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Autism used in a protest campaign

longman

At a public inquiry about a wind farm recently, one of the objections raised was that it could have an impact on the health of people with autism and asperger's syndrome.

This is not without relevance. Flicker viewing from some angles and the noise produced by the turbines could affect people on the spectrum.

At the same time I wonder whether autism is being put up as spurious evidence against wind-farms whereby the major needs of people on the spectrum are not being adequately addressed. We are important when it suits some-one else.

This could apply in other contexts: new airport runways, high speed railways, large transpotrtantion centres working through the night, high voltage pylon routes, entertainment complexes using laser shows in the open, etc.

Therefore there is a real question here. What kinds of development could make life difficult for people on the spectrum?

But equally are there contexts where using people on the spectrum to prove arguments against development is an abuse of pepople with autism.

Any strong views or opinions?

  • Just a reminder that the NAS forum is about autism and related subjects. Please try to keep that in mind when posting.

    Thanks,

    philippab - mod

  • Shall I tell you what makes me angry?

     

    The fact that wind farm companies say you stand next to a wind turbine and have a conversation and therefore conclude that they are not noisy.

     

    After 25 years experience in noise and vibration control I find it astonishing that the government, rather the DECC, still claim that ETSU guidelines are adequate for large scale turbines.

     

    They are not. Turbines are over three times the height and size of the ones used for the guidelines.

    The guidelines were never adopted as a standard owing to the fact that it was drawn up by vested interest in the industry.

     

    It supposes certain incorrect interpretations from WHO such as having a louder night time noise level than daytime. So at night a wind farm can be as loud as 43dB but during the day has to be less than 40dB? Weird. Yes but because the government want loads of wind farms they won’t change it.

     

     

    It uses a flawed propagation model based on point sources.

     

    It uses average background noise levels and not absolute.

     

    When asked to change it they said they would look at the methodology but not the levels because if the levels had to change then….. You guessed it.

     

     

    What else? Oh yes the DECC say that wind farms don’t cause health problems but this is based on a study written by an acoustic consultant who has NO health qualifications.

  • I have a Master in Renewable Energy and have spent considerable time in and around all sorts of installations including wind turbines and farms and it's a myth that they're horribly noisy! 

    Grrr... this winds me up!

    You can stand at the bottom of a big wind turbine while it is turning and have a conversation with another person without shouting.

    When it's very windy the turbines have a safety cut-out so the only thing you'll be hearing is the wind.

    I dislike reflections of the sun from silver reflective windows in buildings therefore all shiny windows should be bricked up?  No.  It's temporary and I'll move out of the way.

    This is cr*p science and an abuse of autism!

    Again....Grrrr... :-|

  • I think I agree.

    The main problem with this argument is that it assumes that ALL people with ASD will be significantly affected, more so than they would if they did NOT have ASD: all people can be affected by noise etc, not JUST people with ASD. While it is true that many people with ASD have significant issues with noise, there are people with AS who only have minor issues with noise,and would not be any more adversely affected by these developments than some NTs who like the quiet life.  So my point is that adversion to the noise created by wind-farms is not ASD specific, the argument employing ASD as an objection draws a gross generalization about people with Asd (some people with ASD might even like the sound of wind-farms!), and as Longman points out, where do you draw the line? I might not like my neighbours mowing the lawn when I am trying to read, but they have every right to mow their lawn and so I have to put up with it. I do not like like using my AS as a vague excuse, particularly since people without AS might not like the noise either. I was far more sensitive to noise as a child, but because I was undiagnosed at this stage, no accomodations were put in place and 'sensory sensitivities' were unheard of, so I learnt to adapt to noise.  I am aware that many people with AS have severe sensory issues and do not wish to make light of them in any way, but sensory distress is a co-morbidity that is not intrinsic to an autism diagnosis.