Published on 12, July, 2020
Monday I had an argument with the online ASD community I attend. As an older Aspie, I can say that ASD has completely ruined my life. I cannot count the many opportunities that I missed due to ASD.
That ASD community insists that ASD is a wonderful superpower, and if anyone has a problem is because society is not accepting it. They even disagreed with the acronym ASD since "autism is not a disorder", and insisted that ASD should not be treated since it's not an illness or a disability.
It's just me, or this point of view is becoming more and more common? Why so many people are starting to subscribe to that "social model" of ASD?
I’m not really sure why everyone is following this new trend of sweeping autism under the carpet. Which is essentially what they are doing whether they realise it or not. I do not sweep my autism under the carpet like it’s all good and everyone is fine let’s all shake hands and oh look here come the teletubbies too. Isn’t life swell!!! Nah I don’t do that. To me autism is a very serious neurodegenerative disease. I will always see it that way. But seeing it this way isnt a bad thing. Quite the opposite, instead I want to see something done to help autistic people and their families. Saying autism is incurable is kind of a buzz kill for me. I mean are you just going to go up to some mum of an autistic child who can’t speak and has to wear restrictive clothing to prevent them hitting people. And say ‘oh sorry no cure for that, you’ve got to be more accepting!! It’s all your fault, you must be parenting wrong or not be accepting enough!!’. It makes no sense. I mean you could have all the autism acceptance in the world and that kid would still probably never speak without medical intervention.
Yellow tree 118 said:To me autism is a very serious neurodegenerative disease. I will always see it that way.
This is factually wrong - you catch a disease whereas autism is a genetic condition which causes the brain to develop differently to "normal" people.
Calling it by a different name does not make it right, but I guess this may be a way of you trying to blame it for the fact you have suffered from it.
Yellow tree 118 said:Saying autism is incurable is kind of a buzz kill for me.
I get this, but it changes nothing. Finding an approach that can get society on board with accepting us would be the best place to focus your energies.
Yellow tree 118 said:you could have all the autism acceptance in the world and that kid would still probably never speak without medical intervention.
By medical I assume you mean therapy.
Yes, it is an unfortunate fact and why it is important that society is willing to put the resources in place to make this intervention easily available, affordable and destigmatised.
The battle to get autism understood by society in general is likely to take a generation or more, much like the acceptance of the LGB community and now the T and other letters. It is a long, slow process and we need to have some positivity to do it rather than rage and cancellation used as weapons.
The sooner we start to understand autism properly and disseminate the knowledge and acceptance ethos, the sooner things will improve.
It does suck that it probably won't be widespread in out lifetime though.