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Is autism an excuse for bad behaviour?

Autistic Not Alien

What do you think about this?

I think using autism as an excuse for bad behaviour is itself very naughty. When famous people do this, it harms autistic people because it implies that autism is a bad thing. Autistic people have enough difficulty gaining acceptance and understanding in this world – the ‘autism made me do it’ excuse makes advocacy and survival even harder. I've just posted a video about this [content removed by Moderator due to breaches of the online community rules and guidelines].

Parents

  • No, it's not an excuse for bad behaviour.

    I do think we need some reasonable consideration and accommodation (I'm very aware of this at work at the moment) so that we're not forced into unfortunate behaviours, but autism is *never* an excuse for violence, bullying or any other kind of "dodgy" behaviour.

  • in reply to A

    Ok but putting my devils advocate hat on. Would you apply that to a child having a meltdown at school if it turned violent?

    It's been my observation that never is a word people throw around too easily. There is usually some exception and rarely are they able to offer a rational justerfacation why the exception should apply in some cases and not others.

Reply
  • in reply to A

    Ok but putting my devils advocate hat on. Would you apply that to a child having a meltdown at school if it turned violent?

    It's been my observation that never is a word people throw around too easily. There is usually some exception and rarely are they able to offer a rational justerfacation why the exception should apply in some cases and not others.

Children
  • in reply to Peter

    I been told that cause I was going through my diagnose that I can’t use my diagnose if at the time as an excuse for my behaviour. So since November I had to leave my family home and sofa service 

  • in reply to Peter

    I can’t disagree with any of that Peter Thumbsup

  • in reply to A

    I think part of the point is there is a space between acepting that autism is an excuse for an issue and ignoring the issue alltogether. If an autistic kid is punching his teachers autism 'might' be a valid excuse but it doesn't mean they should ignore the issue. Just that taking a punishment aproch will be counter productive. Because punishments are designed to show people they are at fault and disuade them from repeating it. Punishing autistic kids for things caused by their autism isn't productive. It just encurages more conflict. Because they don't feel agency in their situation and the punishment only enforces this sence of lack of agency. Adressing the triggures for the behaviour and focusing on coping stratergies for them is more productive.

    I would argue the same aproch is often true for adults. If an adult is causing unreasonable disruption because of their autism a punishment aproch is not good. And if the 'disruption' is just some hurt feelings I feel the consequences are way to low to ever justify a punishment aproch.

  • in reply to Peter

    It’s a fair question, and a complicated one.

    In my own case meltdowns are rare and are provoked by things I shouldn’t have had to put up with in the first place. I don’t know if that’s true for everyone else. My point being that they are effectively a response to mistreatment and therefore to some degree defensible. (I should also say I’ve never been violent even in these circumstances).

    However, if someone is having a violent meltdown it’s not really fair to expect parents or teachers or whoever to accept being punchbags.