Does Autsim Challenge Accepted Culture?

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And is this why neurotypicals don't like our natural behaviour?

By "challenge accepted culture" I mean everything from not making eye contact to not wanting to sit on Santa's lap... not making small talk to not keeping proper standards of cleanliness ... these are obvious generalizations and will not apply to everyone - autism is unique to the individual. But I'm talking in generalizations in this case. Some can learn to behave in the accepted way (with work,) but should one have to?

Is there an autistic culture or is autism a disorder to be treated? (In this case I'm not talking about the co-morbids, which can be debilitating, but rather autism itself.)

I think autism culture is "a work in progress". The foundations are there, Wrong Planet helped to construct that foundation as well as others working toward collaborative efforts for people on the spectrum. There is a long way to go. To use an artistic metaphor: the canvas has been prepared, the picture has not yet been painted fully on it.

I agree. I think there may come a time when autistic people are valued for their unique perspectives. I think we can make the world a better place. Look at Temple Grandin and what she's done for food animals.
I don't know if I'll be around, but I bet when this young generation get to be adults they will impact the world positively. I'm bogged down by the dreaded co-morbids of depression and anxiety, caused by a lack of recognition of my condition rather than as a result of it, I believe. But younger people I think have a better chance of avoiding that or, at least, effectively dealing with it (because of autism's increased recognition.)

As a culture, gays progressed to the point where they "took ownership" of gayness, gay issues and gay politics. Then huge change occurred very quickly - civil unions, gay marriage rights, more sever punishments for gay bashers, etc.

As a culture, ASD has not progressed to the point of "taking ownership" and there is still a lot of back-stepping, the "shooting yourself in your own foot" phenomenon.

To achieve power as a subculture there has to be a major shift to act in the best interests of the culture according to common goals which reaches a critical mass point. That is what gays achieved, essentially. The goals of ASD culture have not been so carefully delineated and agreed upon as yet. There's a long way to go. There are a lot of obstacles and they need to be carefully delineated too, as a whole, not one by one, from my perspective.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean here ^
Do you mean that we should delineate the obstacles as a group?

It is a neurological difference and many aspects of it are somewhat disabling, especially in the context of being within today's society, don't know people with autism would have fit in much better in past decades either though. I certainly do not really see it as a 'culture' I mean a lot of us only have in common being on the spectrum but entirely different opinions, interests.

That's true. Interests and opinions are individual. But what if the neurological difference is what offers the different and potentially useful perspectives?

I wouldn't put it like that, as a cohesive progress-oriented group doesn't (yet?) exist in the way I was speculating - as a formidable political and cultural movement. I was thinking more of the way that gays built a groundswell of supporters for change generally as a coalition and then delineated the goals of their push for liberation.

To answer the question bluntly - yes. ASD almost blatantly challenges what is considered standard for many people to follow. Think about it - just notice the main characters you see on TV shows, etc (whether they may be autistic or not is not the question) - do you really think they have ANY characteristics of autism, Asperger syndrome, etc?

Also, I'm sort of "in favor" of helping advance an autism subculture, and I agree with what has been said. It's a long, rocky road ahead, but baby steps.

Yes, of course it does.
We are not automatically/intuitively conformist.
There is also the very significant effect of "The Uncanny Valley".

Well you know actually in my native country, small talk is quite different and considerably less important than it is in North America and body language is different too. I actually think that one of the reasons I was initially drawn to my husband who has some Asperger's traits, was that he reminded me more of home (even though he'd never been there). Nevertheless, I don't think autism acceptance in my native country is very good at all (there are virtually no services).

Also somewhat related, honestly, LOADS of NT kids don't like sitting on Santa's lap! Especially around 9 months old! They usually take about 10 seconds of thinking "Who the hell are you?" before they start wailing.

Yes...

Society will always have trouble accepting those who are different, that is just how the majority work.

We still haven't fully solved racism, sexism, agism, and gay right...

Yeah, when I get tired my facial expressions go haywire.


I don't know why we make kids do this. The whole thing gives me the creeps.

As Tony Attwood wrote, people with Aspergers tend to have a different regard for values than NTs - he contrasted the Aspergian commitment to truth-speaking with the NT culture of saying something diplomatic but untrue, or turning a blind eye. So yes, this is a challenge to 'accepted' culture. Though 100% of Aspergers people won't all have the commitment to truth-speaking, most seem to, by a very large majority. In NT culture, telling the truth can be the most radical thing that anyone can do.

There's nothing revolutionary about being a soap dodger or being unable to make eye contact. No, I doubt we threaten anyone.

love that "soap dodger", that's very funny.