I think you are filling a real gap here - the voices of young people in your age group are not much heard in the blogosphere and it is great that you are providing one.
What you, and young people like you, write acts as a counterpoint to the very paternalistic articles issued by paternalistic outfits like AS and biased researchers like Simon Baron-Cohen who purport to be speaking for us/you but are actually speaking about us, down to us, and perpetuating false sterotypes and all that flows from that.
You are the expert on your experience of what it means to be a young person on the spectrum. Write about that, as honestly and as much from the heart as you can. Perhaps the most important articles you could write might address the impacts of living with false stereotypes and the claims of careerist academics who use ASD to further their own careers, rather than contributing to solutions and genuine efforts to promote inclusion at all levels of life, and how this impacts on a young person at your stage of life.
Age is no barrier to having insight and sharing that insight, and all strength to your arm. Young people on the spectrum really need to hear supportive voices from other young people on the spectrum - voices that describe experience they can really identify with and relate to. Keep writing, you have a lot of talent for this and something very valuable to offer. Don't let the inevitable scoffers discourage you in any way. There will be some who will try to attack you with their scoffing because you are a threat to them in some way. Ignore them. You are contributing to better outcomes in the future for young people on the spectrum, and it's a terrific thing to be doing at your age. I really admire that.
03 Apr 2015, 4:26 pm
