Autism Acceptance Day, 2014: Liking autistics exactly the way they are

[nightengalesknd]

I grew up watching Mr. Rogers. I watched as a young child and continued watching well into adulthood, but I think the time he meant the most to me was during junior high. I would come home from school and turn on the television in time to hear Mr. Rogers tell me, and children everywhere, that “people can like you exactly the way you are.” Those

Comments

[sammason]

I like you. I like you even more for your informative words here. If you choose to post this article, or similar, to friendly_crips I'm one of several people who'll like that.

[nightengalesknd]

Thanks. It's nice to be able to put Big Thoughts on, well, if not paper, cyberpaper.

[gaudior]

You're so awesome. I agree with what you're saying, and I'm glad you're saying it.

Are there books you'd recommend for working with adult autistics beyond Loud Hands?

[nightengalesknd]

Most of what I know is aimed AT adult autistics rather than professionals, but one thing of being a professional is being familiar with what is out there to point people towards. At least, I have a growing bookshelf at work based on this philosophy, right next to my DSM5.

So far as I know, all but the Incredible 5 Point Scale are written BY autistics and other neurodivergent individuals.

ASAN (The Autistic Self-Advocacy Network) has a couple of e-books available as free downloadable PDFs. Welcome to the Autistic Community is a pretty nice description of both strengths and challenges associated with autism, and has an adult and adolescent version. Navigating College is aimed at people considering or in college and includes advice on young-adult issues such as disclosure and dating as well as academics and dorm living.

For books that are unfortunately not free downloadable, I really like "Ask and Tell" which addresses self-advocacy and disclosure issues that may affect adults in social and employment situations. There's a

[jedibl]

I do not always understand your viewpoint, although I always respect it and try to learn from it. I understand and appreciate everything you've said in this post.

(And you've at least trained me to cringe when I see people reposting things from Autism Speaks in my facebook news feed.)

[nightengalesknd]

Thanks. This is something I've been thinking a lot about lately and wanted to try to say.

Autism Speaks. . . is so everywhere. I wish I had the power to do something beyond spreading enough awareness that people cringe. Maybe next year?

[plasticsturgeon]

Can I clone you and put one of you in every hospital and doctor's office?

[nightengalesknd]

How about we settle for my teaching as many future HCPs as possible about neurodiversity? Cloning has such worrisome side effects. . .

[plasticsturgeon]

:) But will they listen?!

[nightengalesknd]

Some of the ones around me have been listening, if not to my talk of neurodiversity, at least to my talk of social model and ableism and listening to PWD in general and autistics in particular. It is a slow process. But so would cloning be.