I watched this video with great interest & re-watched several parts. What I didn't appreciate at all was the emphasis the head teacher kept placing on how every possible problem these students encountered was due to their Autism. YES they have to be aware that they have it, but this well meaning yet painfully ignorant head teacher made it seem as if these students were condemned to suffer in isolation, rage & frustration all their lives because they were so unfortunate as to have been born defective!
Several of the students expressed severe low self-esteem & there was an alarming degree of suicidal ideation. That head teacher is destroying the very people she is trying to help. So what id she'd feel awful if she had AS. How can she possibly know how she'd feel if she had it? SHE is making them feel awful about having it. They need to hire some teachers who have AS to come work there. They need to see examples of people with AS who are living successful lives. Successful real people with AS could come into the school on occasion & interact with the students about how they've overcome challenges & how they function.
The school has made these students believe in an 'us & them' view of the world. When you take all of the people on the Autism spectrum, then add all the alcoholics, drug addicts, people with anger management issues, OCD people, schizophrenics, those with Alzheimers, PTSD, not to mention chronic debilitating ailments, congenital disabilities, accident victims, spouse abusers, child molesters, peeping Toms, car thieves, wild eyed cult members, religious fanatics, race hate nuts, adrenaline junkies & what nots...AS BEGINS TO LOOK LIKE A GIFT!!!! Think about all the bullets we've dodged!
When I look at NTs, I often wonder what's really going on with them & that's how I can wind up staring. So many are adept at concealing their intentions behind a veritable collection of masks. So many are living truly weird double lives. We Aspies tend to be as we are. Many so-called NTs only appear to be fine. Being a NT is not a guarantee of a happy satisfying life any more than being an Aspie condemns one to lifelong misery.
SCARY
