What success have you had with promoting Autism Acceptance?

[velociraptor]

Frankly, this is being naive, most people are convinced that Level-3 Autism is true Autism and Level-1 Autism doesn't exist.

No, it's being realistic. I only have so much energy and I choose to expend it on things I enjoy doing. I think it's great if others are doing advocacy. I try to portray ASD positively when I have my limited opportunities to do so.

 

[Atrapa Almas]

My family dont want me to even talk about it, not even to mention it. My dad, whose autists traits are way more clear than mines dont want to even consider being autistic. One of his brothers was a book example of an Aspie but still dont want to think about it. It seems to be a taboo in my family.

I think my daugther may have some autistic traits, softer than mines. Its more difficult to detect on girls and even more difficult to detect on high capacity girls.

My wife and me are doing a lot of work to help her understand social dinamics, what certain faces mean and things like that. I think she is better at some social stuff than me. So maybe she is not in the spectrum, I actually dont care much about the DSM definition.

 

[Bolletje]

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

There’s a nice way to go about this, you know, no need to be rude about it. This information wasn’t apparent to me from your initial post, so how should I have known?
I can only work with the information I have. Reading between the lines is hard for me, on account of, you know, my autism.

If you’re preaching autism acceptance, you might try being a little more accepting yourself. Practice what you preach and all that?

 

[Greatshield17]

No, it's being realistic. I only have so much energy and I choose to expend it on things I enjoy doing. I think it's great if others are doing advocacy. I try to portray ASD positively when I have my limited opportunities to do so.

1. Yet you have enough energy to be on here yet you don't have enough energy to feed off the information present here to better understand yourself and have more energy to enjoy the things you love more?

2. It's not realistic at all! Yes feeding some information to them might help, but if that were realistic, how do you explain the swarms of people out there demonizing Autism, believing that Level-3 Autism is "true Autism," responding to Level-1 Autistic people by at best, saying "you don't look Autistic at all," at worst attacking them saying they're not really Autistic and simply want attention or the like?

 

[velociraptor]

1. Yet you have enough energy to be on here yet you don't have enough energy to feed off the information present here to better understand yourself and have more energy to enjoy the things you love more?

2. It's not realistic at all! Yes feeding some information to them might help, but if that were realistic, how do you explain the swarms of people out there demonizing Autism, believing that Level-3 Autism is "true Autism," responding to Level-1 Autistic people by at best, saying "you don't look Autistic at all," at worst attacking them saying they're not really Autistic and simply want attention or the like?

Just to be clear:

You're not the boss of me.

How I spend my time is my business. I joined looking to find some people who think like me that I can relate to more easily than NTs, and I have. I also joined with the expectation of meeting people with their own rigid beliefs that would bump up against mine (hi there). While I wish you luck with your mission, your mission is not my mission. My mission is to take great photos and crank out damn good roast beef. And occasionally stick googly eyes on product in Walmart because googly eyes.

Cheers.

 

[Greatshield17]

My family dont want me to even talk about it, not even to mention it. My dad, whose autists traits are way more clear than mines dont want to even consider being autistic. One of his brothers was a book example of an Aspie but still dont want to think about it. It seems to be a taboo in my family.

I think my daugther may have some autistic traits, softer than mines. Its more difficult to detect on girls and even more difficult to detect on high capacity girls.

My wife and me are doing a lot of work to help her understand social dinamics, what certain faces mean and things like that. I think she is better at some social stuff than me. So maybe she is not in the spectrum, I actually dont care much about the DSM definition.

I'm sorry to hear that, although things are probably worse off for them, as they are frankly, repressing reality; they're doing terrible damage to themselves. I should know, I wasted years downplaying the fact that I'm Autistic and it did terrible damage to me, I'd be much better off now if I never did that. Please God! I really hope and pray that I don't make the same mistakes again when I move to Chile! Unfortunately people like this harm more than just themselves, like I've said before, I'm deeply concerned about what will happen to my own future children if Autistic people don't rally together and do more to promote Autism Acceptance.

That's really interesting the things about your daughter. I have mixed feelings about the DSM and Self-Diagnosis, on the one hand I think we should stay faithful to the scientific data as best we can (minus of course, the defining of Autism by exclusively its negative traits), on the other hand, I have, and plan on printing out more, various diagnostic materials so that, on the off-chance that the bad guys succeed in redefining Autism as exclusively Level-2 and/or 3 Autism; I can still diagnose my own kids and have them know who they are, and what their strengths and weaknesses are, regardless of what the power-that-should-not be say.

 

[Greatshield17]

Just to be clear:

You're not the boss of me.

How I spend my time is my business. I joined looking to find some people who think like me that I can relate to more easily than NTs, and I have. I also joined with the expectation of meeting people with their own rigid beliefs that would bump up against mine (hi there). While I wish you luck with your mission, your mission is not my mission. My mission is to take great photos and crank out damn good roast beef. And occasionally stick googly eyes on product in Walmart because googly eyes.

Cheers.

I never said I was the boss of you, I am simply pointing out that things are the way they are.

If you think you can manage doing things this way so be it.

 

[Greatshield17]

There’s a nice way to go about this, you know, no need to be rude about it. This information wasn’t apparent to me from your initial post, so how should I have known?
I can only work with the information I have. Reading between the lines is hard for me, on account of, you know, my autism.

If you’re preaching autism acceptance, you might try being a little more accepting yourself. Practice what you preach and all that?

I am practicing what I preach, that's why I'm moving to Chile.

I did say that in the original post.

 

[Greatshield17]

There’s a nice way to go about this, you know, no need to be rude about it. This information wasn’t apparent to me from your initial post, so how should I have known?
I can only work with the information I have. Reading between the lines is hard for me, on account of, you know, my autism.

If you’re preaching autism acceptance, you might try being a little more accepting yourself. Practice what you preach and all that?

I'm sorry, I'm tired of not being listened to.

 

[VictorR]

Frankly, this is being naive, most people are convinced that Level-3 Autism is true Autism and Level-1 Autism doesn't exist.

how do you explain the swarms of people out there demonizing Autism, believing that Level-3 Autism is "true Autism," responding to Level-1 Autistic people by at best, saying "you don't look Autistic at all," at worst attacking them saying they're not really Autistic and simply want attention or the like?

I have, and plan on printing out more, various diagnostic materials so that, on the off-chance that the bad guys succeed in redefiningAutism as exclusively Level-2 and/or 3 Autism;

With all due respect, I am completely unfamiliar with this majority of the population which is on a crusade to redefine what is currently ASD1.

In my experience, most people are indifferent about autism, the same way they are indifferent about any conditions that do not directly impact them or someone close to them. It's not that they don't care, but rather, that they don't have a reason to care.

Indifference and ignorance are simply indifference and ignorance. They do not equate to hatred or dislike.

Please rest assured that to the contrary, that we, collectively, are in the early stages of a paradigm shift in how neurodiversity is viewed and treated in workplaces and the community, and it's for the better. But like many things, it won't happen overnight, and it may be decades before we see a different, friendlier and more accommodating world for everyone.

 

[Greatshield17]

With all due respect, I am completely unfamiliar with this majority of the population which is on a crusade to redefine what is currently ASD1.

You just quoted me saying exactly not that! I said that people want to define Autism, not Level-1 Autism, Autism, all of it, as Level-2 and/or 3 Autism and deny that Level-1 Autism even exists; they’re doing it because we Level-1 Autistic people do too well and are too happy with being Level-1 Autistic and for them, that can’t be right, because Autism must be a horrible awful thing!

Indifference and ignorance are simply indifference and ignorance. They do not equate to hatred or dislike.

I never said it’s due to hatred or dislike, although historically it has been excessively demonized.

Please rest assured that to the contrary, that we, collectively, are in the early stages of a paradigm shift in how neurodiversity is viewed and treated in workplaces and the community, and it's for the better. But like many things, it won't happen overnight, and it may be decades before we see a different, friendlier and more accommodating world for everyone.

First of all even if that’s true, it’s no excuse to just sit around and wait for it to happen. Secondly, you don’t understand how societies work people won’t just accept us for who we are just because we say so or even if we back it up with facts; we need to form a self-sustaining community that can fit into human society, it‘s only when we do that will we be accepted, otherwise we’ll only be seen as either persons who “suffer from Autism,” or not really Autistic at all but just weirdos trying to be special; and if we’re successful in life, it’s either because we “overcame” the horrible Autism, or because again, we’re not really Autistic because Autism must be bad.

 

[Atrapa Almas]

I feel sad.

Sometimes we seem to be just broken. Unable to listen but wanting to be listened. Unable to accept but wanting to be accepted. Unable to understand but wanting to be understood. Telling others what to feel and believe while asking others to not tell us how to feel and believe...

One post, another post, and another post. I guess this is the way it is. This is part of us. Its sad, so much wasted potential.

I was probably like this when I was young. How many people may I have hurt this way? How many? Do I still do it? Am I still blind to this and I hurt others without noticing? Probably.

I guess I need to accept it, this is not an exception but the norm. Most of us behave like this, I suppose thats why many of us chosse NTs or solitude.

We should have been named "Converters" instead of "Autists", wanting others to think like us, convicing others of our truths while ignoring theirs. Such wasted potential.

Maybe Im just tired, and sad. I need to rest. Sorry for the vent.

 

[Greatshield17]

I feel sad.

Sometimes we seem to be just broken. Unable to listen but wanting to be listened. Unable to accept but wanting to be accepted. Unable to understand but wanting to be understood. Telling others what to feel and believe while asking others to not tell us how to feel and believe...

One post, another post, and another post. I guess this is the way it is. This is part of us. Its sad, so much wasted potential.

I was probably like this when I was young. How many people may I have hurt this way? How many? Do I still do it? Am I still blind to this and I hurt others without noticing? Probably.

I guess I need to accept it, this is not an exception but the norm. Most of us behave like this, I suppose thats why many of us chosse NTs or solitude.

We should have been named "Converters" instead of "Autists", wanting others to think like us, convicing others of our truths while ignoring theirs. Such wasted potential.

Maybe Im just tired, and sad. I need to rest. Sorry for the vent.

But there is much we do agree on, we agree that Autism is genetic, or at least those of us like being Autistic and want to push for Autism Acceptance, most of us on here agree that Autism Acceptance is acceptable; and I assume most are okay with me having a lot of Autistic children. In a sense I don’t even care whether or not things are moving in the right direction, I mean I stand by what I’ve said that things aren’t that simple and it’s not how human society works, but in a sense it doesn’t even matter, because I just want to do what I can to make sure Autism Acceptance is achieved, regardless of which way the tide is going.

All I’m asking for on this thread is what can I do to make the push for Autism Acceptance how do I go about advocating for it?

All I want is:

1. For my future children to grow up in a world where Autism isn’t demonized, where people openly fantasizing about a world where there are no Autistic people and how wonderful that world would be.

2. To support the Autistic community and do what I can to help my own people.

 

[Greatshield17]

Well regardless I need to focus on moving to Chile, so I’m requesting that this thread be closed.

I don’t care if I have to go it alone, if my future children have to grow up without an Autistic community to support them, if all people can think of doing is just sitting around and waiting and hoping that things go well, so be it! I will still fight tooth and nail for this and for my children!

If anyone has any other ideas, they can PM me.

 

[VictorR]

You just quoted me saying exactly not that! I said that people want to define Autism, not Level-1 Autism, Autism, all of it, as Level-2 and/or 3 Autism and deny that Level-1 Autism even exists;

Redefining the autism umbrella to exclude ASD1 and redefining ASD1 to be something else are two different ways of saying the same thing. We're on the same page / I understood perfectly well what you were saying.

they’re doing it because we Level-1 Autistic people do too well and are too happy with being Level-1 Autistic and for them, that can’t be right, because Autism must be a horrible awful thing!

I never said it’s due to hatred or dislike, although historically it has been excessively demonized.

You're implicitly stating that the majority of society is out to get us. While you may not have said "hate" or "dislike", your use of words like "demonized" more or less convey the same meaning.

Since you are repeating your statements and doubling down, I'm going to have to ask you for evidence of this excessive demonization, as you call it.

(It seems ironic that I'm playing Devil's Advocate here)

First of all even if that’s true, it’s no excuse to just sit around and wait for it to happen.

Who said that I or anyone else was sitting around? I've taken time off work to participate in and provide feedback on government consultations, worked with non-profits / service organizations on resources, in addition to helping individuals access information and advocacy support. These are real actions with real results. Not big results, but results which will overall help in the long run, not just for the autistic community, but the neurodiverse community, the greater disability community, and all equity-seeking groups. We all desire a better future and we can all do our part to pitch in however we can.

While not everyone has the same ideas or approaches, and some might not be compatible with each other, I wish the best for everyone.

Secondly, you don’t understand how societies work people won’t just accept us for who we are just because we say so or even if we back it up with facts; we need to form a self-sustaining community that can fit into human society, it‘s only when we do that will we be accepted, otherwise we’ll only be seen as either persons who “suffer from Autism,” or not really Autistic at all but just weirdos trying to be special; and if we’re successful in life, it’s either because we “overcame” the horrible Autism, or because again, we’re not really Autistic because Autism must be bad.

That was mean.

May peace be with you.

 

[Fino]

Yeah, I haven't encountered much of these anti-autistic people. Are these things you read online? Online is filled with filth.

 

[velociraptor]

Yeah, I haven't encountered much of these anti-autistic people.

My employer and co-workers have actually been extremely supportive and open to suggestions. I appreciate their consideration.

 

[Bolletje]

I am practicing what I preach, that's why I'm moving to Chile.

Yes, but you're not practicing acceptance of your fellow people on the spectrum and the way they choose to handle life and work with autism. The acceptance that you also preach.
If you want to, as you say, promote autism acceptance, wouldn't it be a good start to respect and accept other people with autism, even if they don't 100% agree with you?

 

[Greatshield17]

Several years ago I got into repeated arguments with members of a group I'm a member of, because I was having repeated issues with the leaders and how they were managing things, and it was causing issues for me. Well the people dismissed me and mocked me said false things about me behind my back and, long story short I walked away from those particular persons in May, (There was much more going on, frankly I probably should have walked away when I discovered that they were gossiping about me; not doing so made things so much worse for me and for other people both directly and indirectly involved) that Summer, I didn't predict this nor foresee it, but things involving the leadership blew-up in everyones' faces, it blew-up so bad that, if I were to tell you what it was, you probably wouldn't recognize the name we call it or the specifics of what happened, but you would easily recognize it and what it was.

I really hope and pray something similar doesn't happen here, because again it'll also effect my future children; I really hope and pray it doesn't, but I cannot deny what I see and have seen and heard. And no, I don't have the time to go through the evidence and logic to prove this to you.

 

[Matthias]

All I want is:

1. For my future children to grow up in a world where Autism isn’t demonized, where people openly fantasizing about a world where there are no Autistic people and how wonderful that world would be...

I wish you'd understand that people can accept you and any autistic children you may have without accepting your opinion of autism. The reason some people would like to see a world without autism isn't because they hate autistic people but because they believe people with autism would be better off if someone cured their autism in the same way that some people may think people with schizophrenia would be better off if someone cured their schizophrenia.

If people need to accept autism to accept people with autism, why not push for acceptance of other conditions as well? "All I want is for my future children to grow up in a world where Psychopathy isn’t demonized, where people openly fantasizing about a world where there are no Psychopaths and how wonderful that world would be."