Being asked to take off my hat.

I carry a card and not needed it yet as such but do we have to show anything to prove our difficulties and with the cards it not just educating the public but educating ourselves into accepting it really is okay to show this card when having difficulty.  It about accepting ourselves too.  It was given to me free on diagnosis.

But the problem I see is that whatever is used how can we reduce it so only those who are autistic or on the spectrum show it and others don't abuse it.

Dont forget for a fee of £25 a year one can always use Medic Alert items and have the medical condition Autism on it.  Expensive I agree but may well help at those times we need the extra help

I think it is more than a problem with the NAS logo.

One of the supermarkets does a £1000 donation every month, by means of customers putting a token in one of three charities. Last month NAS was one of the charities.

It got £120 share, vastly outbid by the other options, which were most unlikely things.

I don't think NAS or autism are understood

A hat can be a factor, but I'm sure some of it will be facial expression, bearing, perceived attitude. Officialdom will spot someone who doesn't look quite right to them and simply decide that person isn't conforming, and isn't going to get good customer service.

I like wearing a leather jacket and have a black American marine jacket I'm fond of but hardly wear now. Of course black leather jackets are by themselves regarded as a sign of trouble. But if I wore it I had more difficulty than usual, and I think it was a combination of the jacket and my poor eye contact, shifty look.

Let's face it, one thing NAS is ever going to do for us is shift public understanding of how autism manifests. They don't even believe in many of the manifestations themselves - not in the Triad. (Sorry I'm not supposed to say negative things - but the invisibility of autism and support for autism is a large part of the problem).

I agree in part with this. I think that the point is, most people will know the impairment that someone carrying a white stick has, it's visible (ironicaly) and obvious. But, how would you know that you are trying to speak to a hearing impaited person? They have the same issue as we do - at first sight, you can't see their wheelchair, either.

I wouldn't mind a range of items to indicate our difficulties, whether it be a badge (some would want to wear one) a card (some would want to carry one) or a wearable item. That's besides the point.

The issue is that we have no symbol. It follows that without a symbol, there is nothing to educate people with, nothing to instantly identify us, and nothing around which any publicity campaign can be centred, and that's where the problem lies.

Currently, as we have seen here, showing an NAS card to a standard copper who is just as ignorant as anyone else, gets no response. We would hope that they'd try to help when they see one, but I defy anyone reading this to show their card to any copper on the street and find one who recognises what it represents. I guess it might be possible to find an exception to the rule, but I, for one, wouldn't rely on it.

OK you AS artists out there, offer us a design, but I see nothing wrong with the current NAS logo. However, it isn't nationaly advertised and no-one is trained to recognise or understand it, and I very much doubt that the NAS has the resources to fund a TV campiagn. I don't even see the NAS sign in shop windows, to tell us that 'Here, someone is trained to help you with your/your child's needs'. That, at least, would be a start - has anyone told the supermarkets?

It may be the style of hat you may be wearing that can upset the security guards etc but am only second guessing this.

I think we need a better sign than the NAS card. Perhaps one should work on something. After all why should we wear a badge saying we are autistic and get unwanted attention from the wrong sorts.  I card yes, should be enough to show appropriate people when they are giving us a hard time but it don't really seem to be working does it. 

It is a big ask that all security people be trained to recognise when a person shows them a medical card in support that they just not being defiant towards them but just have a major problem... It be whole lot easier if people could learn to be considerate of others. Clearly some more work needs to be done in trying to educate the population that we are not deliberately seeking trouble but really are in difficulty if we comply to what they want us to do. 

I don't know of any legal stance here but with NAS; you could put together a policy and work at making it a legal issue?

I had an issue at a railway station. It's bad enough getting a train, but I can usually manage on off-peak, uncrowded ones for short journeys, and I usually keep a grip on my anxieties. Of course, with all of that weight pushing on me, it doesn't take anything at all really, to tip me over the edge...

So, it went like this. I needed to get a taxi, and at this station there is a line for taxis and they let two or three taxis onto the rank at a time. At a time like this, I need very much NOT to be standing in a queue of people. Usually, the line of people disappears, whereupon I can go forwards and get the next cab before the next train in unloads and starts the process again... I waited about 15 minutes for my turn, but standing away from the queue, of course.  On this occasion, a nasty little railway employee accused me of trying to 'jump' the (non-existant) queue. This irrational behaviour rendered me speechless. I walke away from the station and flagged a returning Hackney, because they MUST stop when hailed.

You can't see the wheelchair. We give no visible clues, we look just like anyone else, and that's where the problems lie. On another post, the poster explained that he'd had trouble with bouncers and Police officers because they failed/refused to recognise his NAS card. Clearly, then, what we need is a symbol such as the card, but it needs to be made clear, on a national level, that this is our 'wheelchair'. A lapel badge or some other wearable item might be nice. but above all, whatever it is MUST be made understood.

I wonder how we might achieve that?

Do you have an Autism Alert card and its explanation leaflet that comes with NAS membership? This may be more convincing than you just claiming an excuse.

I can relate to that only my problem is just noise levels (background music in shops) hot spotlights, too much clutter or too many people. And then there's shop staff who treat you badly because you look different. You end up avoiding lots of places.

I'm wondering if the hats rule is a recent trend or an excuse, because hats - I used to see that a lot more. Some people dont like lasers or strong spotlights so a hat with a skip seems eminently sensible.

I think you might have a good case for discrimination - simply on the visual overload issue - they shouldn't be able to enforce a rule that makes people vulnerable.

With pubs etc ask you local councillor to raise it with licensing. With shops it is probably harder, as the usual advice is, if they want to scare off customers in the current economic climate, it is their look out.

Some restaurants used to ban trainers or shorts. But once lots of people were wearing them they either gave in or went under.

There's a lot to be said for making a stand and insisting on wearing a hat. It may change the fashion, especially if the hat is designed well, cool (if that still means anything) to wear.

A problem I have in some pubs, mostly big chains, is sitting at the bar. Certain pub groups wont allow bar stools at the bar. I'm very tall. Most people hang around the bar so if there's people you want to try to be with, that's where you need to be. Trouble is I'm then stooping, and they are talking to my chest.

 Option, I get a bar stool over and sit. Oh no you can't do that in here. If you want to sit you go over there (where there's nobody else and it looks as if you're contagious)

'At the end of the day' if they think they can get away with it because they're over supplied with custom, they're probably too busy for me to go into them.