Business Directory for Self Employed

Just for info:

To access We Are Autistic's peer-to-peer community for autistic adults (ie an online forum like this one) costs £6.79 per month, which comes to £81.48 per year.

That money is paid a private limited company that's owned by one person. Of course, as a member of that community, people are also trusting their personal information to that company.

By contrast, this forum is - of course - run by a UK registered charity, and can be joined and used completely free of charge.

There's also the option to join the National Autistic Society, which does far more than just provide this online community. When paid via direct debit, NAS membership currently costs just:

• £8 per year at the concessionary rate, or
• £26 per year at the standard rate.

I'm proud to be an NAS member. I'd encourage anyone else who is willing and able to also join and support its work. Membership includes a quarterly members' magazine (sent by post), and access to a members-only Facebook group.

Join the National Autistic Society

This forum is free, and is worth what it costs. I am irritated by moderator-bots that seem to "flag" posts more or less at random. Personally I think users should be allowed to remain anoymous if they wish, or to post real names and details if they prefer. I am assuming we are all grown adults, and I resent the patronising attitude of NAS and treating everyone as "vulnerable". If I were allowed to use my real name and details you would be able to look for me on a number of sites, whether that be the NAS Ditectory, LinkedIn or the BASW website. (Actually another user has already established, with my permission, that I can contacted using my "permiited" first name and details from my profile, so anonymity is spurious.)

 As a potential client, I would hesitate to do business with someone who was just a number or a name like "Furry Cactus"  (I hope there is not a user with that name, if so any similarity is purely unintentional.)

If WEA is linked to a Limited Company, the company is required to be registered with the Information Commissioner's Office and comply with Data Protection legislation, as is the NAS.

Ian said:

Personally I think users should be allowed to remain anoymous if they wish, or to post real names and details if they prefer. I am assuming we are all grown adults, and I resent the patronising attitude of NAS and treating everyone as "vulnerable".

I feel that the current setup in respect of safeguarding measures is exactly the right way to run this forum. 

A significant proportion of autistic people also have learning disabilities. The forum is also open to children aged 16 and 17.

Our traits and/or comorbidities can indeed leave many of us vulnerable to exploitation or manipulation (including via social engineering). 

The original post related to a "Business Directory for the Self-Employed " - I am suggesing that it should be acceptable to say  " My name is John Doe and I run an underwater basket-weaving business in Barsetshire. If you want to see my products, go to my web site -  soggyreedproducts.fake " without breaching the terms of service.

We certainly need to take sensible precautions, and that may mean moderation and taking down suspicious posts. Obviously there is a need to protect individual privacy. We don't want Ms Snooks using her real name to write  " My son Jimmy Snooks goes to Rubbish Heap Primary in Ambridge and his year four teacher Mrs Miggins is a bully, what should I do? " That is common sense, whether the writer is autistic or not.

Whilst it is true that a signific number of autistic people do have learning disabilities, many do not. Indeed, we are now beginning to see that autism is a developmental  >difference< like being left-handed. More individuals are aware of autism, ASD, ADHD, SpLD etc., and are seeking diagnosis and "coming out" as neurodivergent. There is anecdotal evidence that autism is often found in highly intelligent individuals, as well as those with severe intellectual impairment; possibly that is because those at each end of the bell curve are seen as "special" and get psychological assessments.  Yet clinicians still define autism as a "Disorder" rather than a difference in "normal" development.  Why do some autistic people accept the medical deficit / disoprder model and allow themselves to be pathologised? More to the point, why do they then pathologise their peers?

There are many autistic individuals who hold down responsible, high-pressure jobs as teachers, university professors, lawyers, social workers, psychologists etc. or who  have high profile careers in business; as such they are no more vulnerable to exploitation than their neurotypical colleagues. I am guessing that in some respects a tendency to critical, literal thinking could be an advantage.

I heard on the radio that the banks are introducing legislation to compensate "victims" who make online payments to fraudsters. If you would not give a suitcase full of used tenners to a stranger in a pub car park with an amazing investment opportunity, why would any sensible person do the online equivalent?  Yet it appears that many "normal" neurotypical bank customers do just that. Yesterday I had to go through twenty questions before my bank "allowed" me to transfer £500 of my own money to the guy who came to repair my fence. If I had told the bank that I am autistic, and by your description "vulnerable to exploitation or manipulation" they would probably have closed my account on the spot!

As an autistic social worker I am trying to do what people on this forum have been asking for - i.e. to educate my colleagues about how to work effectively and respectfully with neurodivergent service users, and to respect their right to autonomy.  It does not help my case when other autistic individuals focus on our alleged "vulnerability" based on a diagnosis.  The Mental Capacity Act requires assessors to start from the assumption that an adult has capacity, and is entitled to make their own choices unless and until the convese is proven. Maybe if we were to treat each other as competent adults in the absence of evidence to the contrary, then we could expect others to do likewise.

The original post related to a "Business Directory for the Self-Employed " - I am suggesing that it should be acceptable to say  " My name is John Doe and I run an underwater basket-weaving business in Barsetshire. If you want to see my products, go to my web site -  soggyreedproducts.fake " without breaching the terms of service.

We certainly need to take sensible precautions, and that may mean moderation and taking down suspicious posts. Obviously there is a need to protect individual privacy. We don't want Ms Snooks using her real name to write  " My son Jimmy Snooks goes to Rubbish Heap Primary in Ambridge and his year four teacher Mrs Miggins is a bully, what should I do? " That is common sense, whether the writer is autistic or not.

Whilst it is true that a signific number of autistic people do have learning disabilities, many do not. Indeed, we are now beginning to see that autism is a developmental  >difference< like being left-handed. More individuals are aware of autism, ASD, ADHD, SpLD etc., and are seeking diagnosis and "coming out" as neurodivergent. There is anecdotal evidence that autism is often found in highly intelligent individuals, as well as those with severe intellectual impairment; possibly that is because those at each end of the bell curve are seen as "special" and get psychological assessments.  Yet clinicians still define autism as a "Disorder" rather than a difference in "normal" development.  Why do some autistic people accept the medical deficit / disoprder model and allow themselves to be pathologised? More to the point, why do they then pathologise their peers?

There are many autistic individuals who hold down responsible, high-pressure jobs as teachers, university professors, lawyers, social workers, psychologists etc. or who  have high profile careers in business; as such they are no more vulnerable to exploitation than their neurotypical colleagues. I am guessing that in some respects a tendency to critical, literal thinking could be an advantage.

I heard on the radio that the banks are introducing legislation to compensate "victims" who make online payments to fraudsters. If you would not give a suitcase full of used tenners to a stranger in a pub car park with an amazing investment opportunity, why would any sensible person do the online equivalent?  Yet it appears that many "normal" neurotypical bank customers do just that. Yesterday I had to go through twenty questions before my bank "allowed" me to transfer £500 of my own money to the guy who came to repair my fence. If I had told the bank that I am autistic, and by your description "vulnerable to exploitation or manipulation" they would probably have closed my account on the spot!

As an autistic social worker I am trying to do what people on this forum have been asking for - i.e. to educate my colleagues about how to work effectively and respectfully with neurodivergent service users, and to respect their right to autonomy.  It does not help my case when other autistic individuals focus on our alleged "vulnerability" based on a diagnosis.  The Mental Capacity Act requires assessors to start from the assumption that an adult has capacity, and is entitled to make their own choices unless and until the convese is proven. Maybe if we were to treat each other as competent adults in the absence of evidence to the contrary, then we could expect others to do likewise.