What success have you had with promoting Autism Acceptance?

[Greatshield17]

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.

I’m all for mitigating the negative aspects of being Autistic, and I think it’s something we Autistic people should help each other out with if we ever form in-the-flesh communities. I’m also for nurturing the positive aspects of being Autistic because frankly, Autistic people who are successful in life don’t “overcome their Autism” but rather, at least 90-99.99% of the time, it is precisely because they’re Autistic that they were able to become successful!

 

[Greatshield17]

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.

I’m not talking about ”browbeating“ people, I’m talking about influencing and educating them.

 

[Greatshield17]

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."

Well, why are you here? I assume you’re here because you’re Autistic, we’re Autistic, we both understand each other really well and can communicate well without worrying about being misunderstood.

 

[velociraptor]

there'll be days when you find it to be a blessing or a curse

I've never found being an Aspie a curse. Dealing with NTs, absolutely. I don't go out of my way to promote much of anything - I'm just me. I have disclosed to my employers and it's not an issue for them. I keep getting raises and promotions so it's not just lip service.

 

[Matthias]

I’m all for mitigating the negative aspects of being Autistic, and I think it’s something we Autistic people should help each other out with if we ever form in-the-flesh communities. I’m also for nurturing the positive aspects of being Autistic because frankly, Autistic people who are successful in life don’t “overcome their Autism” but rather, at least 90-99.99% of the time, it is precisely because they’re Autistic that they were able to become successful!

Most people I meet don't know I'm autistic so getting people to accept autism wouldn't have any effect on the way most people treat me. Most people only seem to care about whether my traits or behavior affect them. If my autistic traits help me be a great employee, employers will like me. If my autistic traits result in me being a terrible friend, people won't want to be friends with me.

If you convince people to accept autism but they still feel worse around you, they will probably dislike you and avoid you. If people have a very negative opinon of autism but feel better around you, there's a good chance they'll like you and want to be friends with you despite you being autistic.

Rather than view autism as a whole, I think it's likely that most people accept some autistic traits (such as social awkwardness that doesn't harm them or make them too uncomfortable) but reject other autistic traits (such as stimming that distracts them, rigid thinking that dismisses their ideas or invalidates their feelings, or insistance of sameness that annoys them).

 

[Bolletje]

I’m not talking about ”browbeating“ people, I’m talking about influencing and educating them.

Okay. Your original post came off as if you seek confrontation with people very unlikely to listen . I question how effective this is. To me it feels like trying to convince white supremacists that racism is bad. Which is, to me, an exercise in futility.

Maybe I misunderstood what you meant, it just sounded quite combative.

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

It hasn’t happened yet but I really want to audition for RuPaul’s Drag Race and if I get accepted, I want to be the role model that kids on the spectrum desperate need and show the world that just because I have Asperger’s doesn’t mean I can’t do amazing things and that living with autism isn’t as bad as the media and parents like that bimbo Jenny McCarthy (I’m sorry for using that word but there is no other word to describe that woman) make it seem to be. I want to show the world that being on the spectrum actually gives me a quirky sense of humor and that I am a bit more creative since I don’t see things inside the confines of a box.

 

[Greatshield17]

I'm just me. I have disclosed to my employers and it's not an issue for them. I keep getting raises and promotions so it's not just lip service.

Why not point out to your employers if they’re impressed with you, that it’s probably because you’re Autistic that you do so well?

 

[Greatshield17]

If people have a very negative opinon of autism but feel better around you, there's a good chance they'll like you and want to be friends with you despite you being autistic.

Rather than view autism as a whole, I think it's likely that most people accept some autistic traits (such as social awkwardness that doesn't harm them or make them too uncomfortable) but reject other autistic traits (such as stimming that distracts them, rigid thinking that dismisses their ideas or invalidates their feelings, or insistance of sameness that annoys them).

Well this needs to change.

 

[Greatshield17]

Okay. Your original post came off as if you seek confrontation with people very unlikely to listen . I question how effective this is. To me it feels like trying to convince white supremacists that racism is bad. Which is, to me, an exercise in futility.

Maybe I misunderstood what you meant, it just sounded quite combative.

I’m talking about being against eugenics!

 

[velociraptor]

Why not point out to your employers if they’re impressed with you, that it’s probably because you’re Autistic that you do so well?

Because I have no idea if that's true or not. It could also be the case that I am successful in spite of being an Aspie (it's very stressful to phone up customers and ask for overdue payments when you have trouble with conversations).

 

[Matthias]

Well this needs to change.

By "this" do you mean people should accept negative autistic traits or that autistic people should work to overcome their negative traits?

Everyone already accepts autistic traits that don't harm them so the only autistic traits you'd need to convince people to accept are ones that harm them. The problem is that autistic people don't even accept autistic traits that harm them. For example, some people on this forum ignore me because my social communication difficulties and rigid thinking cause them to feel worse. If autistic people won't accept these traits, what makes you think neurotypical people will accept them? Would you accept someone as a friend who insisted on talking in a monologue about a special interest you couldn't care less about instead of having a normal back and forth conversation about mutual interests?

 

[Bolletje]

I’m talking about being against eugenics!

I know. You seem to be missing my point. It’s good to know your audience. People that are voluntarily watching a positive video about eugenics are not likely to change their views because a stranger on the Internet says they’re wrong.

 

[Greatshield17]

By "this" do you mean people should accept negative autistic traits or that autistic people should work to overcome their negative traits?

Everyone already accepts autistic traits that don't harm them so the only autistic traits you'd need to convince people to accept are ones that harm them. The problem is that autistic people don't even accept autistic traits that harm them. For example, some people on this forum ignore me because my social communication difficulties and rigid thinking cause them to feel worse. If autistic people won't accept these traits, what makes you think neurotypical people will accept them? Would you accept someone as a friend who insisted on talking in a monologue about a special interest you couldn't care less about instead of having a normal back and forth conversation about mutual interests?

1. I'm talking about This:

If people have a very negative opinon of autism but feel better around you, there's a good chance they'll like you and want to be friends with you despite you being autistic.

2. In regards to this:

Rather than view autism as a whole, I think it's likely that most people accept some autistic traits (such as social awkwardness that doesn't harm them or make them too uncomfortable) but reject other autistic traits (such as stimming that distracts them, rigid thinking that dismisses their ideas or invalidates their feelings, or insistance of sameness that annoys them).

There are several problems, firstly there's reducing Autism to social awkwardness, that's a huge problem, even in regards to the negative aspects of being Autistic as it ignores other negative traits like executive functioning which I struggle with a lot. On top of that, many of the positive traits of Autism are closely associated with, or exactly the same as the alleged negative traits here, like "rigid thinking," as well as closely associate or the same as social awkwardness; not to mention this goes back to argument that 90-99.99% of the time an Autistic person who is successful has not "overcome" their Autism but rather, it's precisely because they're Autistic that they're successful.

 

[Greatshield17]

Because I have no idea if that's true or not. It could also be the case that I am successful in spite of being an Aspie (it's very stressful to phone up customers and ask for overdue payments when you have trouble with conversations).

Well why not look for parts in your career where being Autistic actually has helped you be successful? Not only will it promote Autism Acceptance, but it will also help you, simply be more grateful for being Autistic.

 

[Greatshield17]

I know. You seem to be missing my point. It’s good to know your audience. People that are voluntarily watching a positive video about eugenics are not likely to change their views because a stranger on the Internet says they’re wrong.

NO! THE PEOPLE IN THE VIDEO AND THE AUDIENCE WERE A-GAINST EU-GEN-IC-S!!!

 

[velociraptor]

Well why not look for parts in your career where being Autistic actually has helped you be successful?

Probably because it's not important to me. I have too many things that interest me that I don't have time to engage with (photography and cooking especially), so I'm not going to give that time to this endeavor. My feeling is that if one is honest and is careful to do right by others, things sort themselves out in the long run. Hopefully the people who find out I'm an Aspie will look at me as a whole and go, "okay, cool."

 

[Atrapa Almas]

In your efforts to promote Autism Acceptance, what success have you had?

Lets see:

I have educated myself so I understand now better what is Autism, I have spend time in this forum learning and reading and trying to understand and accept. I think I am more flexible and better into accepting other autists, and people in general.

I have also spend time here trying some autists to acept other autists, with little success in my humble opinion. By the way:

How good are you at accepting other autists here who dont care about improving autism acceptance in society? Can you accept them?

I have hired 2 people in my workspace with lots of autistic traits. I have no idea if they are aware of it or if they actually are in the spectrum or not. I could bet they are, but thats not a valid diagnose. I will probably be forced to fire one of them, after almost 2 years he still cant do some very core tasks. Im still thinking how could I help him and trying new approachs.

I have openly talked about my autistic traits with my family with little success, with my wife with good success (despite she doesnt want to know the details) and with my daugther with success too.

Im also slowly taking the course that @VictorR promotes in their signature. I plan to add it to my CV to make it visible that I am open to work with autistic people.

So those are my experiences.

 

[Greatshield17]

Probably because it's not important to me. I have too many things that interest me that I don't have time to engage with (photography and cooking especially), so I'm not going to give that time to this endeavor. My feeling is that if one is honest and is careful to do right by others, things sort themselves out in the long run.

It doesn't take that much time, just being on here should provide you with plenty of information for you to be aware of who you are; not mention, knowing more about yourself should enable you to excel even more in your career and life.

Hopefully the people who find out I'm an Aspie will look at me as a whole and go, "okay, cool."

Frankly, this is being naive, most people are convinced that Level-3 Autism is true Autism and Level-1 Autism doesn't exist. If people find out you're Level-1 Autism and see you doing well in your life, the most likely thing they'll do, is rationalize one way or another that you're somehow, not really Autistic.

 

[Greatshield17]

How good are you at accepting other autists here who dont care about improving autism acceptance in society? Can you accept them?

To be honest it's quite hard, the worst case scenario apart from, God please forbid! me not having kids at all, is that my future kids grow-up alone in society with no other fellow-Autistic people or Autism-accepting people to support them.

I have hired 2 people in my workspace with lots of autistic traits. I have no idea if they are aware of it or if they actually are in the spectrum or not. I could bet they are, but thats not a valid diagnose. I will probably be forced to fire one of them, after almost 2 years he still can do some very core tasks. Im still thinking how could I help him and trying new approachs.

Perhaps you can find a way for that one to get diagnosed in order that he knows who he is and what his strengths and weaknesses are.

I have openly talked about my autistic traits with my family with little success, with my wife with good success (despite she doesnt want to know the details) and with my daugther with success too.

When you say "little success" are you talking about these members being Autism-deniers who view all Autism as Level-3 Autism? Or do they just not like your traits? Either way that's tough, good thing your wife and daughter accepted you, has your daughter inherited it?

Im also slowly taking the course that @VictorR promotes in their signature. I plan to add it to my CV to make it visible that I am open to work with autistic people.

Interesting, I'll have to take a look at that.