Why does everyone with autism get treated differently ?

Why does everyone with autism get treated differently ?

By reading the forum, it appears to me that everyone is getting treated differently with autism ? Bus Passes, Benefits, support, employment, housing, diagnosis,, there doesn't seem to be a NHS treatment standard across the board. I thought the NAS would have policed this side of things,, so that AUTISM IS AUTISM, not an adhoc system. It is a disgrace ! to all those professional bodies involved. Yell

  • It may also be how the OP has phrased the question.

    I don't think there is a right or wrong of reading it though.

  • ...the perils of the written word eh!  (And the perils of Asperger's).

    Having read your post Scorpion, and then re-read the OP, I concur that it is me that has misunderstood.

    I knew myself and stranger were understanding the question differently as we seemed to be talking at crossed purposes.

    I don't know what it is, whether it's to do with Asperger's or not, but I have to read and re-read things sometimes to understand and also I can tend to miss blocks of text and it changes the whole meaning of things.  I think I need heiroglyphics!

    Oh well, I should re-post my replies as a new thread!

  • I read the OP the same way as Stranger, IntenseWorld.

    He/she seems to be asking why different people on the spectrum get treated differently.

    However, I think that whilst it is certainly true that we are all individuals with individual needs, and so a "one size fit's all" policy is not appropriate, it is also the case that there is a degree of "postcode lottery" in what support one can get.

    Two people on the spectrum, who have much the same needs, may not get the same level of care and support due to where they live and the local level of provision.

    This, I think, is what the OP was driving at.

  • ...it took me some time to think about this stranger, I think you have misinterpreted the question.  My understanding is that OP was asking about autistic people being treated differently from NTs, and you seem to have read it as autistics being treated differently from one another.

    Either that, or it's the other way round and it's me that's misunderstood.  But judging by the post I think I understood correctly.  Perhaps OP could pop on and clarify.

    You are however, correct that some people don't need free bus passes etc.  They will still have needs because of their autism though.  That could be support needs, social skills needs, mental health needs, even if it's not full on.  However, also don't forget that coping skills can vary with autism, so an individual may not need those things you refer to at a given moment in time, but then after struggling on without the support and trying to be "normal" in a job, living alone etc. they can regress and lose all that and then they could need the benefits and bus pass.

  • But each persons needs are different. There's no reason why some people on the spectrum need benefits, a bus pass, etc.

  • ...although this blog is about what it's like having Lupus, it gives a very good analogy for AS/HFA:

    http://www.butyoudontlooksick.com/wpress/articles/written-by-christine/the-spoon-theory/

    ...and how the average person doesn't understand, and it's those same average people who make policies, they aren't the ones who live with this.

  • I disagree Stranger, the types of needs we have area based on a core set of traits which are peculiar to the condition (as it's a syndrome).  They could easily write policies for us.  The fact is, we all do have needs.

  • Because it's a spectrum and we all have different needs.

  • It's because we walk and talk and look normal.  The fact that in those ways it's an invisible disability means we get less sympathy, less awareness, less support.

    It's so short-sighted, because in the longer term we end up costing the services more due to impacted mental health issues as a result of struggling with no support and a regression of autism traits and coping abilities.