Future Fear - Embracing, Not Awareness

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I am certain this has been discussed before, but I find myself revisiting the topic often.
How many of you are more than afraid of the future of neurodiversity?

I am so tired of hearing people speak of how much BETTER it is all becoming, how there are more resources and how autism/Aspergers are now household words, and that knowledge and awareness are increasing.

I find that to be a lot of bollocks.

Sure, there is slow steady growth as far as public awareness is concerned.
Gawd, we went from worldwise hysteria and knee-jerk reactions to "epidemic" to further diagnostics and DSM changes...
need I also touch on the imbalance of resources for children, the politics of cure and labeling, or the realities that exist?

I suppose we do have to let go of the stigma, the attitudes, the ignorance (and I mean lack of knowledge) and continue to support AWARENESS. If that is symbols and ribbons and media fluff, it is a *Start* at best.
How can we truly EDUCATE and strive for EMBRACING of our atypical diagnoses as opposed to just having people be aware of it? Change comes all too slowly, and it depresses the crap outta me to realize the future is bleak.

*******I highly doubt I will see that change in my lifetime.*******

I try like crazy to be optimistic, not cynical, but I am a true Realist. I want no one to ever have to go through what we have. I am middle aged and know we all face this s**t every day - lack of knowledge and understanding by NT. Lack of support and resources. Lifetime realization that it is not really going to improve or get better. It is what it is.
I do not expect to see positive change but am also unwilling to lower my expectations or standards. The best I can hope for is to be the best I can be - affect positive outcomes whenever possible, and commiserate with fellow aspies (if I can find them). Anyone else???

Got to go past awareness to acceptence. People are widely aware of terrorism but for the most fear it and want to stamp it out and that mentality is where we are all to often with autism.

Autism awareness is been more counterproductive then not because it has made ABA the "gold standard" of treatments freezing out other therapies. All this knowlage is no good as society creates more sensory overload, more group play, more group work, more "work well with others" employment requirements, more multitasking, less if not no time for ourselves which less time to destress, stim, persue our special interests etc. And all of this has screwed up NT's also but because of the nature of our brain wiring makes it much worse for us. I am convinced these changes are a factor in the so called autism epidemic as some people who would have had a difficult life but found ways to be fuctional are overwhelmed to the point of not bieng to function today.

I have lived these changes. When I was in school in the 60's and 70's except for a science project or so there was no group work. When I started work in the '80's if you were were an accountant or programmer they did not expect you to be an extrovert, it was more merit. At my emplyment we often joked about the salespeople personality vs the programmers personality.

I am not saying it was a panacea, far from it. Bullying was accepted as part of the growing up process. There was no help given or expected. There was no special education. There was no legal right to education. If the schools could not help you they threw you out which my elementry school did to me after 2nd grade in 1965. Luckly a private school took a chance on me and I turned it around. No accomodations at work you made it or were fired. Extroverts got the promotions and the raises but if you did the job well you made enough to live on and I did. I only starting flaling in the 90's onward when society changed.