04-13-2019, 12:11 PM
As someone on the spectrum I can say...
Life can be incredibly frustrating. Worst of all is having no clue so that one struggles with job placement and retention, with finding compatible people as potential spouses, seeing malign intent where it isn't, and overall being thwarted in getting to enjoy a good life. Our society is good in recognizing obvious handicaps and even meeting desires of the stupid. Stupidity? Sure. Many jobs are best done by a dull-normal person, and such institutions as advertising, religion, and even politics are able to reach the dim-witted. Politics? Has any political leader in recent American reached so low in intellectual appeal as Donald Trump?
Someone needed to get a hold of me and lead me in a suitable educational and vocational direction. "You are smart enough- you can do anything!" does not apply to people with Asperger's. With bad facial recognition I have a hard time making friends.
If we can mainstream homosexuality as quickly as we have, then we can mainstream people on the autistic spectrum. We can be taught to cover our weaknesses such as a lack of natural empathy. (Fake it, and act as if you have it, as empathy is usually a winning proposition). If we have the intelligence, then maybe we could attend colleges that fit us.
I do not want any special privileges. I would like to have some happiness mostly in a sense of accomplishment and some desirable experiences.
Life can be incredibly frustrating. Worst of all is having no clue so that one struggles with job placement and retention, with finding compatible people as potential spouses, seeing malign intent where it isn't, and overall being thwarted in getting to enjoy a good life. Our society is good in recognizing obvious handicaps and even meeting desires of the stupid. Stupidity? Sure. Many jobs are best done by a dull-normal person, and such institutions as advertising, religion, and even politics are able to reach the dim-witted. Politics? Has any political leader in recent American reached so low in intellectual appeal as Donald Trump?
Someone needed to get a hold of me and lead me in a suitable educational and vocational direction. "You are smart enough- you can do anything!" does not apply to people with Asperger's. With bad facial recognition I have a hard time making friends.
If we can mainstream homosexuality as quickly as we have, then we can mainstream people on the autistic spectrum. We can be taught to cover our weaknesses such as a lack of natural empathy. (Fake it, and act as if you have it, as empathy is usually a winning proposition). If we have the intelligence, then maybe we could attend colleges that fit us.
I do not want any special privileges. I would like to have some happiness mostly in a sense of accomplishment and some desirable experiences.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.