Published on 12, July, 2020
In England, under English Law (Mental Health Capacity Act, Vunerable Adults Act, Disability Discrimination Act, Equalities Act, Autism Act, etc), are adults with an ASD considered to be disabled, mentally disabled, vulnerable adults, or similar?
And if so, what are the legal rights of such ASD suffers, what are they entitled to that differ from a non-ASD person, so on and so forth, etc?
(I have Asperger Syndrome and suffer badly from depression, anxiety, paranoia, fear for the future, difficulty coping with change, etc. So I am wondering whether I am considered as having a disablity, a mental disability, and/or considered a vulnerable adult.)
You pose an interesting argument Longman, which concerns philosophy and ethics.
Should AS just be seen as negative? No, I don't think it should. Many AS individuals are very determined, conscientious and diligent, and these are traits that I can claim as my own. I have been to my local uni and achieved a 2.1 History Degree, so it is possible to be academically intelligent and to have AS, indeed it is actually very common. But the question is whether or not we can cope in the real world and for most of us the answer we be 'no'. I agree that Aspergers is a continuum, but normally the condition entails significant difficulties of one sort or another, or associated mental health problems. For example, I struggle with OCD and anxiety.
Were you privately diagnosed or were you diagnosed on the NHS? I was diagnosed on the NHS, although I was considering the private option because of the long waiting lists, but I came to the conclusion that NHS diagnosis is more objective and it is accepted by all authorities.