Fnord wrote:
Because I act differently to other people, I believe others assume that I am unfit for society. There is a misconception that autistic people won't amount to anything. But I am one of many who are proving otherwise.
(Me too, Matt! Me too!)
Read the Full Article [b] HERE I think it's quite apparent that those on the spectrum who cannot help acting differently have many more issues than those that are able to mask successfully and hide their differences.
I have experienced this directly myself. Sometimes I can blend in and not stand out, which is usually all I want to do. It seems to me that whenever my "mask" slips the "feedback" from others is immediate. It seems that someone is always ready to pounce with a comment, or mockery etc, the instant my mask slips. I'm trying to figure out if I can gain any benefit from this, and work out if i could have acted differently to avoid that happening, but it seems that it's often been when I've been unable to change my way of being.
Sometimes I cannot be anything other than what I am. To some extent I shouldn't have to be, but if you act different, the consequences are going to be harsh. We live in a neurotypical world that does not understand or tolerate differences.
The guy in that video stands out a mile just due to that jacket he is wearing with all the badges / medals. If he walks round in public wearing such clothes he is going to attract attention of the wrong kind. That would be such an easy thing to change too.
In the UK something like 87% of diagnosed Autistic people are unemployed. To the extent that I have held down jobs for the majority of my life I have been "fit for society", although things have often been excruciatingly difficult and painful socially.
I have underachieved in my working life relative to other people in my family and my peer group at school, but I'm doing relatively OK work wise I guess, considering how much I am affected by my Autism. My current admin / clerical job suits me quite well in that I don't have to take irate customer service type phone calls, and it's not stressful. The people I work with currently all treat me well, which makes a huge difference and I am thankful for this.