Autism planned community

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With the issue of income and jobs out of the way it would probably be an OK community to live in but I fear I will be driven insane surrounded by people like me. I find it nice interact with NT's and they make up such a large proportion of the community and to me they are the community even though I often don't see eye to eye with them. If such a community was to get to large enough and isolated I fear it might become a bit like the "behavioural sink" mouse experiment where everyone just wallows in their own filth given half the chance. I know I certainly would if I could.

I think for such a community to remain healthy they need to have external challenges from time to time.

That would probably make a difference yes. I have fears over it that I just can't quite explain well though.

A co-op is a building. It can't grow beyond it's maximum occupancy capacity. It can't really isolate - it can't pick up and move itself anywhere, it's a building. Individual members of co-ops have their own units. There can be a common space but not always. Forming a co-op with a membership that is AS or HFA would not preclude anyone from interacting outside of the building. The goal would not be to have a self-sustaining community with no exposure to the outside world, rather a building that is a refuge for people to self-select to live in proximity to those more like themselves.

A co-op can be a collection of buildings, or a building that grows at the ends.

I think if the numbers are small then people will hopefully get out and about enough but I worry if they will become perhaps a little overly friendly with the people in their building and over time they become the only people they interact with and outside the main buildings doors are "the others". It might be an easy trap to fall into but I'm just theorising.

I know a few aspies in person and some were very able people but I wouldn't have relied on them to give me advice on how to solve various adult problems. I actually felt quite lonely around them when I found myself sort of outgrowing them in the independence sense. I think if teaching how to manage daily activities, running and dealing with larger life problems could be realisably dealt it would probably be a good Co-op.

This can be one of the driving factors that most people are looking for in choosing to live in a co-op, they want a sense of place and belonging in a relatively small group of people (100-150). They want to have a circle of people as their in-group where they belong. It's a normal function of human behavior to self-select into smaller groups for a sense of similarity and safety. If someone were to decide they feel safer, more supported and more understood living in a community like this, with higher odds of developing friendships which is a huge indicator of longitudinal health - where is the problem? The person who would isolate him or herself from the broader world would do so with or without living in a co-op of this nature, at least in this instance they would have a few friends in close proximity.

If it's the only lifestyle they have then I think it's unhealthy long term irrespective of if it's with 150 other similar people or alone. I think interaction is needed with the wider community even for aspies. It's not to say that such a co-op will never work or isn't useful. It probably can be useful so long as meaningful interaction outside of the co-op is maintained. How it can be maintained however might be difficult with a group of people who by their nature are usually anxious and avoidant of others who are not similar. Once that issue is addressed then I can;t really see how such a co-op can be a bad thing.

You would be comparing having a small circle of insular friends to being completely and totally alone. There isn't much evidence to point to complete isolation being the favorable scenario.

The types of people who would apply and be admitted to a co-op of this nature would demonstrate competence in their ability to self-support. Even for NT people, once there is an established friend group, often times people tend to stick to that friend group when it comes to their preferences for socialization. Not necessarily out of a fear of the outside world, but as a preference for wanting to spend your time with people you like.

Again, the type of people who would be well-suited for co-op living are functioning well enough in life to self-support, but are missing that aspect in life that everyone is seeking out, having a sense of place and belonging. It's not unique to people on the spectrum to feel this way, all people search this out in life it's just a bit easier to find for some as opposed to others.

How much competence do they need to demonstrate? Where the line is drawn will make a massive difference to the health of such a community. A group of aspies associating and living with other aspies who are employed or actively seek employment suited to them and are able to travel independently and deal with paperwork is probably a co-op that will have a stable and happy environment that can deal with most challenges that is thrown at it and won't be afraid to venture outside on a whim.

A group of aspies who while capable of living on their own and being able to afford to live in such a co-op, suffers from severe anxiety, unable to travel independently, struggles to do paperwork and has meltdowns interacting with others seems like it would have an environment that will exacerbate problems.

Both types of people can in theory live on their own but both can have very different outcomes.

A live in autism community just seems like a bad idea to be honest, there's a hell of a lot of autistic people that can't seem to stand each other eventhough they're on a similar wavelength. I can see why some think it would be a positive thing but I see more negatives to it than positives.

Also - you can get autistic narcissists so maybe they would need to be vetted psychologically in the first place to even live there. Living with psychopaths is not something I'd want to entertain.

I guess only very few people here would like a community just for becomming a member of a community. Not even the lonely ones. It takes time and energy to deal with other people and not all people are fun. For this the goal of the community should be clear from the beginning. People who join WP are often disappointed by negativity, lack of structure. Most who join WP wan't
- get in contact to other autistic people
- more information about autism
- help for dealing with specific problems or conditions as well as depression or loneliness
- exchange with others who share their interests and/or problems
- chat with people who are interesting and fun to chat with
Once you care about this goals of the people then it could work. But it requires a lot of structure as well for causing others to like that.

Last edited by quite an extreme on 29 Nov 2020, 3:47 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Of course.
This was a general idea which I'm learning to post less of because for whatever reason the way posting seems to work here is the initial first 1-3 pages are negative comments, and then as long as you keep the conversation going eventually it works into a more constructive thread.

From idea to fruition, this concept is a few years if not a decade away. I just see a great deal of posts from people who are lonely, and I know this could be a potential solution. Loneliness is a horrible state to live ones life with, also an indicator for a litany of health concerns.

Just one little additional thing. It's always wrong to ask. Just try what you want to do and look wether it works and don't care to much about the oppinions of all others. You can't care the oppinion of all people if you want your ideas to become reality. You can ask for help with what you are up to and not even few will support you but never the ever ask for the opinions of all others about it or you'll most likely fail before you even start with it.

Oh I'm not asking for anyone's permission - but I do like hearing multiple perspectives. Negativity is a necessity in forging an idea into reality. You have to hear criticism in order to effectively understand the reality in which you live. What I'm finding unusual about this site in general is the amount of people that have ease is searching out threads on topics they have no interest in to voice their two cents which is more often negative than constructive. Inconceivable to me. Very much a does not compute scenario.
I'm here to connect with people who can relate to me on a level I don't find in the broader world, and also to encourage people with what they're up to in life especially if they're struggling. I don't know what people gain from being disparaging but it's their life not mine.

^That seems OK to me. It's always right to keep a healthy attitude once it comes to social engagement.

I agree that it would be very entertaining.