02 April, 2010

facebook

a screenshot of my facebook status which says: hi everyone, I have autism spectrum disorder. ASD affects people in a lot of different ways and some people with ASD have very hard lives, but it's important to remember that everyone with ASD is a person and has their own way of experiencing joy. I think that awareness campaigns can sometimes create distance between disabled and non-disabled people by encouraging pity and a depressing view of life with a disability.
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5 comments:

  1. J.April 2, 2010 at 12:45 AM

    I don't think she'll care, my friend told me that she thinks it would be great for people who have an ASD work with those who are disabled because we understand the mindset almost.

    :) But here's to hoping she doesn't notice or care.

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  2. xineApril 3, 2010 at 12:15 AM

    I'm really curious.

    What do you think of Autism Awareness Month?

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  3. Amanda Forest VivianApril 3, 2010 at 12:34 AM

    I know Autism Awareness Day, which is today/yesterday hence the status, is related to Autism Speaks. I don't know about the month and what kind of politics it is related to. March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month and autism is a developmental disability so I guess I'm confused as to why we get two months.

    I don't know what they do in Utah for DD month, but in my town there were a bunch of pictures of DD people and the theme seemed to be "look at all these DD people having fun, being in relationships, etc." That's something I can get behind. Whereas Autism Awareness doesn't seem to be so much "people with autism are human" but "autism is SO CONFUSING and TRAGIC and people with autism are SO DIFFICULT TO BE AROUND--we have to do something to STOP THERE FROM BEING PEOPLE LIKE THIS ANYMORE."

    like this: http://aspergersquare8.blogspot.com/2008/04/you-may-already-be-aware.html

    what do you think of Autism Awareness Month? I may not be extremely educated about what it is but the idea of awareness tends to make me feel alienated as all get out.

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  4. xineApril 3, 2010 at 5:37 PM

    I feel like AAM is theoretically a good idea (awareness isn't the problem), but is usually poorly executed (the whole "these SAD, MISERABLE, HOPELESS CHILDREN!" attitude). Folks don't really do any big events in Utah which I know of... usually Autism Speaks does a walk on the third (this year they did it early) and people wear blue for a day. The focus on autism is usually very negative, however, rarely "Look, people with disabilities can enrich our society and are freakin' rad!"

    I liked this article on the subject:
    http://counteringageofautism.blogspot.com/2010/04/not-day-not-week-not-month-acceptance.html

    I dunno, the whole day/month thing seems kind of lame to me. Pretty much every day I'm given the opportunity is about disability awareness, because I bring Kiddo so many places and often end up explaining his behavior to people and giving them a mini-workshop on how his GoTalk works. It would be just plain ridiculous to save these discussions for April.

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  5. AnonymousApril 5, 2010 at 11:42 AM

    Hi, I don't think I've commented here before but I've been reading for several months. Just wanted to say I think it's awesome that you posted this on facebook! =) I have an invisible disability as well- I have major depressive disorder and social anxiety. It prevents me from going out with friends a lot makes me miss a lot of work. It sucks that I feel like I have to lie and tell people I'm sick because I don't think they'll understand. Maybe I should do something like your facebook status. Thanks for being so awesome =) I love your blog!

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