My awesome friend and colleague, Saro, sent me this article. And I'm glad she did! You know how when you have a passion for doing something, you just don't even notice some aspects of it (especially the bad/challenging parts)? That may sound counterintuitive, but I think it's true. From an early age, I was drawn to working with this population, and I guess that has kind of blinded me to some of the ways others see Autism. I hadn't really realized how hopeless the general population seems to feel about an Autism Spectrum diagnosis (ASD). Obviously I see the major stressors it causes on a daily basis, but I guess I thought the rest of the world didn't see that. Yeah, okay, of course they hear about it, but when did it turn into a broad assumption that people on the Autism Spectrum can't be independent?? Let me slow down a bit...
ASD is, as the name suggests, a spectrum disorder. There is a vast array of ways the disorder can present itself, impacting (both negatively and positively) everything from daily self-care functioning to academic skills to social skills. One area that it (as far as I have experienced, read, learned, etc.) always impacts is social skills. But that doesn't mean a person can not live independently. Shit, think of every single person you know personally who has poor social skills. Now think of people you don't know personally who are notorious for their low social graces. By now you should have a pretty crowded image consisting of some friends and family members, a lot of "nerds" and "40-year old virgins", maybe some serial killers, and then (if you went down the right path) a LOT of geniuses. Geniuses of all fields: art, music, computers, science, engineering, acting, and writing. There are many more. Doctors and lawyers too, but we won't get into that since there are a couple of you reading this ;) you know i love you! Oh man, and let's not forget the psychiatrists. Geez, I really think every psychiatrist I have ever met is lacking in social skills. Don't take that the wrong way. I know them personally and genuinely like, even love, them, it's just how it is for some. Someone could probably argue that anyone who is especially good at one specific thing is lacking socially. The brain is an incredible organ that never ceases to amaze me, but it is also limited in size. If one section of the brain is particularly strong, other areas can under-function. Which leads me on a tangent...
We all have our little idiosyncrasies. Every single one of us. And I'm willing to bet that, in the right circumstances, each of them would fall under the 'social' umbrella. Even if it is not strictly a social behavior, it is at least perceived as odd when performed in a social setting.
Back to that awkward group photo you imagined... most of those people can live independently, right? Sure, some of them live in their parents' basements, and some might even live in jail, but it's possible. I'm totally getting on a soapbox here, but my point is this: all forms of life have differing levels of functionality. It's just sometimes unfortunate that humans have to label e v e r y t h i n g .
Anyway (wow, way to get me going, Saro ;) ), I am really happy this article and company exists. Every single ASD child I have worked with has at least one thing he or she is exceptional at. I'm talking unbelievably exceptional. Genius. With each child I have strived to find that skill (if it's hidden) and harness it. There is a way to take each of their exceptional skills and tweak it into a more 'socially acceptable' behavior, i.e. a J-O-B. I love that this Dutch family started a company to help consultants find work. Afterall, that is often the hardest part of getting a job: finding the person who needs your skill. It's not that someone out there has a skill that isn't needed, it's that they just haven't found the person who needs it. I'm kind of amazed there aren't more companies like this. A more specialized temp agency, of sorts.
The main points I take from this article is that we need to tweak how we test intelligence and how we teach. In general, not just specific to Autism and other so-called disorders. I think it says a lot that ASD studies, diagnostic tests, and programs developed and used in the U.S. are more negative (for lack of a better word) than those of other countries. Maybe American society puts way too much emphasis on social skills, which leads to low skills on diagnostic and academic tests because the basis of many of the test questions are social in nature. Think back to an SAT question, or better yet, a question from a standardized test we had to take in elementary school. Even the math questions have social connotations. For example, "You have 5 cookies and you and 5 of your friends what a cookie. How do you divide up the 5 cookies equally?". Sure there's a mathematical answer to that, but the real answer is "Fuck you, get your own cookies, these are mine". And while we wouldn't want to live in a society where everyone is like that, it might be nice to live as though that attitude wasn't a diagnosable condition. We are working on it. The current revisions of the DSM (how my field determines diagnoses) include an adjustment to how we label and diagnose Autism/Asperger's, finally acknowledging it as a true spectrum. Maybe one day we can go so far as to drop the word 'disorder' altogether.
*this was a long article and i only touched on a few themes/points, but i recommend reading the whole thing. i also want to note that i'm speaking in pretty broad, general terms. there are people ASD who will not be able to live independently. my intent was not to discount that population and minimize the significance of an Autism diagnosis. i did, however, intend to point out that there are people of all kinds that may not be able to live independently. some with a diagnosis of one type or another and some without any medical reason. so let's try not over-generalize an entire population. of any kind.
~Much love,
A
