Tag Archives: ASAN

Why is Interdependence more important than Independence?

We urge each other to live happily ever after by doing what counts in our life. Some people listen to their instincts while others try to fight their emotions in an emotional outcry to live independently. We live in an interdependent world for a reason because very few people can fully live with no support. Some people need more support than others although we all need some kind of support to help get through the basic needs of survival. We are connected to each other all the time now through social networks we crave like Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and many other internet sites to connect with. Some people are lonelier than others, but most importantly every one becomes lonely at some point during a day.  Some people who say being alone most of the time does not bother them have decided to give up on finding a connection with a person. In any case, people will find any connection they can follow like even a connection with an animal to know they are not alone.

Being who we are and who we AUT to be is part of our life, but we also need to feel connected to someone who gives us support. It starts with family and branches out to other people we can connect with who are similar to family contributing to our needs. However we need to feel some part of the day that we can do some things on our own. Its important to adapt to whatever we are working or doing at the moment to determine if we can do it on our own or needing some kind of support. These decisions can only be made when we can intuitively know what situation we are dealing with. Sometimes our physical bodies can inhibit us and sometimes our minds slow us down from stress. It does not matter who you are and what your place is in society whether you are Autistic or Neurotypical, we always need some kind of support system big or small.

People often say they want their independence, but the path to success does not lead to the totality of independence. We need a good support system to be dependent on too. Recently, The Autistic Self Advocacy Network sent out requests for an ACTION ALERT: What Does Community Mean To You? Let Medicaid Know!. Community is important because the community you choose becomes part of your support network included with your family. Medicaid needs to understand the basic human rights every one has including those people Medicaid serves. Every one deserves to live in communities inclusively together so that any one can succeed in society and learn from each other. It is important for every one to live together and support each other. There is no room for segregation in this world. Besides segregation just inhibits a community from really bonding and contributing to help each other learn how to function in society.   Looking back in History many different kinds of people were often segregated, but it always failed. So why does the government want to segregate a group of people who have disabilities? What is a disability anyway?  Well, I feel the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network has started the right conversation in beginning to end segregation.

Whoever you are and whatever you do in this society, you still need some kind of support to help you through daily living sometimes. No body can always do it on their own and we all need someone to get us through our mistakes and mishaps.

(Just a small post which I can expand on later, posting more soon, Autistic Artistic Carnival coming soon too!)

OUT, J

Part 3 of the 3 part Blogging edition: Neurodiversity

Neurodiversity is just as it sounds, it is knowing how we are special, unique, and have a very our very own belief system that should not be imposed on other people. Why do we have Neurodiversity? If we didn’t have different kinds of minds and we were not wired differently, we would be considered the same. Wouldn’t that be boring? What would life really be like? Before people consider every one thinking the same way, we should be considering how others think too. There are many different kinds of minds and different ways of thinking and different ways of living. The only thing we can learn to do the same is having proper social skills to incorporate ourselves to function with each other to form relationships. It does not mean change our way of being and thinking. We need different perspectives in the world to teach each other about life. However, we do have free will to think of our different way of being, but that does not mean you can impose your ideas on others. It just means speaking your mind and telling your stories. The way we all can fix society is by any one in the world communicating their views to share it and evaluate what others say, but not getting angry or upset when we hear what they say. Listen to the suggestions and/or thinking the other person may be telling you, and adjust it to your state of being to become your unique ‘YOU’. Any one can believe whatever they want to, and can be what they want to be to succeed in their life, but they must choose to accept it. Otherwise someone will always be influenced by another and eventually Neurodiversity disappears. How sad would that be? Think about it!

(I made a logo for a front and back of a Tee Shirt for Autistic Pride Day June 18, I will be printing tee shirts. If any one has would like a my Tee Shirt, please send me a message.  This is the front of the Tee Shirt I made)

posting more soon,

OUT, J

Communication Shutdown November 1; Is it really necessary?

There are certain Autism organizations promoting a Communication Shutdown on November 1 thinking people will support Autism Awareness. The real goal here is not Awareness, but understanding and acceptance of different people who express themselves in many ways. The Communications Shutdown for November 1 will shutdown Facebook and Twitter to every one, but is this really necessary to shutdown the only way of communication people with Autism Spectrum Disorders like myself have to tell the world our viewpoints. Speaking is very important to tell your viewpoints to your peers and professionals abound. The way any person communicates in this world mostly by talking builds us up and strengthens who we are. A person who talks about their feelings to another is giving themselves a means of letting go of past bad feelings inside. So, why take away the only means of communication most Autistic people have? Twitter and Facebook used by many Autistic individuals like myself is the one of the only means of communication of our thoughts and feelings to express to others. What are they trying to prove by taking this away for 1 day? There is no real substance to organizations deciding to shutdown communication on Facebook and Twitter for 1 day. The only way to do something about this issue of stopping the communication shutdown is by supporting the fact Autistics do Speak in many different ways! By shutting down communication on these 2 major websites, you won’t be helping Autistic individuals like myself, you’ll be hurting us and yourselves!! We’ll become more shut out from the world feeling lonely and isolated.

Every body should be able to say what they feel and not be shunned or ridiculed for saying their feelings nor should they feel pushed away from the limelight. If you really want to help Autistic individuals speak their mind, let them do it in their comfortable way and practice with them to talk in a conversation.

By communicating in our comfortable way, we feel stronger, relaxed, and positive. We feel connected more with people we know on Facebook and Twitter because we get to communicate our thoughts and feelings much better. Life is a tribute to having connections for ourselves that when we fill ourselves up with connections which matter, we feel more complete as a person. So, why can’t every one speak their minds without shutting down the world? Every one should be able to decide for themselves what to do because we are all individuals and have our own ideas.

Be Strong, Bold, and listen to what we say!

posting soon enough,

OUT, J

This was too much for a tweet, so look here

Recently, I noticed Autism Speaks tweeted about how in 45 years The United States of America will be a country of Autistic people. I saw it was even retweeted by someone I follow on my twitter page as well. When I went on Autism Speaks twitter page just now before I posted this, I just noticed it is no longer on their twitter page. Did Autism Speaks realize what they said was absurd?  What was the meaning of Autism Speaks statement? What is the message that they are trying to convey to the public? Is it a scare tactic! Is it really the truth! Autism does not make us horrible nor does it make us incapable.  Autistic people can achieve and fit in to society because it is a handicap like any other.  So why make such an unrealistic and a false statement about Autism? It is a very unrealistic statement since Autism has been around for generations.
Many people have only just begun to acknowledge it in the past 10 years. Autistic people can and will succeed if only the negativity can stop trying to say having Autism makes a person a failure.   There are some conditions which can incapsulate us and make us feel weak. If only every one can feel strong enough to use their condition to feel good and embody strength from any one’s conditions. Autism Speaks falters to understand the idea someone who has any condition even be Autistic can succeed. Autistic people can at times develop seizures and many sensory issues, but it does not mean you classify those people as a failure. We live on this planet to earn our way up the ranks until we die and move on. Instead of speaking of the issues Autism Speaks brings up by saying we are all in a crisis, only then Autistics can soon be a part of society. Well, What’s wrong with Autistics being a part of society? Every thing does happen for a reason and we need to accept those reasons to live our life. May be the reason every one is acknowledging Autistic people in the last 10 years is because every one finally sees the hurt Autistic people have had through the years. I am not saying Neurotypicals don’t go through pain, they do, but this is different. This is Autism!
Autistic people grow up to be functioning Adults! It’s a fact! Believe me Autism Speaks, you need to understand the adults in this world who have Autism and will grow old with it. Autistics need patient people to help.  Autistics have trouble doing it on our own, but can with the right support given to them can succeed.  We can and will be able to move behind the low expectations that Autism Speaks conveys to the public. For all the Autistics living their childhood now, the earlier Neurotypicals help them, the more they will be more competent Adults than some Autistic Adults today who are struggling from lack of early intervention. The older Adult Autistic population are suffering with Autism because no one recognized Autism when they were growing up and through their early adulthood. This is a shame, but at least the newer generations are compensating for that. Why does not Autism Speaks try to help those Adults who are trying to fit in to society now?
It does not matter if you are in an organization like Autism Speaks or just an average person, you can help out someone with any handicap to ease their pain. Autism guarantees success if only every one brings their heads together to recognize it early and let Autistic people embrace themselves like every one else.  Strengthening egos can make any one more happy.  What will you do?  Fight for the rights of Autistic people who need positive reinforcement to succeed or spread the negative words of failure Autism Speaks conveys! It’s your choice.
OUT, J

A Voice for Autism

The government recently made a new connection with the Autistic community by confirming Ari Ne’eman to the National Council on Disability.  Ari not only has autism, but is a driving force in promoting education, awareness and understanding to the public.  It is to be hoped that by this confirmation it will help shed more light and a voice to not only the children, but the autistic adult.  There is a large population of adults with autism whose voices are not being heard.  Instead the focus is on the causes, cure, blame and birth rate of newly diagnosed cases.
We live in  a human society where we are judged harshly for not fitting into what society calls the “norm.” Many people use their reasoning to generalize how every one should be and not leaving room for those of us who are different. As an autistic adult I look at the world as an incongruent system that I must conform to.  I am not alone in thinking and feeling this way.  There are many individuals struggling to fit in to this world. Being different can work for some people who know how to navigate through the maze that we live by and can try to fit in.  We do applaud those who are different when they offer entertainment, creativity and scientific discoveries.  However, looking at the world it is not a kind place for those of us who are autistic.
In our culture it allows many people to live their life the way they want to, but those of us who are not neurotypical feel displaced.  We are living with unique minds trying to unravel the mysteries of fitting in like Sherlock Holmes solving a difficult case.  Some people feel they need life to change for them because the rejection they have to deal with on a daily basis destroys any sense of self.  So how and where can these changes start to happen for the adults living with autism?  Why does everyone forget that the autistic youngsters, will become an adult sooner then they realize? It would be good if some advances and acceptance were made for all individuals on the spectrum.
The National Council on Disability tries to encourage every one with a disability to strive to their fullest potential.  This means just because you have a disability, does not mean you are incapable to do anything. Disability is a label used to displace others who society feels cannot be or do anything.  Every one has an ability to move this world in whatever way they possibly can.  The more one realizes this it will facilitate the change needed in society.
People who are given labels are generally expected to act in a certain manner.  Their behave at times can be very outrageous.  It is accepted because of the label they have.  After all why should they act differently when it is expected and allowed.  Their behavior is unfair to every one else around them.  We should be teaching, not enabling them.  Some people need a lot more support and understanding to be taught how to function in society.  There is acceptable ways to live in this society while they may be different they have to be accepted to be accepted.  Changes can and will occur in time for it is a process of being patient, working hard and keeping our morale up.  The first step is getting rid of categorizing and labeling people. How can we do this?  Where can we start?  This can be done on a small level by every one of us.  On a larger scale by The National Council on Disability and other organizations.
So, Hopefully Ari will be able to fulfill some needed goals.
OUT, J