Mainstream autistic vs. other (and Vale Joan Kirner)
Here in the Australia state of Victoria, we had a female premier from 1990-92, called Joan Kirner. She fought for the introduction of special education into mainstream schools. She is now deceased.
I'm told that I could not have attended a mainstream school before she was elected, because in my case having an aide in class was a condition for attending a mainstream school, which seems to be unlike the vast majority of posters either here, on asperclick or aspies central, including all the ones diagnosed in their teens or later.
Are there any posters here who are high fuctinoning, but not mainstream autistic? As a child, I never thought of such people as being on the spectrum, and thought of them as normal people, however odd or eccentric they may be, or however talented they are in any areas. I thought that someone who went through school normally and acheiving a lot of social success unmentored must not be on the spectrum.
If you are non-mainstream autistic you would have had a diagnosis early enough to qualify for an aide in class and other special ed. Mainstream autistic people also tend to talk normally and are fully able to form words. Non-mainstream autistic people may have minor speech impairments (such as stumbling over words) and struggle with explaining things.
Mainstream autistic people tend to be more obviously non-autistic to those who know them personally than mainstream ones.
ASPartOfMe
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I'm told that I could not have attended a mainstream school before she was elected, because in my case having an aide in class was a condition for attending a mainstream school, which seems to be unlike the vast majority of posters either here, on asperclick or aspies central, including all the ones diagnosed in their teens or later.
Are there any posters here who are high fuctinoning, but not mainstream autistic? As a child, I never thought of such people as being on the spectrum, and thought of them as normal people, however odd or eccentric they may be, or however talented they are in any areas. I thought that someone who went through school normally and acheiving a lot of social success unmentored must not be on the spectrum.
If you are non-mainstream autistic you would have had a diagnosis early enough to qualify for an aide in class and other special ed. Mainstream autistic people also tend to talk normally and are fully able to form words. Non-mainstream autistic people may have minor speech impairments (such as stumbling over words) and struggle with explaining things.
Mainstream autistic people tend to be more obviously non-autistic to those who know them personally than mainstream ones.
I grew up pre special education. You were mainstreamed or locked away in an institution. I graduated college with a B.A. with no classroom aides, it was not even a concept then.
Most of the time I have not been a social success. At times I have been successful enough to get by and even do decently well. I have always been autistic.
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Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
I went to school in southern California in the 1960s and 1970s. I was diagnosed autistic at 2.75 years old, then was in a program for kids with developmental disabilities from then until 4 years old (I didn't speak until 4). I was mainstreamed from kindergarten onward in public school. I'm high-functioning in certain ways, including intellectually, but I'm very challenged in social interactions and in initiating and organizing new behavior. Public school in the US back then was rough, with bullying and ostracism for kids who were different. I learned to speak as others do (although at times I can stutter a lot) and to function in many social settings (although some of these can burn me out badly). The bullying and being shunned along with teacher disapproval for different/autistic behaviors pushed me into becoming very different on my exterior versus my interior. Despite being mainstreamed and being able to function successfully in a professional career and to appear "normal" to many people, I am still autistic through-and-through. I have achieved significant professional success (and am now retired) but never had much social success or interpersonal success either - I've been divorced twice and don't have any close friends and spend a lot of time alone. I'm active in my church, but that's about the extent of my contact with others at this point. I've known a number of other autistic folks, but the ones whose history I know were also mainstreamed. Mentoring would have made a big difference for me, had it been available, in school and college and actually even in my professional career. I'm encouraged to hear about the introduction of special education into mainstream schools in Australia - that will help a lot of kids.
I wasn't diagnosed with HFA until my late teens, but I was kept out of mainstream school because my impairments were obvious to my parents (they distrusted doctors too much to allow me to be tested, as was recommended when I was a little kid). I don't think I come across as very autistic in person, though, depending on the setting. I speak very well, and it is assumed that I am equally competent in all other areas. I only become obviously autistic if I'm experiencing sensory difficulties or trying to complete difficult or unfamiliar tasks. I am still pretty much out of the mainstream setting, though - I've been told that I'm not quite ready for university yet, in terms of skills required for complete independence. Maybe another few years and I'll be able to make the full transition.
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I have not the kind affections of a pigeon. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
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