Published on 12, July, 2020
(from a discussion I joined in Reddit)
I have been noticing a trend of people who claim that autism is not an disability, I think there were even some people who were asking to remove it from the classification. Do these people not realise the harm they are making to other autistic people, and themselves, just because they have a prejudice against the "disability" designation?
Last year I got my ASD diagnosis, after my social life was ruined by burnouts and horrible blunders.
It is taking all that is in me to admit to myself that I can not do certain things, it is taking all that it is in my self to cope that can not fight my social awkwardness and that this is the only way I can keep socialising with the people. In the best case scenario I end up looking like the "weird one" or the "clown friend" again, it is taking all in me to accept that I have this disability and that I need some accessibility for things.
And yet people keep working to feed this prejudice that many of us have to work against in ourselves.
Every time that I feel I can not express the way I feel or think, it honestly feels like my body is a trap sometimes.
I cannot read body language and vocal cues. Dogs can. I am less functional than a goddamn dog. That's not the fault of society for not being accommodating enough.
I cannot drive at night, bright lights give me an headache and trigger a meltdown. That's not the fault of society for not being accommodating enough.
I cannot stand loud TV or radio. Everybody else can. That's not the fault of society for not being accommodating enough.
I cannot read a map or find my way around an unfamiliar place. That's not the fault of society for not being accommodating enough.
I have poor fine motor control skills. That's not the fault of society for not being accommodating enough.
Something *is* wrong with my brain. I *am* disabled. I need accommodations to function comfortably, and that's okay. It's nothing to be ashamed of because it's not my fault. I did no wrong; I just have a brain that didn't develop correctly. We need to get rid of "AuTiSM Iz MaGiKaL SupErPoWeR". It is not. It's an horrible disability, and my only hope is that someday there will be a way to prevent it.
To be honest, I think that those people saying that ASD is not a disability are either subscribing to the social theory of disability (total lunacy), deluded, or they have such a mild form of ASD that ASD is not a disability for them. I call them the "TikTok autistics"!
No. You cannot police how other people feel and talk about their autistic experience.Some of us don't feel like it's a disability, or don't feel like it is a disability in the same sense as other conditions.I'm never going to talk about myself in terms of deficits and hold an imaginary standard most people even the "neurotypical" ones don't reach up on a pedestal, just because someone else thinks their life sucks and autism is the boogey man.
I'm coming up to the anniversary of my diagnosis. Possibly the thing I've struggled with the most, is the word disability. I used to believe I could do anything I wanted to, to be told at 50 something, actually you're this, was kind of a body blow.
However, I now accept that yeah this or that happened and there was sweet fa that I could do about it as I was/am autistic. That's not defeatist, I now realise I need to find different ways of dealing with situations, but yeah, it's a disability. I think people who say it's not just haven't found the thing yet that's stopped them or aren't being honest with themselves.
There are situations I used to put up with, that I no longer do as I understand how draining it is for me, so some people say I've changed and I just think, yeah cos I'm no longer prepared to put with that and I'm not going to.
Do I think it's horrible, no, do I think it's a superpower, no, do I recognise it as both a strength and a weakness, yep I do.
It was not posited as a serious suggestion. I am at a loss to how anyone could imagine that to be the case. It was used as an extreme case (not intended to be taken at all literally) to illustrate the valid logic of the social theory of disability. Frankly my dear, my flabber has never been so gasted.
I think the truth is all dog breeds occasionaly attack humans. So each time one does it's getting banned if it does damage (especially to children). What this likely means is only the physicaly week dogs (especially in terms of jaw strength) will be left eventually. ... large working dogs may last longer, because their owners have a buissness intrest in them there will be more push back.
jack russles are worst, i hate them the most. violent little dogs.i dont get why the gov bans bulldogs and so on when they are softies, but yet they allow these little yapping ankle biters run at people and threaten everyone they see. jack russels should be banned i think
sadly true
People who are ignorant are deliberately so - and even when knowledge, insights and information is presented to them, they still stubbornly refuse to acknowledge and refuse to understand anything outside of which they have already made thier minds up about, point blank disagreeing with the other person for its own sake and invalidating anything that a person with autism says, seeing it as a disability even if it’s not, using this either way as an excuse to invalidate and discredit the other person with disability via groupthink, accusing the other person with disability of wrongthink - they believe that a person with autism is both stupid has no IQ and has mental health issues, must not be allowed to live alone and that the only way to manage autism is via ultra strict military style discipline, the harsher and stricter the better - the only way to get through to such people is if someone in a much higher position than them forcefully and firmly tells them that they are wrong, because if we try to do it, we will just be dismissed and ridiculed, just like with most targets of bullying
Back on topic (to the relief of all the dog lovers) my view is that autism is a disability, as I posted here a couple of months ago.
https://community.autism.org.uk/f/adults-on-the-autistic-spectrum/33670/hey-nas-we-are-different-not-disabled
"Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society."
The challenges that autistic people face mean that we certainly find some things more difficult and can be discriminated against at every stage in life.
Being classed as disabled gives us important and fundamental rights under disability discrimination laws, such as the Equality Act 2010. They are essential in order for us to be able to function in a world that is not designed for us.
This topic is always going to spark debate in the autistic community. However those who post on social media don't seem that relatable to me and my own personal struggles throughout life. I've never used TikTok and probably never will.
l would be happy to trade my 'tism for a visible physical disability. My life would have been much better.
Number said:I very often don't rate the company that they "hang" with. I am intolerant of yappy dogs but can often see why they are shouting all the time. I would be, in their paws!
I very often don't rate the company that they "hang" with.
I am intolerant of yappy dogs but can often see why they are shouting all the time. I would be, in their paws!
Very true!
the perfect world for each single disabled person just does not exist and cannot exist. That theory is complete lunacy, like 99% of modern social science. Disabled people need adjustments and provisions. They also need to accept that some places and activities will be forever denied to them. What disabled people DO NOT need is a theory based on a world that does not exists
they can, some of the smaller breeds are quite intelligent (Jack Russell, Border Terrier and the like). They just do not give a damn
Calm down, calm down then. Move along here. Nothing to see.
I do like a dog.
so true, complete side track!
That's another vote from me.
Those small yappy aggressive dogs are the bane of my life and the noise they make is the worst form of sensory torture for me.
This world would be much more tolerable if everyone who wished to own one of those dogs would just go and live somewhere else, preferably another planet!
I love how a discussion on autism as a disability can evolve into a discussion on banning dogs. It could only happen on an autism forum
I mean the DSM and ICD both list personality disorders as diseases.
A disability vs 'personality traits'?
Everyone on the spectrum is different of course and everyone has different needs. But not everyone with Autism is a high achiever. In fact you can just look at the stats and see that they aren't. What would a utopia look like for Autistic people? I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have us all working in remploy factories.
That's what used to irritate me about certain circles on the internet.
Some would say it's not a disability, others would say it's not a disorder, others would say it's not a condition it's a neurotype etc. It's just far too much and I felt like there was a lot of pressure on me to pick one, knowing that I'd get attacked if I dared say "autism is a disability".
There are one or two influencers who I won't mention who I think are contributing to this 'autism is the latest online fad' mood that appears to be developing. It makes it much more difficult for the rest of us to believed and recognised.