Published on 12, July, 2020
All her life my daughter has fought the stigma that being Autistic was defined as, first a "learning disabilty" and now a "disability". It has destroyed her life, made her feel inferior and sapped her self confidence. Then to see the BBC describe autism as a "lifelong disability" made me furious. Then to find that the source of this bigotry is the definition on the NAS website makes me incandescent with rage. I too am Autistic. The NAS does not represent me or my daughter. The challenges which Autistic poeple face are not what we are but how we are misunderstood. For the NAS to insist on perpetuating these myths makes you part of the problem. I can only presume your definition of Autism was written and approved by a bunch of, perhaps well-meaning, poeple who suffer from Autism Deficiency Syndrome and who lack the flexibility of thought that Autism gives us and we, in turn, have given the world the technology which I am using to write this.
I'm sorry, but I experience my autism as a disability in many ways. I'm glad for you if you don't, but your experience is not the experience of all autistics.
Disability or not, most people simply refuse to understand autism and adopt a “one size fits all” approach and expect people to “just” conform and to be compliant and obedient without question, as we saw during Covid and given the traditional Irish Catholic model of disabilities in general, reminding people constantly about what they are “not able for” and demanding that people with autism simply “stay quiet” - even those who have experience of autism are incredibly impatient with those with autism and think they “know it all” and believe that the only way to manage autism is by means of ultra strict discipline to keep behaviours/symptoms of autism firmly under control, especially with childhood autism