Published on 12, July, 2020
I have never been cool, and I never will be. So, to hear people claim that being autistic is a ‘trend’ is as laughable as it is offensive. I never wanted a label to be special. The autism label has opened a door to understanding how my brain works and who I am. I have no desire to be cool, and plenty of desire for knowledge and acceptance.
Autistic Not Alien: 'It's cool to be autistic...' WHAT?![edited by moderator]
It is probably partly due to the large increase in the numbers of people being diagnosed. This is seen by some as an 'epidemic of autism', where it is really due to the recognition by clinicians that autistic people without intellectual disability can be equally validly autistic and can have debilitating problems. This is fed into by the view widespread in the general population that anyone who is reasonably functional in society cannot be autistic. When these people come across autistic people who are in relationships, hold down jobs and pay their mortgage, they are very doubtful of their autistic status.
Martin said:This is fed into by the view widespread in the general population that anyone who is reasonably functional in society cannot be autistic. When these people come across autistic people who are in relationships, hold down jobs and pay their mortgage, they are very doubtful of their autistic status.
I think it's a tricky one. It's easier to entertain the possibility such a person is behaviourally autistic, than to see such a person as being disabled. A random question that crossed my mind. Can disability be defined comparatively? How well does an autistic person who's employed and in a relationship compare to a demographically matched non autistic person? I was lucky enough to be with someone for 22 years and married nearly 19 years. It ended when she died. For the last 3 years of her life she had vascular dementia. On the other hand I never had paid employment. Whilst I can see that such a person is behaviourally autistic, and may or may not be disabled, I struggle to identify with a 'high achieving' person with an autism diagnosis.There are more than a few here that I believe fit into that 'high achieving' category. There are conversations here that I lack the life experience to join in with.