Quite a lot has been written about people in the past who were high achievers who might have had Aspergers or HFA (eg Ioan James's book on this theme) or famous people around today who just don't admit to it. What we lack are people we can point to and say that person has aspergers, look what have they achieved.
I raise this because a huge amount of public relations and confidence building has developed around people in sport, in business, in art and in politics with dyslexia. Being able to do this helps people with dyslexia diagnoses to see a future for themselves. But it also helps persuade politicians, and decision makers and employers that people with HFA/Aspergers can do well and have a value for society.
It isn't that easy to do though. The Disability Equality Duty wanted universities to identify exemplars amongst teaching staff who could be role models for disabled students. It would say that you could not only study for a degree but teach degrees with a disability. It didn't catch on. It worked to an extent for deaf staff or dyslexic staff, but other conditions don't work so well with this idea.
The dilemma with HFA/Aspergers is that it doesn't work that well to say - look at me, look at what I achieved - because the manifestations are so varied, and the experiences so diverse and individual.
But to make a strong case for people on the spectrum we need something like this to happen.
Any ideas?
