What success have you had with promoting Autism Acceptance?

[Greatshield17]

In your efforts to promote Autism Acceptance, what success have you had? As I’ve mentioned before, a lot of the time I get ignored by people, you’d think at least the Autism-deniers would confront me and try to argue that I’m not really Autistic but instead, I get nothing. I know the best thing I can do is practice what I preach and focus on moving to Chile, be open about being Autistic, get together with the fellow-Autistic woman whom I believe is my future wife, get married and have many children. But I often get the urge to do something in the meantime, and often there are occasions that arise where I feel like I need to say something; like for example, I may come across (hope this isn’t too hot button topicy or the like) a video on eugenics and I’ll post a comment on it saying something along the lines of:

“Hey I’m Level-1 Autistic, and the woman whom I’m quite sure is my future wife is also Level-1 Autistic, are you quite okay with us having lots of kids? I know most people on here believe that Autism is not genetic but is caused by modern toxins and the like, but say for the sake of argument that Autism is genetic (which it is) are you comfortable with us being fruitful and multiplying?”

What success have you had with promoting Autism Acceptance? What is your experience like?

 

[Raggamuffin]

Not everyone will be accepting, whether autistic or not. I feel no need to promote acceptance, as its none of my business pushing beliefs onto other people. I accept that there'll be differences of opinions in the world and leave it at that.

The higher chances of my child having autism, depression, ADHD or anxiety is one of numerous reasons why I think its immoral for me to have kids.

Ed

 

[Ronald Zeeman]

I'm just living my life, do not spend a lot of time worried about what others think, just leave me alone. Politics and religion are personal and best kept private.

 

[Crossbreed]

IMX, most (uninitiated) people readily accept/acknowledge ASD2/3, just not ASD1.
They can understand physical & cognitive deficits, but not social ones.

 

[Greatshield17]

Non-Autistic people will not tolerate us unless we find some way to make our community part of society, for them, Autism must conform to their false-belief that Level-3 Autism is "true" Autism and anyone who is happy being Autistic either isn't really happy or isn't really Autistic.

If we don't do something, they will either re-define Autism as level-3 Autism or find some other way suppress us.

 

[Greatshield17]

The higher chances of my child having autism, depression, ADHD or anxiety is one of numerous reasons why I think its immoral for me to have kids.

This thread is for people who like being Autistic and want to support each other. Thinking it's bad to have Autistic children logically implies that one does not like being Autistic; wanting to deprive our future generation of fellow-Autistic people does not support the Autistic community.

 

[Slime_Punk]

Mostly I just want to find acceptance for myself, not so much change the minds of others. To use the analogy that I like the most, The Creator™ (or creators / evolution / genes, depending on what suits you best) put us on a lower rung with a higher difficulty than NTs, and that's that. All we can really do is make the most of it and live well in spite of our additional problems. Showing kindness to the ignorant, being a beacon of light in the darkness, or whatever you want to call it is all part of promoting acceptance, and that's probably all I can really do.

That's kind of why I'm here; I mean, you guys are awesome, so it makes me feel better about having ASD when I engage in a community full of great people who share the same neurodiversity as me.

 

[Slime_Punk]

I also want to admit that, prior to my diagnosis, I was also very ignorant, just like some NTs are. I looked down on people for things they couldn't control, I didn't understand how to truly have empathy for others, and I was convinced that I was just the unluckiest person on earth who had it worse than everybody else. So I definitely know that it's usually coming from a place of ignorance and very high privilege, so I try to also have empathy for people who simply haven't had to go through a complete crisis and reinvent themselves to become a better person.

Sorry for the rant, just wanted to point out that those people don't know what they don't know, if you get what I mean.

 

[Raggamuffin]

This thread is for people who like being Autistic and want to support each other. Thinking it's bad to have Autistic children logically implies that one does not like being Autistic; wanting to deprive our future generation of fellow-Autistic people does not support the Autistic community.

This forum is for everyone, not just people who agree with your views. Autism is a spectrum, and there'll be days when you find it to be a blessing or a curse.

Ed

 

[Greatshield17]

This forum is for everyone, not just people who agree with your views. Autism is a spectrum, and there'll be days when you find it to be a blessing or a curse.

Ed

This forum yes, but this thread is about promoting Autism Acceptance, not reducing the Autistic population or thinking it’s better that children not be born because they’ll have a few off days.

 

[Raggamuffin]

A few off days? I think that's grossly minimizing the mental health impacts and co-morbidities of autism.

Ed

 

[Aspychata]

I would like to think the world has accepted me but it clearly hasn't.

As far as children, they do need a more caring and sensitive approach. Like homeschooling for perhaps the early years or a smaller school. And realize that to be financially sucessful can take a bit of work for some of us with our social abilities and navigating the NT world. But if you wish to have children, it sounds like a great idea, and l wish you only success.

 

[Greatshield17]

A few off days? I think that's grossly minimizing the mental health impacts and co-morbidities of autism.

Ed

You’re talking to someone who, last time he took the AQ test, scored quite high on it; who has been struggling executive functioning to get ready to move to Chile, but is happy embrace the hard work of a farmer down there for the sake of living an independent life.

You know, one hypocrisy I see with some people is, they often criticize young people for constantly seeking comfort and convenience and avoiding a hard life; yet when it comes to us, we must sacrifice being Autistic for the supposed comfort and convenience of not being Autistic.

 

[Matthias]

IMX, most (uninitiated) people readily accept/acknowledge ASD2/3, just not ASD1.
They can understand physical & cognitive deficits, but not social ones.

They understand the social traits. They just don't agree with you about what causes them.

 

[Matthias]

You’re talking to someone who, last time he took the AQ test, scored quite high on it; who has been struggling executive functioning to get ready to move to Chile, but is happy embrace the hard work of a farmer down there for the sake of living an independent life.

You know, one hypocrisy I see with conservatives is, they often criticize young people for constantly seeking comfort and convenience and avoiding a hard life; yet when it comes to us, we must sacrifice being Autistic for the supposed comfort and convenience of not being Autistic. (I’m not saying conservatives actually argue this, again no one has really debated me on this; but this is what logically comes out if you put things together.)

The impression I get from many people is that they think autism is a mental illness. Like people with other mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety, they want people to exercise personal responsibility and make an effort to overcome their problems instead of burdening the rest of society with them.

 

[Knower of nothing]

I've never encountered something that would require me to push for autism acceptance yet. I'm aware of some of the extreme takes on it, but when those takes are coming from people that simultaneously say a million other insane things it somehow seems so unimportant. They're not in charge of anything anyway.

 

[Crossbreed]

...put us on a lower rung with a higher difficulty than NTs, and that's that.

"Lower" (& "higher") are subjective. I prefer less mean (μ).

 

[Ronald Zeeman]

I never saw myself as on the spectrum, never diagnosed, so never saw myself as damaged or needing to be fixed.
Now that I am pretty sure I am on the spectrum I see it as a gift, I would not give it up or even try to fix. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

 

[Fino]

The places I choose to go to and the people I choose to talk to accept me, but I don't know anything about this abstract collective "us."

 

[Bolletje]

I don’t think it’s possible to force acceptance on people. I believe true acceptance has to come from within and can’t be browbeaten into you by someone else. So in that sense, no, I’m not working to promote autism acceptance. I feel pretty accepted overall.

I do occasionally remind people I’m on the spectrum (because it’s not something they think about on a daily basis) and I correct acquaintances when they say something incorrect about autism. I also like to educate people that are open to it. I don’t think I’ll achieve much by seeking out and confronting people that have negative views about autism.