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NAS does it again

electra

I am applying for help through Access to Work. They have agreed that I can have a workplace assessment from the NAS.

So far so good, but the NAS leaflet I am supposed to give my employer talks about autism spectrum disorder. In huge letters. I'm autistic, I don't have a disorder. Even the government doesn't use the term in its Autism Strategy and our council doesn't use it either.

If I give this information to my employer it will further downgrade my abilties in their eyes. I will feel demeaned and compromised. I know the assessment will be done by someone who regards me as having a disorder.

 NAS, please stop doing this to us

Parents

  • How much does this one keep bugging us? For my part, I came to this forum relatively recently. Since then, I've thought of myself as a person on the autism spectrum so tend to use AS person. Not ideal, but I certainly distance myself from the spectrum of micro-labels because they are, by nature, discriminatory. I like autism spectrum, without additional adjectives such as 'mild or 'high/low fiunction'. It's a widely inclusive term.

    I don't like to make micro-judgements within that. We do, after all, share common characteristics that, as many people point out, we handle to a better or worse degree according to what's going on at the time. I agree, just because I'm coping today doesn't guarantee anything other than that I'm coping today.

    I'm annoyed that the moderator has chosen to refer us to the survey that the NAS carried out. I think we made the point sufficiently that the least represented group in that survey was US. I certainly recall, for instance, sharing a set of objections with Longman, but we heard no mnore about it. We're left, it seems, to accept the labels that the majority of non-AS people decided they like better.

    I have to say, though, that if we can't organise ourselves into using a single 'label', we can't really say much against any of them, but I'd certainly be interested in getting involved in the discussion, provided it only involves AS people. If we speak with one description, and one voice, then at least we 'firm up' our identity and make it easier for other people to respect our collective decision.

    I'm 'different', the same as any other AS person. It's an identity, not a label.

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  • How much does this one keep bugging us? For my part, I came to this forum relatively recently. Since then, I've thought of myself as a person on the autism spectrum so tend to use AS person. Not ideal, but I certainly distance myself from the spectrum of micro-labels because they are, by nature, discriminatory. I like autism spectrum, without additional adjectives such as 'mild or 'high/low fiunction'. It's a widely inclusive term.

    I don't like to make micro-judgements within that. We do, after all, share common characteristics that, as many people point out, we handle to a better or worse degree according to what's going on at the time. I agree, just because I'm coping today doesn't guarantee anything other than that I'm coping today.

    I'm annoyed that the moderator has chosen to refer us to the survey that the NAS carried out. I think we made the point sufficiently that the least represented group in that survey was US. I certainly recall, for instance, sharing a set of objections with Longman, but we heard no mnore about it. We're left, it seems, to accept the labels that the majority of non-AS people decided they like better.

    I have to say, though, that if we can't organise ourselves into using a single 'label', we can't really say much against any of them, but I'd certainly be interested in getting involved in the discussion, provided it only involves AS people. If we speak with one description, and one voice, then at least we 'firm up' our identity and make it easier for other people to respect our collective decision.

    I'm 'different', the same as any other AS person. It's an identity, not a label.

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