Discrimination against autism

[Geordie]

Do you think your society discriminates against you as an autistic individual, after you reveal or hint at your conditions?

 

[katcha]

I think society tends to treat me better after I've revealed I'm autistic.

Before people know I am autistic, they tend to think I am callous, cold, cruel and uncaring. This makes me quite unlike-able and hence I get treated poorly.

After people know I am autistic, they realise that my actions are as they are because I am incapable of understanding, but I will avoid doing things that upset people if it's explained to me that they are inappropriate.

 

[Geordie]

It's the opposite for a few autistic friends I know:

Before the discovery and revelation of autism in a few autistic people, they're seen as 'cool' though 'awkward around people', they're almost certainly the darlings of teachers. All they need to do is to perhaps try to follow the teachers' instructions and interests, and then the bosses' instructions and interests, and that's it.

After the revelation of a few autistic students - well, they're seen as social pariahs. Never again will they get opportunities, just because of a condition that really officially limits their ability to do 'greater things' that, given the right opportunities, that they can do.

But I'm speaking about some HFAs here

 

[2wheels4ever]

It's been a get-out-of-a-pile-of-traffic-tickets-free card though I don't go out of my way to exploit that; mostly when I get stopped it's due to me struggling with my equipment and I'm already annoyed that my vehicle isn't functioning properly, so I find it helpful to admit my condition right off the bat. I've done a little experimentation as to how far into 'contact' I tell the officer; the quicker I say it, the less complicated things are for the both of us but I always want them to go on their way knowing it's my stuff I'm angry at, not them.

With stores I don't feel the love but that's pretty much how they stay in business

 

[smith2267]

yes, there is a tendency for them to think I am retarded, which of course I am not. Also I get accused of faking it

 

[Tigris]

Oh yes not sure if it happens in America too. Insurance companies in Singapore do discriminate against autistics as they think that autistics have self injurious behaviour.

 

[Soup]

Insurance companies discriminate against anything they consider to be a 'pre-existing condition'. The decision above is a financial one, since all they really want to do is to turn a profit. They are making a decision based upon faulty information. Even the DSM doesn't list self injury as typical Aspie behaviour.

I think societies discriminate against virtually anyone they believe has a mental illness. People can see many physical disabilities so this makes them less scary. Mental illnesses are feared because they can alter the personality & behaviour radically for no logical reason. I've seen schizophrenics & Bi-Polar people change radically & become very agitated within minutes & without any external provocation I could discern. This IS a scary thing to witness so I have to be fair to those who are leery.

We Aspies often appear odd. That makes uninformed people fear that we too are going to suddenly behave in an untoward manner. Further muddying the waters, since we ARE categorized as being on the Autism spectrum, people mistakenly liken us to severe cases they've seen of incoherent people in hockey helmets having loud melt-downs. Proper education is vital here so that people's fears of Aspies can be allayed. We are typically non-violent & certainly not incoherent or delusional.

 

[King_Oni]

I don't think it's just autism (or any other mental "disorder") that society discriminates against.

Granted; some lifestyle choices, are in fact, what they are... choices. But even with those, I've got some... well, for lack of a better word, ****, because it revolves around stereotypes, that some people clearly don't want to take time and think through in terms of generalisation.

Insurance companies aren't any different IMO. If you have something "on file" they're a bit easier to write you off clearly. But what about people with a more loose lifestyle? Or gay people? Those people aren't "sick"... yet they'll be judged as such.

 

[Pella]

My ex roomate was dating an asperger's guy for a little while, he hurt feelings a great deal and didn't understand why she needed what she did emotionally, he was also often pointing out how she she was inadequete intellectually. This wasn't a healthy relationship for her, but she admired him for his capacity for understanding mathematics and physics, her uncle however, who prides himself on being incredibly intelligent and unbiased, he is quite harsh when imposing his beliefs and opinions on others he will beat them down until they break emotionally or agreeing with him, he considers them cutting contact off with him to be a win. Anyway he would call his neices boyfriend (the asperger's guy) a retard in spite of intelligent he was, simply by the way he spoke. I would get him thinking he wasn't healthy for his niece. But I don't understand how an intelligent person could discount another's obvious intelligence.

 

[Soup]

I think a person's intelligence & their character (their integrity & values they embrace) are 2 very different things. There are highly intelligent people who are unfortunately also bigoted, arrogant, spiteful & mean-spirited. There are people who have little education who may be more intelligent than many highly educated people: the latter just had different opportunities. Then, too, there are people who are unintelligent but highly ethical people. Some people too are well educated, have relatively good character BUT the emotional IQ of a wart. Some Aspies might fall into that last group: just not plugged in emotionally & not paragons of empathy. The uncle guy above is what experts refer to as a garden variety @$$HOLE. Such people delight in hurting & belittling others. Only 1 opinion is permitted to exist: THEIRS. Some of these people are calculating bullies whereas others just are jerks. Hopefully, I'll never encounter him & have to figure him out!

 

[Pella]

I think a person's intelligence & their character (their integrity & values they embrace) are 2 very different things. There are highly intelligent people who are unfortunately also bigoted, arrogant, spiteful & mean-spirited. There are people who have little education who may be more intelligent than many highly educated people: the latter just had different opportunities. Then, too, there are people who are unintelligent but highly ethical people. Some people too are well educated, have relatively good character BUT the emotional IQ of a wart. Some Aspies might fall into that last group: just not plugged in emotionally & not paragons of empathy. The uncle guy above is what experts refer to as a garden variety @$$HOLE. Such people delight in hurting & belittling others. Only 1 opinion is permitted to exist: THEIRS. Some of these people are calculating bullies whereas others just are jerks. Hopefully, I'll never encounter him & have to figure him out!

I really want to unfriend him on facebook, but he'll take it as a win, and I have like practically his whole family on friends list, he once sent me a nasty message from his wife's account over a misunderstanding that had me in tears. I just can't take his hostility, even when I agree with him, I just can't handle it. I feel like if I defriend him, I am still gonna hear about it and I am gonna end up feeling like crap. Although he did stick up for me once when someone else was talking down to me, but it was just cause he agreed with me on the issue.

 

[Soup]

People like him can cause a lot of misery for so many people. Getting rid of them can be harder than getting rid of a bed bug infestation. If un-friending him will cause you more stress than leaving him where he is, then leave him there & just don't have anything to do with him. Don't write to him & ignore any messages he may send you. As for him taking it as a win, who cares how such a jerk feels? He'll think whatever he thinks regardless of any other considerations. Do whatever you must to minimize any contact or communication & prevent him from hurting you.

 

[HelloDizzy]

I think I'm discriminated against as an adult female with Autism.

People don't tend to think of the Autistic Spectrum as including females and *gasp* adults. Google Image search "autism." You'll see lots of puzzle pieces and pictures of children. So even when I DO tell someone that I have Autism/Aspergers, they quickly forget or shrug it off. Sometimes I wonder if I just IMAGINE that I tell people.
Not only do I get the regular "you're weird" treatment that Aspies get, I don't get a break after disclosing that I have a neurological syndrome.

 

[Pella]

I think I'm discriminated against as an adult female with Autism.

People don't tend to think of the Autistic Spectrum as including females and *gasp* adults. Google Image search "autism." You'll see lots of puzzle pieces and pictures of children. So even when I DO tell someone that I have Autism/Aspergers, they quickly forget or shrug it off. Sometimes I wonder if I just IMAGINE that I tell people.
Not only do I get the regular "you're weird" treatment that Aspies get, I don't get a break after disclosing that I have a neurological syndrome.

I think its difficult for people to comprehend a high autistic person who isn't just like what they see in the movies. So you tell them you have aspergers or autism, and you don't fit their mold of what that's supposed to look like, then we should be able to fit the mold of what a "normal person" is supposed to look like.

 

[HelloDizzy]

True story.
I've even had people confuse Autism with Downs Syndrome many times. "Why aren't your eyes real far apart?" they ask.

All kinds of ridiculous.

 

[poey]

True story.
I've even had people confuse Autism with Downs Syndrome many times. "Why aren't your eyes real far apart?" they ask.

All kinds of ridiculous.

WTF is wrong with people?

*facepalm*

 

[HelloDizzy]

I know right. Ignorance everywhere!

 

[Spinning Compass]

I think one of the ways of reducing discrimination against autistic people is that we need to be more visible. For example, the other night I went to a talk on autism given by a researcher at Notre Dame. Now it was a very interesting speech but until I spoke up and reminded him and the rest of the audience that this is a lifelong condition that does not go away he was focused on children, children, children. After I spoke up he modified his speech to include "and adults."

When a speaker like that comes to town, we need to be present. We need to be willing to speak up about our condition. People are more willing to listen to us in that kind of setting because they are interested, otherwise they would not have come. (Especially with the Tigers in the World Series right now!) I had two audience members thank me for speaking up. One had a nephew who had recently been diagnosed at the age of 45. That is all well and good, but he should have been there as well as his aunt. Where were all the other autistic adults? This is something we have a personal stake in.

In contrast, if someone comes to talk about cancer, you'd better believe a good share of the audience are people who have had cancer, who are currently battling cancer or have loved ones who have been affected by cancer. They are there because this is personal. I do not see this happening in the autism community. Maybe it's because we have so many other issues to deal with but I don't think so. I think we need to get involved and as the woman who spoke on cancer today at my workplace said, "you have to become your own advocate." We have something to offer the research community--our own words and perspectives. We can't afford to sit back and let others decide how we are to be treated.

 

[HelloDizzy]

This is true.
I suppose a lot of us have trained ourselves to try and hide that we have Autism. I've pretty much stopped keeping it a secret or going out of my way to hide it. Oddly enough, hiding it has become second nature.

Every college presentation I ever saw an Autism caused me to stand up and inject my own thoughts not only because they only say "children" but because they were so wrong so often, such as saying all people with autism have developmental delays.

 

[Dragon's Tooth]

humans by nature discriminate against anything that doesn't fit their standard ideals. Just look at the discrimination on an article about a model or body image on a news sites comments. In australia they put a picture of a size 14 woman up and said she was average size and the number of stinging comments about how fat she was surprised me as I found her to look healthy and appropriate for her height and weight.

Autism for so long has been the uncommunicative, flapping hands, rocking back and forth and yelling type of autism. I still think of that when I hear the word. So for people to accept there is a slider from normal people to extreme autism is a big ask.

Throughout my life I have hoped that my good nature would win out over my weirdness. That the right people would look past this. I find few humans are prepared to look past this. I blame social media. The whole concept of facebook, twitter and so on is completely narcissistic so people who are used to looking inwards constantly have a hard time looking outwards and placing themselves in other people's shoes.

I don't think we are alone in the discrimination ... we are just an easier target because most people would think its in our heads. Next time there is a news article on depression have a read of the reader's comments if you're on a news website (and its allowed for the article). The number of people that will write things like "you suck it up and move on" is unbelievable ... more than what I would consider to be just purely trolls. If only it was that simple to solve all the crap in my head ...