We will provide our services for High Functioning Autistic people, or HFAs in short.
HFAs are people who had been successful thus far in the mainstream institutions, regardless of previous experience in special schools or other similar institutions, and this is our definition of HFAs.
As ARC, Singapore's premier parent autism support group, is providing services for mainly people who do not fit into the mainstream schools, effectively, the ARC, SNTC and other government-linked institutions are providing good levels of support for low- and medium-functioning people on the autism spectrum. However, there had been high levels of dropout for people who do currently highly functional on the autism spectrum, because it is assumed that once one is able, he does not need much help from ARC.
Actually, he still wants to be supported in some form, even after age 18 when he leaves Pathlight for either employment or further education.
ARC has tried its best to provide services for lower-functioning autistic people who may not be able to function well in society. But some Aspies and Auties do fit into the mainstream, so the attention may not be given to them to fulfill their potentials further. Given that ARC may not have the intrinsic motivation to help High-Functioning Autistic people, unless there is an emergency, ARC does not need HFAs to engage in activities or services.
This is why HFA concerns of employment have to be addressed, first and foremost.
Although admittedly, most HFAs do get lower grades than their NT counterparts, given that HFAs already have social deficits and they do impair our ability to do well in school, grades are merely superficial concerns. Our concern is what they can't do, with our lack of social skills that impair our social functioning in society.
The HFA community have to accept it. We may need to do low-paid, low-ranking jobs and tasks for the longest time we can ever think, for the foreeseable future. But if this happens, how will society progress, when HFAs are able to give radical but practical ideas for the world's challenges, yet not being trained enough in suitable positions to make such changes happen?
As the President of ARC Ms Denise Phua mentioned, only 15% of Aspies or more are estimated to be employed in Singapore. Pathlight had just set up the employment training centre for Aspies. However, they are expected to benefit those with the technical expertise, which most HFAs do not process due to their functioning in mainstream institutions (such as Polytechnics and Junior Colleges), hardly places for HFAs (already disadvantaged enough in social skills deficit) to develop skills equal to those in these schools. As a few HFAs rightfully mentioned, support for HFAs and Aspies are scant and scarce, in such institutions so far, given the lack of timely, vocational-oriented programmes in these institutions. And such jobs has a track record for the past 30 years to pay low (though things are changing).
HFAs do not simply deserve opportunities, just because of the labels HFAs have. However, HFAs need more support where current support could be either inappropriate or insufficient for us. We are not separate from society, but we need more to integrate even better with society, to make the world a better place. And HFAs do have the potential to be gamechangers of the future, because they will have to shoulder responsibilities of leading the global autism community as they have experience living as an autistic person anyway. So HFAs need a separate group to make dreams come through.
Given that HFAs share a common challenge with lower-functioning autistic counterparts in terms of social functioning, most really capable HFAs do have the desire to help less fortunate counterparts who also have some form of autism. So, any further support for HFAs does strengthens, not weakens through distribution in the form of peanut butter-like spread, the society's capacity to help the unfortunate can be further increased. Only in the pretext of HFA being able to be more competent and capable for themselves and their counterparts, i.e. lower-functioning people on the autism spectrum, then society can lift people without social functioning together as a whole, to build a more inclusive, vibrant world.
HFAs are people who had been successful thus far in the mainstream institutions, regardless of previous experience in special schools or other similar institutions, and this is our definition of HFAs.
As ARC, Singapore's premier parent autism support group, is providing services for mainly people who do not fit into the mainstream schools, effectively, the ARC, SNTC and other government-linked institutions are providing good levels of support for low- and medium-functioning people on the autism spectrum. However, there had been high levels of dropout for people who do currently highly functional on the autism spectrum, because it is assumed that once one is able, he does not need much help from ARC.
Actually, he still wants to be supported in some form, even after age 18 when he leaves Pathlight for either employment or further education.
ARC has tried its best to provide services for lower-functioning autistic people who may not be able to function well in society. But some Aspies and Auties do fit into the mainstream, so the attention may not be given to them to fulfill their potentials further. Given that ARC may not have the intrinsic motivation to help High-Functioning Autistic people, unless there is an emergency, ARC does not need HFAs to engage in activities or services.
This is why HFA concerns of employment have to be addressed, first and foremost.
Although admittedly, most HFAs do get lower grades than their NT counterparts, given that HFAs already have social deficits and they do impair our ability to do well in school, grades are merely superficial concerns. Our concern is what they can't do, with our lack of social skills that impair our social functioning in society.
The HFA community have to accept it. We may need to do low-paid, low-ranking jobs and tasks for the longest time we can ever think, for the foreeseable future. But if this happens, how will society progress, when HFAs are able to give radical but practical ideas for the world's challenges, yet not being trained enough in suitable positions to make such changes happen?
As the President of ARC Ms Denise Phua mentioned, only 15% of Aspies or more are estimated to be employed in Singapore. Pathlight had just set up the employment training centre for Aspies. However, they are expected to benefit those with the technical expertise, which most HFAs do not process due to their functioning in mainstream institutions (such as Polytechnics and Junior Colleges), hardly places for HFAs (already disadvantaged enough in social skills deficit) to develop skills equal to those in these schools. As a few HFAs rightfully mentioned, support for HFAs and Aspies are scant and scarce, in such institutions so far, given the lack of timely, vocational-oriented programmes in these institutions. And such jobs has a track record for the past 30 years to pay low (though things are changing).
HFAs do not simply deserve opportunities, just because of the labels HFAs have. However, HFAs need more support where current support could be either inappropriate or insufficient for us. We are not separate from society, but we need more to integrate even better with society, to make the world a better place. And HFAs do have the potential to be gamechangers of the future, because they will have to shoulder responsibilities of leading the global autism community as they have experience living as an autistic person anyway. So HFAs need a separate group to make dreams come through.
Given that HFAs share a common challenge with lower-functioning autistic counterparts in terms of social functioning, most really capable HFAs do have the desire to help less fortunate counterparts who also have some form of autism. So, any further support for HFAs does strengthens, not weakens through distribution in the form of peanut butter-like spread, the society's capacity to help the unfortunate can be further increased. Only in the pretext of HFA being able to be more competent and capable for themselves and their counterparts, i.e. lower-functioning people on the autism spectrum, then society can lift people without social functioning together as a whole, to build a more inclusive, vibrant world.
