Autistic Abilities
Meeting with people who work for various employment agencies these past couple of years it has been impossible not to notice a consistent theme – they have nothing to offer with respect to substantive help and resources (that is, things that employers and organisations have and things which other people do). I had thought that there would be schemes and initiatives involving employers which offered people with certain disabilities and certain needs and requirements a route into work. Not a bit of it! All that is offered is advice and help how to make yourself employable and appealing to prospective employers, polishing you up to speed in the competition for jobs. In other words, nothing. The emphasis is all on you making the changes necessary to meet the requirements of the job. There are no concessions to any disability on your part, no recognition of the challenges of having a hidden disability. If it can’t be seen, it doesn’t exist.
Rather than play that daft game, I’d prefer that people with ‘special needs’ requiring ‘reasonable adjustments’ sell themselves as they are, highlighting their many and various abilities. Take a look at the list of positives on this meme: this is what autistic people can offer. Rather than have autistic people wasting their time and energy trying to bend and hammer the things they struggle with into shape, it is more productive to let them unleash their particular genius upon the world.
I make these comments in an attempt to shift the focus away from the impairment model of autism to a view which accents autistic abilities.
If autistic people struggle with certain things ‘above and beyond the norm’ (as I was told in assessment), they also possess and express positive qualities which are similarly above and beyond most other people. These are qualities which should be valued by society.
That needs ‘society’ to open up, now!
