• Replies 5 replies
  • Subscribers 79 subscribers
  • Views 2986 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
Related
Hints and tips
  • To quote someone's message, first select/highlight the relevant text, and then use the Quote button that appears
  • To "mention" someone, type @ followed by the start of the forum name, and choose from the list; that person will get a notification of being mentioned

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?

Parents

  • 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.

Reply

  • 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.

Children
No Data