Why do we disagree with each other all the time? Because we are individuals. In this blog, ‘Autism – The start of the journey of knowledge’, I will be touching on the divisions within the Autism community.
Autism community, should you be saying that?
The answer to this is that I don’t know. I thought I did, when I self studied the subject many years ago. I studied this topic to learn a bit on the subject due to someone close to me being diagnosed with Autism. At the time I thought I had learned enough of the basics to help this person, but reflecting on that time I now see things in a different light. After reading lots of information from a lot of different Neurodiverse people with different view points, it became clear that I needed to start again.
Clinical knowledge
That’s what the learning was first time around, very clinical. I read books talking about the triad of impairments, and about brain functions. I saw information about the warning signs to look out for when seeking diagnosis. Yes, warning signs. I did not think about the language that was used in some of these books. I was caught up the science of it, and how to apply it to people. It was very… Impersonal. Sure there were some points that have stuck with me that still make sense, some common threads that still ring true. But now that I am engaging with people on the spectrum on a more personal level, I definitely have a lot more to learn. That is why I refer to this blog as the start of the journey of knowledge. I am learning about Autism all over again with a change of approach.
We are all a little bit Autistic… is simply NOT true.
I am guilty of saying this in the past, when I first looked into the traits of people on the spectrum. I would find a few that I had and say ‘Yup, I’m a little bit Autistic’. But these thing I have in common with some people on the spectrum exist because we are all human. I am not ‘a little bit Autistic’, we are just all a bunch of individuals with some over lapping aspects that may be the same. For example, there are certain social situations that I find difficult, in the same way someone with Autism would. Does not mean I’m Autistic, it just means we share something human.
The start of the journey has also pointed to a divide.
There are disagreements about the language used, about methods used to deal with everyday life, certain symbols and certain ‘cures’… I am not going to pretend I know what is right here, at least not at this stage. And I am probably going to make mistakes whilst learning, especially when it comes to writing things on here. I will learn, I will improve. Autism – The start of the journey of knowledge starts right here.
We are all individuals, we are all unique. We can all be the Ace in the pack. If you have not done so already check out Oddsockloc on Twitter
