Hey NAS we are different not disabled

I don’t know - I sometimes feel society is oppressing me particularly in the area of disability discrimination which may be illegal but is also very difficult to prove unless the offender / oppressor is stupid enough to put it in writing.

Ian said:

We need an organisation that will fight for our right to be neurodivergent, not collude with the oppressor!

Who is oppressing us? I certainly don't feel oppressed - sometimes disadvantaged or misunderstood perhaps.

Ian said:

We may need some environmental provisions to function effectively, or to have information presented in particular formats.

That is like saying wheelchair users only need some environmental provisions like ramps, hydraulic steps on busses etc.

It still adds up to the same types of changes that any group of other disabled people need, but with autism being a spectrum then the range of things is wide, inconsistent in its need and often variable in when it needs to apply.

Our needs are likely too complex to have any one-size-fits-all solution but without the access label of a disability classification then nothing would be open to us.

My opinion is that the existing solution of a disability classification is better than any of the alternatives so far presented as it allows us to request solutions based on our individual needs and not based on other parts of the spectrum that don't affect us.

The NAS is, first and foremost, a multi-million-pound disability business. It runs schools, care homes and other institutions, and gets paid by local and central government for doing so. The company makes its money by providing services for the least-able members of our community who need "care" and, yes, sometimes supervision. I am guessing that many of the care staff are just doing a job as they would in any other care home, working to feed themselves and their family, and that includes the managers, accountants, HR people, salespeople and publicists.  The NAS is, in Weber's terms, a bureaucracy. It follows a "welfare " model of "expert providers" who provide institutionalised care under the guise of benevolence, provided they are the cheapest bidder.

There are many autistic people who hold down responsible jobs - university professors, teachers, doctors, social workers ... and who are beginning to "come out" as neurodivergent. The last thing we need is to have the largest autism charity telling the world that we are the neurological equivalent of Tiny Tim, poor little psychological cripples. Autism is a learning difference that applies to a significant part of the normal distribution. We may need some environmental provisions to function effectively, or to have information presented in particular formats.

It is unfortunate that the only current way in which one can access appropriate provisions requires us to assume a mantle of "disability" in order to qualify under the Equality Act and other legislation. It is not like being gay, black or trans, where one can self-identify as a minority and qualify automatically for equal treatment. We still have to go through the medical model of "diagnosis" or the welfare model of "needs assessment" to have our differences validated.  We need an organisation that will fight for our right to be neurodivergent, not collude with the oppressor!

Ausomely Autistic said:

I don’t like the term special needs,

Many autists do have special needs though.

Some cannot speak on the phone due to various autism related issues

Some cannot tolerate being around groups or crowds

Some cannot tolerate loud noises, types of lighting or smells

Etc

The needs are legion and it is because of this that I believe we need this term whether it applies to me personally or not - we need to look at the bigger picture of our tribe in my opinion.

I don’t like the term special needs, I think it is infantilising and inaccurate. We have human needs like every one else and every human has different needs.

You are very welcome!

I know that in certain discussions it can be hard to disagree with other people’s opinions but everyone’s experience of being autistic is different.

Hear, hear..

Can't believe I've been using alarms on my phone when I already had one installed in my bladder

I have a special need to live in a world that makes sense, where I am loved and I make a useful or positive contribution.

When my pee turns dark and burny, then I know it's definitely time for a drink...

i have a similar issue with the BBC implying that all people with autism have special needs. Some people with autism may have special needs but there are also people with autism who do not have special needs.

Fibonacci Squid said:

For me one of the things my autism causes is an extreme lack of introception. I do not recognise my hunger, thirst, temperature differences, needing the toilet, etc until it is causing extreme physical symptoms, and this has led to many health problems. This is disabling regardless of the social model in which I exist, and whether I am around people or not.

Yes, me too. I do feel that the social model of disability applies to some of my other autistic traits, but I'd struggle to avoid (usually fairly mild, to be fair) dehydration in any situation because I just don't realise I'm thirsty.

To be honest, I don't think it'll ever be as simple as 'autism is a disability under the medical model', or 'autism is a disability under the social model', or 'autism is not a disability'. That answer changes from one person to another, and even in the same person the answer might be different for some of their autistic traits compared with others.

Thank you!

Thank you.

VLD said:

All her life my daughter has fought the stigma that being Autistic was defined as, first a "learning disabilty" and now a "disability".

As autonomistic has pointed out, the definition of a disability clearly matches that of autism.

VLD said:

It has destroyed her life, made her feel inferior and sapped her self  confidence.

I think you will find it is autism that is responsible for this, not the label of disability that it carries. If I'm wrong then please explain what the cause and effects are here to enlighten us.

VLD said:

Then to find that the source of this bigotry is the definition on the NAS website makes me incandescent with rage.

The definitions are not the source of any bigotry - people are the source. If you have people discriminating against someone with a disability then that makes them criminals - that is where your rage is best focussed agaist in my opinion

I don't believe this site claims to represent you - it is a collection of support and advice for people whether they are autistic or have connections with those who are.

If you took time to post here about the challenges you face then you may find we are a great support system with a lot of good information to help you come to your own conclusion about what to do.

I agree..

You don’t need to apologise, your experience of being autistic is perfectly valid!

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.

The ‘lifelong condition’ concession made by the community for Autism is one of the strongest boons they could have given us, you may consider the word ‘lifelong’ to be a curse on its face, but in the background it is a blessing because it has made it so that bureaucrats cannot take it away from us.

At the end of the day ‘different’ isn’t going to get us the support we need from the community, only ‘disability’ can help us with that, painting ourselves as superhero’s only gets us hurt in the long-run..

I know, very funny. If you found that funny, you may like this discussion:

https://community.autism.org.uk/f/miscellaneous-and-chat/33518/what-if