What do you think the future holds for us?

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What do you think the future holds for people on the spectrum? Do you think stigmatization against people with ASD's will lessen or increase as time goes on?

I don't really see any stigmatization [that's out of the ordinary for humans] going on, but then, I don't pay too much attention to things outside.

Of all the times in history, I think now is the time when we have the biggest advantage in terms of tools for getting people to understand our condition. As a community, we can take matters into our own hands with social media, etc. Not that it's a cure-all, but the possibilities exist and are bigger than ever.

Which is great, because this is just the kind of environment that leads to people being more accepting of differences, and I think things are heading that direction. We have a lot of work to do, but I do think it will get better for us.

I really don't know

Weird as I was as a youngster, if I'd been born in mediaeval times I would probably have been burned at the stake for being something demonic.

I grew up in an era where it was considered perfectly normal for kids to beat and bully the crap out of each other at "playtime". Broken bones and arterial wounds were the only criteria for adults to raise an eyebrow. Bad luck, weird kid. Blend in or be noogied.

Help and acceptance are more prevalent today than ever in history, imperfect though it is.
I am hopeful for a future where everyone is seen as a unique and worthwhile individual.

Things are far from perfect today, but support, tolerance, and acceptance are far more prevelant today than at any other time in history.

As for our future, if we want things to improve, it is up to us to advocate our opinions and needs. NT-run organisations such as Autism Speaks cannot be relied upon to advocate accurately for us.

I firmly believe that self advocacy is the key to a positive future for us.

Human nature is to dislike those who are different, and that's always been the case throughout time. But I think there is a good chance that public awareness and civility will let the Autism community be more welcomed in society. It wasn't long ago that we tied men (and women) to wooden poles, and burned them to death for fear they were practicing witchcraft, even if they were just "weird" or different or misunderstood. God willing we came a LONG way from that, in a relatively short time (150-200 years, which is nothing as compared to millennia of hate and killing between races and tribes of people on Earth in ancient times.

I think we will be fine....

Charles

I agree that people's awareness and acceptance of many things (not just autism) are increasing dramatically. But I don't think discrimination/bullying will disappear. The reason why people become more aware and accepting is not because they are good-natured, but because they don't want to be seen as bad people. They just want a good image for themselves. They are put in a situation where they are forced to accept different people. So if they find a chance they will still show their true nature and persecute those that are vulnerable. So some of those who are not clearly autistic will still suffer in many ways because if they don't have a clear protective label, they will still be regarded as weird selfish people, which is still a good excuse for others to treat them badly. I sound rather pessimistic, but I am just trying to be realistic.

EDIT:

I want to add that if you look at how gay people are "accepted", it's not really true acceptance, but more "just being tolerated" because people have to tolerate them. People don't openly discriminate against them, but in subtle ways, they act in a way that show they look down on the gay people.

I'm not talking about all the people. I acknowledge that some people are genuinely understanding and accepting.

I am optimistic that things will continue to get better for us.

I was talking in PM with someone here, and after being told the new "rules" on who is and isn't autistic ("Level 1", "Level 2", "Level 3") had to ask-

"If even level one says the person needs 'support' and even with that 'support' still has serious problems interacting and such... Where does that leave high funtioning people? Will people like Temple Grandin, John Robison, or even Alex Plank still be able to say 'I'm autistic', or will they no longer meet the 'requirements'?"

Seems that question remains unanswered, but if the person functions without 'support', how could they even fit into the "Level 1" description?

And if not there, then what does the person say about themself? I mean, they still have some "quirks" as far as the NT world goes.

They certainly can't be described as neuro-typical, because they DO have aspects of autism to their thinking and personalities.

So where does that leave them?

Back to being called "weirdo"?

What about youngsters in that situation? Kids who last year would have plainly been identified as on the spectrum, now they'll never be described as "autistic"? If so, then what WILL they be called?