4 ms·

> neurodiversity (in general) not as things to be managed but as forms of diversity in the human expression to be wholly welcomed in wider society. > Put diffe

by o11c 2y ago

> neurodiversity (in general) not as things to be managed but as forms of diversity in the human expression to be wholly welcomed in wider society. > Put differently: Autism is not something to be managed away. That's an abominable take. It only makes sense if you're willing to ignore the massive suffering and ongoing trauma. I'll refrain from explicitly invoking Godwin but the comparison is obvious.

parpfish 2y ago
I always cringe when people try to apply this take to something like Downs. It’s always a bunch of pandering about how they are happy and have a childlike sense of wonder
- yareal 2y ago
  What about when people with Down's syndrome say they are living fulfilling lives? Obviously paternalistic "look how happy they are" is a shit take, but "I'm genuinely content with my life" from a person with Down's syndrome seems like a pretty important voice to listen to, surely.
mrangle 2y ago
"I'd normalize if I could" and "People with Type 1 Autism should have more social room" can be held at the same time. This isn't always the case, but much of the time the trauma is due to an ill fit rather than being inevitable. An example of inevitability might be the trauma experienced due to unexpected deaths of loved ones. An "ill fit" needs no elaboration. The few people with autism who manage to succeed and thereby improve their environment seem to suffer less frequent trauma, if any unless it is of the inevitable type. And then, for example, would people with autism have such an unusually difficult time with loss if their support network wasn't so tenuous? Maybe, or maybe to some lesser degree. I think that a reasonable starting point would be the question: if someone with type 1 autism could have everything that they wanted including socially, would they still want to change their nature? I think that responses would be mixed. For example, take the young autistic woman who just underwent assisted suicide in the Netherlands. Does it seem more likely that her nature was fatally flawed or that her society didn't think to get off of its ass, sing to her in unison, and then make room?

by o11c 2y ago

parpfish 2y ago

I always cringe when people try to apply this take to something like Downs. It’s always a bunch of pandering about how they are happy and have a childlike sense of wonder

yareal 2y ago
What about when people with Down's syndrome say they are living fulfilling lives? Obviously paternalistic "look how happy they are" is a shit take, but "I'm genuinely content with my life" from a person with Down's syndrome seems like a pretty important voice to listen to, surely.

mrangle 2y ago

"I'd normalize if I could" and "People with Type 1 Autism should have more social room" can be held at the same time. This isn't always the case, but much of the time the trauma is due to an ill fit rather than being inevitable. An example of inevitability might be the trauma experienced due to unexpected deaths of loved ones. An "ill fit" needs no elaboration. The few people with autism who manage to succeed and thereby improve their environment seem to suffer less frequent trauma, if any unless it is of the inevitable type. And then, for example, would people with autism have such an unusually difficult time with loss if their support network wasn't so tenuous? Maybe, or maybe to some lesser degree. I think that a reasonable starting point would be the question: if someone with type 1 autism could have everything that they wanted including socially, would they still want to change their nature? I think that responses would be mixed. For example, take the young autistic woman who just underwent assisted suicide in the Netherlands. Does it seem more likely that her nature was fatally flawed or that her society didn't think to get off of its ass, sing to her in unison, and then make room?