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ConverseFan
Blue Jay
Blue Jay

Joined: 14 Jul 2019
Age: 25
Gender: Male
Posts: 89
Location: West Coast

26 Jul 2019, 5:59 pm

jngyslate wrote:
ConverseFan wrote:
For me it is. I have challenges with everyday tasks and people can tell that I am unusual. I act differently I guess. I have challenges with talking, Its not really my thing unless its a special interest. Even then its not the best. I still need a little bit of supervision because of impulse and decision making issues. I honestly don't always pay attention to my surroundings. I try though. I tend to wander off. People get annoyed by that. Most caretakers or teachers I have had, have had to know about that. Its a thing I am known for. I have usually been in special education classes because I have a hard time learning things in bigger classes. If I am in a regular class, I usually sit in the back at a different table. I don't mind that. Its probably easier for my teacher that way. People in regular classes are generally really nice to me. A lot of them will take the time to talk to me because I like to wear band shirts and I have worn interesting shoes before. I also like to laugh at their jokes. I do not do some of the stuff they do though such as driving. I have dated a bit though. Its harder for me to join in conversations though and I tend to get overwhelmed or I seem like I am not interested. I usually am interested, I just like to look at my surroundings more. Field Trips are weird for me because when I was in a general class once, we went on a lot of field trips to the university and I had an aide along with me. People thought that was weird and I got embarrassed. I also have issues with following instructions, they usually have to be written out. I guess life would be easier if I could listen better. I also have what my parents consider developmental delays. I do not know how I feel about that though. I was late with a lot of milestones though such as walking and talking. I also still do not talk in an appropriate way for my age. People can be really weird, because they do not think I can understand them and they will ask people around me about me. I do not really like that. I am thinking about getting a card I can give to people that explains a little bit about my challenges and lets them know they can talk to me. I do not mind being talked to, its unexpected touch or being approached from where I cant see people, that I do not like. Yeah, I am considered "special needs" by a lot of people. I try not to let it define me and I always try to work on what is challenging for me. Right now I am working on saving my money better, I get paid for doing chores such as washing the dishes, watering my neighbours plants when they are away, hanging the laundry up and doing other things that people want me to do. I am also working on counting change better so that I can be more efficient when I pay with coins. It takes me a while because I struggle with math.



you sound like a lot of fun tho id love for us to wander off and find fun stuff to do LOL


Thank you. I do like to wander off to have fun. I usually do find fun things to do. I notice things other people don't sometimes



Mona Pereth
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 11 Sep 2018
Gender: Female
Posts: 9,104
Location: New York City (Queens)

27 Jul 2019, 12:30 am

For me, autism entails both disabilities and abilities. So I would not say that autism "is a disability" but that it "entails disability."

I see the disabilities as partly intrinsic and partly caused by the society in which we live. We need a world, or at least a large subculture, in which we aren't judged for things like atypical body language, lack of eye contact, or needing to think before we talk.

A more autistic-friendly world would require some substantial social changes, but they are doable in my opinion, if enough of us get serious about working to bring them about.

Far more remarkable social changes have already happened within my lifetime. For example, the LGBT rights movement has had successes beyond my wildest dreams. When I was a gay rights activist back in the late 1970's, I always expected that there would be some progress, but I never expected that same-sex marriage would be legally recognized within my lifetime.

The neurodiversity movement is at least a few decades behind the LGBT rights movement, but faces smaller hurdles overall. At least no major mainstream religions teach that being autistic is intrinsically sinful.


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