college and university with many autistic individuals being restricted by financial pressure that prevent them from gaining skills required to pursue employment within their specialised interests. This is the case for many autistic individuals from rural and poorer background in the UK with many being forced into working Slaughter Houses, industrial livestock farming and industrial cleaning which many autistic are unable to sustain long term because of natures of the businesses and social component required in these work environment .

It's often the two main subgroups of autism society focuses on when it comes to autistic individuals an it usually the highly successful or those who are severely intellectually challenges and not those individuals who are capable but need the right opportunities or support to successfully gain long term employment which is needed to provide enough money to live independently. it's these autistic individuals which need to be the focus on more as we are often told to get on with because of ableist attitudes from both well advantaged autistic individuals and neurotypical individuals. 

[i am not be rude or aggressive just trying to get my point across from my own experience and i do admit i am still rather young to have the experiences you do but would like to express that your post are a great support and motivation.]