Autistic Children and the Education System.

[Ronald Zeeman]

That piece of paper is not there for you but so that the person hiring you knows that what you say you know has been verified by an accredited independent entity. After all people lie. My older brother found this out took engineering in university, did not bother getting his degree beneath him when to university to get an education not a piece of paper, lost his job unable to find another. Then in desperation got counselling from a trusted professor. who told him what I just said so he wrote a final brilliant paper got his degree 15 years after he had left university. Due to mental health issues still unable to find employment. on 65 birthday chucked degree awards. passed away months later.

 

[Shamar]

That one tears me in two. I always did have a bit of that elitist attitude about me but at the same time I've met and befriended a lot of people from all walks of life and I understand just how harmful that elitist attitude can be.

There needs to be allowances made for bright children just as much as they already make allowances for those that struggle, but to try and exclude any from the range of the intellectual spectrum is wrong.

I relate to the boredom bit though, I read a lot of novels.

I don't see this as elitist, since the bottom quintile affects the second, third, and fourth just as much as the fifth. I see it more as the educational system is set up to the lowest common denominator, and the rest are mostly wasting their time. I know I did.

 

[Roisin]

In a related situation, it has become clear that many young people for various reasons are not "classroom" learners.

We went for decades with this idea that the only way to "get ahead" in life was with a college degree. Lately, though, what this also means is that those that graduate, at least in the US, are strapped with 10's if not 100's of thousands of dollars' worth of educational debt, and no guarantee of receiving a job, they can't afford a home, to have children, and so on. Furthermore, with AI and humanoid robots entering the job market within the next 5 years, most of those office jobs will be lost.

Having said that, at least in the US, we are now in the midst of a cultural shift away from university education and a renewed push into the skilled trades. Currently, we are in a critical shortage of all manner of skilled tradespeople, perhaps by millions. With a relatively short hands-on training program, perhaps some applied math skills, perhaps some apprenticeships, people can walk into a salary well above $100,000/year.

I can see an opportunity here for all those "twice exceptional" autistics to get themselves into a skilled trade where they are working with their hands and raking in some serious cash.

Couldn't agree more! I've some experience in this area, and once suitable support is in place the main barrier I've seen with it so far is the noise/sensory challenges in workshops and onsite.
There is money in the trades.