I don't see my autism a problem

[Aspergers_Aspie]

I don't see my autism as a problem as I don't see it as something negative.
I just watched BBC reporting Scotland on TV and Becca said autism was a problem here's a link

 

[Neonatal RRT]

Good for you. For some of us, autism comes with a long list of pros and cons, not to mention everyone's "autism" is unique to them. There are a lot of things I, as an ASD-1/Asperger's variant, can push through, adapt, and overcome personally, but for others the identical things can present with a disabling condition... and vice-versa.

I agree that we all should see the good in people and to be positive... especially now-a-days. There's so many forces out there trying to bring us down, separate us, diminish us, etc.

Edit: After reading the article, I do agree with a lot of what she is saying here. I think a lot of people on this forum can relate to similar experiences within the public school system. It can take a toll on one's mental health, no doubt. However, I do agree with your point in the sense that my autism, your autism, isn't necessarily negative or a problem... until we have to interact with other people. Some people are pretty cool with it... and others... well, they can really make your life miserable.

 

[JayLapointe]

I don't think autism is a problem at all. Certainly there are some who have specific difficulties, but blanket statements like the BBC reporter make just really illustrate that as far as understanding of autism and neurodivergence has come, there is still a mountain of stigma and misrepresentation to combat.

How does the expression go again "If you've met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism".

 

[the_tortoise]

My autism is ... neutral, to me. I see it as a disability, but don't think that has to make it a a tragic or insurmountable kind of problem. (I am not a "social model" nor "medical model" person...more a blend of the two, I think.)

Disability of all severities is part of human diversity, and everyone has challenges and suffering to various degrees and of various types -- the person living the life should be the one who defines their autism, and if they cannot form or just cannot voice an opinion no assumptions should be made, imo...except that their lives have value, and their thoughts and feelings matter, and they deserve support that focuses on well-being not cure, per se....

I have always hated both me-on-the-whole and/or my autism being seen as nothing but an unacceptable problem to be fixed. I'm a person first, yep -- but an autistic person. My autistic brain is a pretty central part of my personhood, even if it is not at all the only thing that defines me.

Autism+ADHD inherently makes a lot of things hard, but the main reason all the atypical difficulties diminish my quality of life is the way the world is set up -- with some acceptance and minimally adequate, non-traumatizing, non-infantilizing, non-limiting/non-disempowering support, my life would be (and has been, for very brief, too-good-to-be-true-or-to-last periods of time) dramatically different in many positive ways.

Quote from article:

She said an occupational therapist at the unit was the first person to consider that her autism might be "part of the problem".

I think this is just unfortunate phrasing ...I am not certain she meant that autism is itself a problem -- nor that autism's role in the situation was "cause of problems"

Because most of the article seems to be saying "lack of understanding of autism, lack of support and accomodation for autistic difficulties, basic lack of recognition that Becca was autistic" was the problem -- not her autism itself....

Because the lack of recognition and acceptance and understanding and support for her autism lead to incorrect presumptions of bad behaviour, and to doctors presuming fundamentally inexplicable and 100% pathological emotional state or cognitive distortions or similar -- as opposed to the reality of a person having a very predictable distress response to pervasive and severe misunderstanding, misjudgement, lack of support, and bullying because nobody recognized their autism....that got so bad it spiralled out of control, and only got better when the occupational therapist realized she needed support for autism things like sensory processing difficulties.