Autism planned community

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"May you live in interesting times." -- an English/Scottish expression that is claimed to be a translation of a traditional Chinese curse.

I would think a society run by autistics would be geared towered them so that there would be considerably more employment and considerably less stress. Would that be enough to be a functioning society I don't know.

The biggest obstacles though are before this society gets off the ground.
Getting a country to give up its territory for Autistica.
Deciding who is autistic.

It's more about co-op living so there would be no need to giverify up land. The size even then might have an impact though. The bigger it gets I think the more issues it'll have.

So what if you have kids and they turn out to be NT? Throw them off a cliff?

Yes I totally would relocate for it. It has been my daydream to find a gated community where I don't have to feel lonely any more.

Pretty sure this is the first definitive yes without picking apart the idea entirely or going on a wild rocket ship ride of a tangent and start imagining a country full of autists, as frankly overwhelmingly amusing as that is to think about

Not sure if co-op living would be truly conducive to raising a family. Units would probably be 1 and 2 br. Likely once a couple were to decide to grow a family they would outgrow their unit and move.

Thank you! And yes I would go with definite yes here. No matter how long the list of "problems" they can think of, the bottom line is whoever doesn't like it doesn't have to come, or if they come they can leave any time. So let's have that option available for those that like it.

And also how do we know that some of those problems can't be solved after some time and effort? We spent years and even decades solving the problems with living in NT-dominated society and it never worked. Don't you think it's worth a shot to spend at least a fraction of that time on the alternative?

For whatever reason I've found on WP that once a topic gets to about the 6th page that the majority of commenters are supportive of or interested in the topic. So voila.

The idea would more or less put Dunbar's numbers in physical practice with Asperger's being one of the major uniting themes for the community. Max occupancy capped at 150 with a blend of studio, 1br and 2br units.

The gist: the typical human brain can tolerate a range between 100-150 as a "tribe," in essence.

Each individual would selectively clump into more distinct units: an "active social network" of roughly 35-50; a "sympathy group" of roughly 15; a "close circle" of roughly 5. This would organically unfold, no one would be forced into any of these groups.

Close circle: requires no real explanation, these are the connections closest to you, almost familial. These are people you maintain a frequent correspondence likely daily or at least weekly. You do not necessarily spend time with all 5 or so people at once, but there are 5 or so people you share the bulk of your time.

Sympathy group: these are the connections you would invite to a dinner party. They are not quite your closest confidents, typically maintaining a weekly or monthly correspondence. Again, you do not necessarily spend time with all 15 or so of these people at once, rather there are 15 or so of these people who are at this level of connection to you.

Active social network: these are people who are kept at a level of "activity partner." Again, it is not that all 35-50 people are necessarily socializing at the same time, just that for one single individual there would be anywhere from 35-50 people to connect to at this level.

The specific breakdown of how many people and what each level is titled is less relevant. Point being of a body of 100-150 people who are similar enough in their neurology and ability to self-support, likely social bonds would result.

This might help: https://www.ic.org/intentional-community-books/

Thank you!
I was once upon a time very much interested in the eco-village concept.
Now more interested in less radical solutions that address loneliness and help foster a sense of connection.

From living in 2 distinct eco-village like communities, it's clear to me the idea of collective work/shared tasks/forced community building is not sustainable for myself as a person who fits multiple diagnostic models for Aspergers. I found both instances of these communities INCREDIBLY invasive for my personal space and instantly felt without anyone saying a word I just did not click. Perhaps if these communities were larger and people could self select the 3-5 people they would be close to that would be fine. But being instantly forced to forge close bonds with absolute strangers and forced to spend 24/7 with roughly 10 people was a recipe for me to be constantly uncomfortable.

I feel like providing the opportunity for proximity with no further forced interaction would be awesome. Once tasks and interactions become forced I am in as close to hell as there is imaginable.

For anyone interested
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Housing_cooperative

There would need to be special legal consideration for establishing a co-op that can deny admissions on the basis of ABSENCE of a disability. It is an ADA violation to deny admissions BECAUSE of a disability.

I don't necessarily believe that not admitting applicants due to an inability to prove a diagnosis of Asperger's would fall under the definition of discrimination if the co-op is held as a non-profit entity whose sole purpose is to cater to an ADA protected group.

Last edited by adromedanblackhole on 09 Dec 2020, 12:17 am, edited 1 time in total.

What you described would be hell for me.
I am very comfortable, all alone, upstairs in very big air conditioned computer room.

BTW! 1 more day.

I think it was Gore-Tex that had about 200 employees. If someone applied for a job and looked like they might have a useful talent, they were just allowed to mingle with the workers at will, and see if they could find things they could help with, and make a case to get paid for doing.

If I were going to check out a community, I'd want to stay in my car out of sight, and venture out for an hour or so a day.

In the post-WW II building boom, contractors found they could build houses faster if they were standard designs. This led to Levittown, about 500 acres of identical houses in rows, which made the news for being awful. Recently, someone went back there, and found that it looked like anywhere else. The non-uniform residents had planted trees, built garages and extensions, had fires, opened stores and generally re-decorated the place into the usual suburban hodge-podge.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Housing_cooperative
Co-op building
Max occupancy 150
An apartment complex held as a non-profit co-op entity
Studio, 1br and 2br units

Income requirements and sufficient evidence of a diagnosis of High Functioning Autism formerly known as Asperger's syndrome needed for consideration

Also, given this brave new remote world, applicants working remotely would be given priority consideration.

In terms of location, near a larger metropolis for ease of shopping and options for outside activities, but not in the thick of things. Not in the center of all the action of a large city for noise and other sensory considerations.