Do you still believe in the Autistic Community & Culture

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And all that's besides the larger amount of people who have been involved in the general disability rights movement and the developmental disability self-advocacy movement, both of which include autistic people as just one part. (And the autistic community is just part of the disability community which is part of the general community and so on.)

Frankly I have little faith in single-issue movements at this point in time and would rather be trying to work out how people in general can survive in the long term.

I guess I have no clue about the "Autism Community and Culture". There is a great deal of hostility on display over in the Activism forum. There seems to be VASTLY different theories about causation, VASTLY different ideas for intervention, and in general a confusing cacophony competing voices.

I feel like I'm in a crowded room, verging on sensory overload.

I think I'm going to be watching this scrum from the sidelines for awhile. I may be teaching art to developmentally disabled adults in the near future. It should be interesting to see how these folks interact with "the system".

Believable topic

I believe as an AS person that I would like to make a contribution as a writer who happens to be AS. Even if there are far too many writers already.

The time has passed in which minorities can just shout out their differences, as ends in themselves. I have never been to specifically Autiistic awareness groups such as Autreat/Autscape and thus cannot form an opinion, but I would hope that these and other groups are collections of creative/scientific people whose AS differences have contributed interestingly to humanity, though not so much socially.

I would cringe if asked to form some group, or be a fundraiser. These are activities I will not participate in.

Any collective institution has a distribution of members in terms of the "hardness" or "softness" in their views. It happens.


I wonder if the "Asperger's League" is still active in Wellington, NZ. They want to replace the government with themselves, repress all NT's and make Aspies into elite citizens. They hate any aspie who disagrees with them. A member got in trouble for throwing rotten food at a dissident once.

Ken, for what it's worth, the questions you're having are the same I'm having with a different group of people.

I have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a rare connective tissue disorder, and I've been volunteering with the national foundation for a number of years. The discussion of "where do we go from here" is constant and ongoing; much of what we do is particularly valid for people who have just been diagnosed, and it will always be that way. People need to know they're not alone, and have someplace to find the resources they need to find help. And for many, that's all they'll ever need, is a starting place.

For others, they'll want to have an ongoing relationship with other people like them, or they'll stick around because they find that helping new people is enough validity to keep going, or they'll decide to start their own groups. Getting any bunch of people with any out-of-the-norm syndrome/disease/whatever moving toward the same goal, though, is really difficult.

In the end, all you can do is what's right for you. I will tell you, this has been a great place to find for a 54-year-old who finally realized what was wrong. That's a lot to have accomplished, maybe that's enough? But maybe it's not. I don't think there's any real answer.

I think that most forums are this way. People come to seek information, they stay as long as they feel they are learning, and once they have gathered and shared as much information as they feel they can usefully, they generally move on to something more challenging. I've been a part of several forums which I hoped would one day support the advancement of whatever cause, but over time, I dropped away from them because I stepped up or down a level in my need for involvement or support and what those forums offered no longer fit my needs.

Do I think that things can change? Yes. However, it takes time and work. Asperger's and Autism are just now becoming widely known to the general public. First comes knowledge, then understanding, then acceptance, and following these people must be motivated to work to change the greater community culture. I think right now most people at large are still gaining knowledge of AS and still have a way to go before there is true understanding and acceptance.

I've been different all my life, but until I started working in the mental health field a year ago, I really knew very little about AS, much less thought that I might be somewhere on the spectrum. If it takes that long for someone who has traits of AS to learn that they might be, think how long it will take society as a whole to become truly aware.

Personally, activism is far too draining for me, even when I am a staunch supporter of the cause. I think a shared art gallery would be cool, so long as I didn't have to physically go to said gallery, or organize the showing.

Also, Vector is correct. I have not heard of those organizations. But, I am very new at this, as I've only recently learned I am on the spectrum. I also have not had the opportunity to socialize with others like me, so perhaps it would not be as draining as interaction usually is for me. I have a hard time imagining that though.

I remember reading, and perhaps it was even said in this thread, that trying to get auties to work together is like trying to herd cats. We're not exactly a cohesive group.

THE BESTEST AS VIDEO EVER Apologies for the all-caps, but that was too funny!

The posters have a point. Personally, I'd not be too much inclined to have AS social functions, electing a Grand Poopah (did I say that right?), and rallying. I doubt others would, due to our inherent feline nature, as shown in the video above.

I think KenG and others might have a different approach though: Show off our special interests! Now that would draw our attention, and maybe the attention of the NT world. Showcase our talents and unique way of being. What kitty doesn't like to strut? By analogy, what Aspie (or other ASD) doesn't like to show off their stuff? ASD individuals have admirable personality traits that are unique, such as abject honesty, genuineness, and curiosity. We might want to show others these qualities.

On the Wrong Planet there is an emphasis on threads showcasing our members music, art, our science forum (!), etc. Recently one member shared his stunning photography with everyone - we do respond to that.