To celebrate World Autism Acceptance Week, the National Autism Society posted ten memes with quotes from autistic people giving insight into autism from their own experience.
I shall give the quotes and comment briefly on them, as appropriate. I shall then add some more quotes from autistic people involved in promoting Autism Acceptance.
To begin, I shall briefly explain the reasoning behind "Autism Acceptance."
People have advocated for “Autism Awareness” for many years now. The lack of significant change, however, has made it clear that awareness is not enough. Raising awareness of autism is not the same as increasing and deepening an understanding of autism so as to bring about the changes needed in society so as to enable autistic people to play a positive role.
With respect to the dominant CBT models, it is worth noting that the societal, the environmental, and the relational are missing; all the changes take place in the mind, putting the burden of responsibility entirely on the autistic person. It's not enough, it addresses only half of the issue.
Awareness merely means acknowledging that something exists, it doesn’t necessarily imply a modification of behaviour in light of that recognition. Autism Acceptance is precisely what is needed to make the transition from knowing that autism exists (and maybe sympathising, or feigning sympathy) to understanding what autism is and making appropriate changes to the mutual benefit of each and all. This is not a case of autistic people vs neurotypical people, although this contrast is frequently made, but of appreciating the differences of each and in a mutually happy unfolding. I define 'happiness' here in the sense of a flourishing existence. A little help and support can go a very long way for those struggling with the demands of social connection. It really doesn't take much to unleash the unlocked potential of so much. People with autism require understanding, not sympathy; they require a genuine and deep appreciation on the part of others of their struggles, their unique qualities, and their intrinsic value.
Autism is a strange condition. Whilst I wouldn't wish the pathological pains I suffer with respect to noise, uncertainty/change, and anxiety on anyone, neither would I swap the euphoria and ecstasy that comes with pursuing my passions and special interests to the nth degree for 'normality.' I frequently enter the world where heights and depths are compassed to merge as one. And I am willing to bet that not many people do, other than sages, saints, mystics, and madmen (and women). I am whole and wholesome, and in much better shape than the world around us.
For more information, advice, a quick and concise guide, and deeper guidance, visit:
https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/what-is-autism
I come now to the quotes on the memes issued by the National Autism Society.
"Living in a world that isn't designed for us can make autistic people feel anxious and overwhelmed. Sometimes we communicate this through a meltdown or shutdown."
Unfortunately, people can take such a reaction to be evidence of anti-social behaviour on the part of autistic people. This can lead people to think that autistic people prefer to be alone and are best left alone. Meltdown and shutdown go much further than reserved social behaviour and can make people think that autistic people are mentally unstable. Such behaviour has nothing to do with mental illness. It is self-preservation on the part of autistic people, essential to their recuperation. The solution to problems of meltdown or shutdown grace of social encounter is to change the social situations autistic people enter by cutting down lines of communication and restricting contact with a few trusted friends and colleagues. You need to simplify in order to create the conditions in which you can flourish in all your complexity.
That's not always possible, of course, least of all in the world of work. It is a social problem, a problem of how the individual relates to the social group, and can only be resolved in those terms.
"Autistic people experience the world differently to non-autistic people. Autism is a spectrum condition, which means we have different experiences to each other too."
Autism involves a different way of processing information. If this doesn't mean better, neither does it mean worse. It can be both (depending on what we take to be the norm, which is another question). Neither better nor worse, just different. The problems come when you have to work on the same things the same way at the same pace as others. Lacking internal filters and editors, all the information of the environment comes at you AT ONCE. Overwhelmed, you can end up looking slow and stupid when in fact you are processing much more information than others are.
Which leads directly to the next quote.
"Autistic people are often very good at taking in details, and we might need more time to process information as thoroughly as we like to."
Speaking for myself here, I am very porous, taking in all kinds of information from everywhere at once. I have a great grasp of detail. In social connection I need time to process the mass of information I receive. It should come as no surprise that I took to history like a duck takes to water, mastering detail seemingly effortlessly.
"Autistic people may 'mask' in order to fit in with non-autistic people. This can be exhausting, so you can help by letting us be our authentic selves."
Autistic people, if they wish to participate in society, will more than likely have to 'mask' to a very large degree. This requires immense strain and effort on their part.
The bitter irony is that in being so good at mirroring and masking, you fit in with society so well that your autism goes undetected, if not exactly unsuspect. As a result, you end up so exhausted as, maybe, to develop chronic illness; you secure a referral, receive a diagnosis, and think you may now access help and support. Instead, through CBT and such like, you get invited to start adapting, fitting, and accommodating yourself all over again.
Masking is mentally and physically exhausting and deeply damaging to your mental and physical health. Be your own peculiar self.
"Autistic people often communicate differently to non-autistic people, and can communicate better with each other. Often, we like to be honest, precise and well-informed."
I'm a little ambivalent on this one. I can understand what it is saying with respect to the autistic character. But there is more to be said.
The quote has two related parts.
Let me take the first part first pertaining to communication. Autistic people can be blunt, direct, to the point. Non-autistic people can find this rude, unnerving, lacking nuance and social nicety. Between autistic people, however, the communication style flows easily.
The second part concerning honesty, precision, and being well-informed requires further elaboration. There can be a tendency for a person's autism to emerge early in the shape of the 'little professor.' This may continue with tendencies of some autistic people to develop a superiority complex, claiming to be truthful, factual, and truthful in contradiction to the poor, benighted masses and their ignorance and superstition. Whilst autistic people can value truth, and be socially inept in their belief that truth always trumps feeling, emotion, and situation, they may not always be as well-informed as they think they are. Autistic people have special interests and can research them at length, but in a particular and selective way. They can be sticklers for accuracy when it comes to their favourite subjects. But a lot more needs to be said before putting autistic people on a pedastal. Honesty could easily be manifested as rudeness, precision as a pedantry that misses social context, and well-informed as an aborption in a special interest that neglects much information from elsewhere.
I'm not happy with this quote and think it doesn't quite express what it wants to express.
"Autistic people can be very good at focusing, and may dedicate themselves to a special interest that they pursue with great passion."
Autistic people can indeed be well-informed when it comes to their special interest. That's not quite the same as being well-informed. My school record was patchy in the extreme. If I was interested in a subject I emerged as highly intelligent; if I wasn't interested, I slumbered near the bottom of the class. That unevenness has remained.
I have a few special interests. Make it philosophy and people think you are a genius; make it Elvis, and people think you are an idiot. It's all the same to me.
"Some autistic people are very sensitive to sound, light, smell, taste and touch, but others are less sensitive to certain things. It's best to ask us."
My sensitivity to noise is pathological. When being assessed, however, I indicated that I have no issues with light and smell. I hadn't given the question enough thought. The truth is that I have been exercising such a rigorous control over my environment for so long that I failed to see that I had developed techniques for having light just as I like it and cutting smells out. I'm not one for sprays or anything, and openly object to the washing machine being used in my presence. I have a violent reaction to the smell of washing power and liquid. I had simply got so used to cutting it all out in my life that I declared that I had no problem. Working at a hotel this past year, a job which involved polishing and cleaning, I soon realised that I did have a problem with smells.
"Because the world isn’t designed for autistic people, we have access and support needs. These are different for every autistic person, and can change over time."
Good luck with this one. It is hard enough to get 'society' to offer any help with access and support, let alone change them according to the different needs of each autistic person, and change them as needs change over time. This quote states a problem that hasn't even started to be addressed.
"Many autistic people also have learning or physical differences and disabilities. Some need 24-hour care, while others need limited specialist support."
There is no homogenous autistic condition or community. One size most definitely will not fit all. Just one.
It goes without saying that it is impossible to generalize. I'm razor sharp and quick, a confident communicator one-to-one and a quick study. When the numbers of people are increased and lines of communication become many, I lose track of what is being said and by whom, and withdraw into survival mode. So you need a deep dive on this. I have a short piece on difficulties and disabilities on this site entitled Learning Difficulties are Learning Differences
"People of all ages, backgrounds and genders can be autistic. Many people face barriers to getting an official diagnosis, but this is improving over time."
Every kind of people. There is a big push for diversity in promoting autism awareness these days. I don't want to see this being done at the expense of advancing understanding of autism as such. I'm seeing the assertion that autism isn't just about straight white males being made so often and so stridently that I'm starting to think I'm being overlooked, again. Point made, autistic people are all kinds of people. Move on.
Let me come back to autism acceptance.
You don't have to accommodate me. I urge acceptance as something that is mutually benefitting, as well as being just the right thing to do. I insist on autism acceptance, but wouldn't enforce it. Call me an idealist, but I trust to people's good natures coming through to deliver all good things in a society of volunteers. I think that is the basis of enduring change, a change that has deep motivational and existential roots.
Likewise, I don't have to mirror and mask just to fit in with people and things I don't particularly like.
And I am dead against enforced teams and compelled speech.
As one of life's awkward squad, I'm usually one of the people on the receiving end of being forced and compelled by authorities of one description or another. And I've never liked it. They have no authority over me and do not have my interests at heart. I have a brain and a conscience, and am open to being persuaded and move. Like other people.
"Autism acceptance to me means to be included, to be understood, and to be celebrated. I think with all of those things, that is true acceptance." (Christine McGuinness).
I would add that true acceptance is conditional on those societal changes which would enable autistic people to play positive roles in society, as befitting their talents, interests, and abilities, no longer having to waste most of their time and energy in the constant effort to cope and survive.
"As a neurodiverse person myself, I want to see real change in the real world regarding how autistic people are thought about and treated." (Kimberley Nixon).
You don't have to be a genius or good at maths or be some world-changing scientist or painter or poet in order to be valued. I keep reading claims that Wittgenstein, Einstein, Leonardo and other worthies were more than likely autistic, as if you have to do something undeniably brilliant to have your worth appreciated. Not so. That you may be counted among such company may well be a great confidence booster, mind. But people are to be valued for themselves and not for their extraordinary abilities and achievements. Just everyday people, like everyone else. Just peculiar in different ways. Seeing and doing things differently. Different strokes for different folks.
"To me, autism acceptance means to accept myself wholly, especially the parts of myself that I've spent a lifetime trying to change to fit the neurotypical world narrative." (Alex Heron)
With acceptance comes authenticity, shedding the feeling that you are somehow lesser than others on account of never quite meeting the requirements of the neurotypical world. Never ever allow yourself to be bullied into being accommodated and thereby resigning yourself to be much less than you are. You won't find peace that way, only a profound pain and suffering.
"Autism acceptance isn't just about acknowledging differences. It's about creating compassion, staying educated, and trying to make sure everyone understands even just a little bit about autism." (Amy Willerton).
Awareness changes nothing. Awareness merely means acknowledging that autism exists; acceptance ensures changes in light of awareness. With acceptance and understanding comes the possibility of change.
"Autism acceptance means the world to me. But the confusion I've encountered since my diagnosis suggests that acceptance and understanding are still a way off." (Jack Thorne).
There's no "suggests" about it - acceptance and understanding are a long way off. Indeed, after a little progress in the right direction, there are signs of retrenchement and a coming austerity, as authorities express a concern to check the rise in the numbers of people being diagnosed as autistic.
In my experience, there is precious little help and support available to autistic people, beyond advice and guidance as to how you can best help yourself (as though autistic people haven't being doing this already by way of their coping and survival mechanisms.) I have had this view confirmed by the people I have come in contact with in the past couple of years. The newly diagnosed say the same thing over and again with respect to post-diagnosis disillusionment as to how little help and support is available to them - little as in none. The links and contacts given at the back of the AS Report raise false hopes that change for the better is coming, only to invite a slow and cruel disillusionment, not only wasting time and energy, but crushing hope so ruthlessly and emphatically that only despair remains. It would be better if the authorities simply advised 'there is no help, be prepared to fight, fight, and fight again'. The same old, same old, then. Austistic people have been fighting their entire lives. With diagnosis, they had rather thought peace was around the corner.
It is evident that the authorities and various organisations can only do so much and no more. It seems that resources are not going to be expanded to the required level. So what is to be done?
I'm a strong believer in mutual aid, forming an autistic grassroots that powers from below the national campaigns seeking changes above. I also argue for developing 'citizen autists' through self-advocacy. But I'm in a position where I can 'talk tough' politically. I'm a confident communicator, well-educated, and a fairly irrepressible and indomitable force personally. Not everyone is. People need help and encouragement to come out of themselves, to know and name their needs, and not only ask for them but demand them. That's far from easy. If people were able to do all that, they would not be as marginalised and ignored as they are. But it is still possible to 'body-build' capacities, on a personal basis, but even better within the context of a social movement and support network. There's a need for some such development. It seems clear to me that successive governments could care less and are happy to leave autistic people and their families spitting in the wind.
