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NAS perpetuating autism stereotypes?

Hope

The NAS has a document about the special attributes people with autism are supposed to have which are commendable in the world of work, such as reliability, attention to detail, technical ability; etc. However, while as with every stereotype there is some truth to this, it does not reflect the lived experience of many on the spectrum.

Take attention to detail and ability to focus. Yes, it is true that people with autism often persist at tasks they are interested in, sometimes at the expense of everyday demands such as eating and organising one's life. Often the focus is very narrow and highly specific, as they will zoom in on part of a task and will not see the big picture. This can be a real problem in a work place environment unless the task is very repetitive and specific, such as computer coding. However, not all people with autism are interested in or excel at computing, and so this can be an unhelpful stereotype. This is particularly the case if, like me, they have spatial awareness difficulties or dyspraxic traits.

Also, many people with ASC have ADHD traits, and this can counteract attention to detail in some situations, resulting in careless mistakes because of poor attention and distractibility.

Again, ADHD  and dyspraxic traits can undermine reliability, particularly if the person also endures chronic anxiety, which is common in ASC.

People with autism can make good employees in a supported environment with the right reasonable adjustments; but everyone with autism is unique and glib generalisations can actually be quite damaging because they do not always reflect reality for many people on the spectrum, myself included.

 

Parents

  • I agree with Hope and Azalea about the stereotyping. I keep raising this on here and with NAS, but they don't seem to be listening - I suspect that NAS, like some health professionals, - take the view that because we have the condition we are incapable of having a perspective on it, except to be briefed to emulate the stereotype on the odd panel.

    It is too simplistic. The stereotypes fit some people, maybe only a few. The rest of us are being prevented from exploring our potential because opportunities are not being created/identified.

    Of course I don't mean NAS should only list reasons why we might let an employer down and be hopeless - is that this "black and white thinking" sterepotype again?  - either we are good at the stereotypes or hopeless? I despair of certain narrow perspectives based on one autistic life.

    Pandoren is right too - there is this notion amongst health professionals that autism is about not being able to speak properly, and that all this non-verbal stuff is nonsense. On the contrary many people on the spectrum can speak competently. The difficulty is generating the correct non-verbal responses to back this up, and reading other people's non-verbal correctly. It is because of that we miss cues, misunderstand the drift of a conversation, appear rude or insensitive or inappropriate, misunderstand metaphors etc. But somehow these characteristics have got muddled up as being a language deficit. NAS is every bit as guilty of this.

    Focussing on detail is valid, but as Hope says missing the wider picture often leads to mistakes, and certainly did for me. With support however some of us can apply some skill in detailed analysis. I just don't know how universal this is, if at all, and I doubt if NAS knows the answer either.

    I keep going on about the computing and numbers thing. Being good at computer games may not be an aptitude for all computing. Some people have excelled in aspects of computing and have found careers doing it. But a lot of other people haven't - so why does NAS keep telling employers this stereotype?  Likewise aptitude for numbers does not mean good at mathematics.

    I think it is a crying shame that we are so misrepresented, and denied other possibilities, because NAS cannot be bothered to take this seriously.

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  • I agree with Hope and Azalea about the stereotyping. I keep raising this on here and with NAS, but they don't seem to be listening - I suspect that NAS, like some health professionals, - take the view that because we have the condition we are incapable of having a perspective on it, except to be briefed to emulate the stereotype on the odd panel.

    It is too simplistic. The stereotypes fit some people, maybe only a few. The rest of us are being prevented from exploring our potential because opportunities are not being created/identified.

    Of course I don't mean NAS should only list reasons why we might let an employer down and be hopeless - is that this "black and white thinking" sterepotype again?  - either we are good at the stereotypes or hopeless? I despair of certain narrow perspectives based on one autistic life.

    Pandoren is right too - there is this notion amongst health professionals that autism is about not being able to speak properly, and that all this non-verbal stuff is nonsense. On the contrary many people on the spectrum can speak competently. The difficulty is generating the correct non-verbal responses to back this up, and reading other people's non-verbal correctly. It is because of that we miss cues, misunderstand the drift of a conversation, appear rude or insensitive or inappropriate, misunderstand metaphors etc. But somehow these characteristics have got muddled up as being a language deficit. NAS is every bit as guilty of this.

    Focussing on detail is valid, but as Hope says missing the wider picture often leads to mistakes, and certainly did for me. With support however some of us can apply some skill in detailed analysis. I just don't know how universal this is, if at all, and I doubt if NAS knows the answer either.

    I keep going on about the computing and numbers thing. Being good at computer games may not be an aptitude for all computing. Some people have excelled in aspects of computing and have found careers doing it. But a lot of other people haven't - so why does NAS keep telling employers this stereotype?  Likewise aptitude for numbers does not mean good at mathematics.

    I think it is a crying shame that we are so misrepresented, and denied other possibilities, because NAS cannot be bothered to take this seriously.

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