I don't think NTs want to make autistics "think" like NTs or even care how autistics think or act, as long as autistics do not endanger themselves or others or cost a disproportionate amount of money to support. Sadly, the real issue with NTs is the monetary cost of supporting autistics from diagnosis to death because so few are employed and self-sufficient.
Perhaps you are thinking of the more extreme cases when you say here that we might "endanger ourselves", but speaking for myself, I am far, far more likely to be "endangered" by an N.T., and in more ways than I can list here. I also don't consider it to be "my fault" that whenever I have been able, on those rare occasions, to support myself through having a full-tiime job that I was usually the first one to be made redundant, even though I followed all the rules, turned up on time, took my job seriously et cetera, whilst the "teacher's pets" (i.e. favoured ass-kissers and gossips) would get to keep theirs.
As an aside, just as autistics resent the perceived biases of the NT world, please be aware that NTs resent the constant disparagement of themselves by some in the autistic community.
As though we had a level playing field here, as though there was just as much discrimination against N.T.'s as there is against us. What planet are you living on?
It's like biting the hand that feeds you.
So... we should be thankful for their "charity", because without them we would be nothing? So we should just forget all the mistreatment and abuse they put us through? Forgive and forget? No, I don't think so.
If you are aggrieved by some silly symbol used to depict autism (isn't the puzzle piece just Autism Speaks' or the National Autism Society's symbol or logo and not some internationally recognized symbol for autism?), then how do you think NTs feel when autistics advocate adoption of NT symbols like commenter #29 above?
I have no idea. How DO they feel? Do you really think they even care, or would care if they aware of it, which most of them are not?
Those types of comments are crude, in bad taste, insulting, insensitive and evidence a lack of understanding of NTs...
So should I feel sorry for them? Not gonna happen.
...and the existence of a major chip on one's shoulder about one's disabilities which NTs did not cause.
Except, that they DID cause the existence of what you cavalierly dismiss as being nothing more than a "major chip". You know, the physical and psychological abuse, the bullying, the... do I really need to say this?
Maybe the symbol for NTs should be a dollar sign?
Yes, maybe it should.
I would not spend my time, money and resources as a volunteer tutor for autistics if they did not want me to do so, did not ask me to help them, and did not work so very hard to learn the GED materials. Their actions are entirely voluntary and not coerced by anyone as far as I can tell. They are driven by a desire to better themselves and achieve goals of which they are rightfully very proud. If I am making them "think" like NTs in order to pass the GED exam...
So, on the one hand you claim you are not coercing them in any way, but then you don't seem to be concerned that you may be "making them think like NT's". Okay, maybe I just read it wrong (or something).
...by teaching basic grammar, writing, literature, history and maths, and they don't want to learn that, then I'm clearly wasting my time trying to help them achieve their self-stated goals which you imply they really do not want.
All of this applies regardless of whether or not the students in question are autistic or not. If students, regardless of their "wiring", are simply not interested in what you are teaching them, then they will end up failing. It has nothing to do with whether or not they are autistic and, what's more, autistic students tend to be far more effective at managing their time, can better concentrate on a given task than NT students, and make far better pupils overall because they don't waste the teacher's time causing trouble, gossiping, being a brat, and so on, so you should actually be having FEWER problems with them than you would if you were teaching "normal" students.
I know better than that and, like most NTs, attribute the nasty anti-NT comments to the sad frustration of people who simply don't know and don't want to know any better. I know it is merely venting, but not all NTs understand that.
No, I'm not sad and frustrated, and I really don't care whether or not N.T.'s understand that I am "merely venting", because they really don't deserve any sympathy from me. They are the ones who rule the world, remember. They are the ones who make the rules, the ones who have all the privileges, and it is because of them and their illogical ways that the planet is in the horrendous mess it's in. That's not "NT-bashing", that's just the truth, plain and simple.