What would YOU like to see in the future of autism?

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Being accepted as a human being, and not a disease or defect. So we aren't levied with NT prejudice, and don't have willfully ignorant hateful people call us an 'it', compare us to cancer or AIDS, and want us wiped out.

The descriptions here of "autism acceptance" make sense, but I do not think that's always how that term is used, depending on who is using it, which probably doesn't help the case.

I would really like to see people to stop equating autism to intellectual disability, particularly the non-Asperger's type of autism. I don't think most people have much difficulty understanding that Aspeger's doesn't equal ID (in fact for many Asperger's = "genius syndrome", which is also misleading probably), but for those who have speech delays or no speech at all, they assume ID (some of them will have ID, of course, but not all IMHO) . It's a very common assumption made by a variety of groups within the autism community.

"Not being able to speak is not the same as not having anything to say".

This is a start
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/apr/29/unlock-secrets-autism-national-project

The UK seems like paradise in comparison to the USA. Focus on abilities instead of disabilities, A Masters program in Adult Autism. Wow

Humanity figuring out how to turn it up and turn it down.

Think about it.

We could be "happy drones" at work for days and then turn it off and boogie all weekend.

More support for the separatist mentality, and maybe one day the formation of an autistic state.

i think it would be enough if autistics were no longer bullied in school, since a lot of their later difficulties can be traced to that. adulthood is easier, we can figure it out.

I think there should be 8 hours of a school course just dedicated to explain how the brain works
and why people are on the Spectrum.
When you are about 12 years old.
That would really be good I think.
An online test would be good as well to discover if you are on the spectrum or not.
Peace and love.

I got beaten up daily- first by my sadistic oldest sister, then by the kids at school, until I was about 13. Then somehow I made friends with a group of girls who liked to fight, and didn't like seeing me getting beaten up. I helped them with their homework. No, I did not let people cheat, but in high school and even in college I did score them (and me...) cigarettes and booze. Despite my physical difficulties, at age 15 I looked 25. I could buy smokes and booze no questions asked. In high school I was also the only one in my group with a car, which probably endeared me even more to the group. They overlooked my eccentricities and total lack of street smarts- booze, smokes and transportation must have been pretty good selling points.

The last bullying incident I had in school was my freshman year of high school (I was 13) when a girl spit Skoal (dip, aka: chewing tobacco) in my then-thick, bushy 80's big hair. I don't think I ever used as much shampoo in one day as I did that day when I finally made it home. I can't stand anyone touching my hair, foreign material of any kind in my hair, or anything like that, so I was extremely spaz- and grossed out almost to the point of throwing up- when I got home.

Two of my friends found out about this, cornered her in an alley, and shaved her head. Nobody bothered me at school- or waiting on the bus- ever again.

Not that I condone violence, but I think a lot of what made me vulnerable was the fact that people knew they wouldn't get in trouble for beating me up. There were no consequences, as I can't run without falling down, and I am a very poor fighter. My mother is bi-polar and at that time, untreated, so at home my sisters pretty much had free rein. In school, the teachers really didn't like me and/or just didn't care, and often looked the other way when I was getting teased or tripped or hit or stuffed in trash cans.

But once someone really got a suitable punishment for torturing me... and everyone knew about it- the abuse pretty much stopped.

I wish that perhaps Mom would not have wasted money on a year's worth of ballet lessons (yes, I sucked at ballet like no one has ever sucked before- even though it took a year to get it through her thick skull that ballet was not going to help me at all) and would have put me in some sort of martial arts course instead. Maybe that would have helped, if I could have learned some form of self-defense. No one is going to keep kids from being sadistic and cruel except when they are shown the error of their ways in a way that counts.

Accurate media representation of autism.
Autism speaks to either be completely reformed or treated as we do BNP.
A world that doesn't just cater to the needs of allistic people.

So ... what's the punch line?

You set up the joke, now deliver the punch line!

Ideally, individuals diagnosed on the Spectrum would have the opportunity to receive specialized career counselling to fit their own needs. This shouldn't be left up to employers, since many simply wouldn't want to accommodate. The career counselor would help the individual find the ideal occupation that would allow for the individual to function, taking into account things such as sensory overload, executive function (multi-tasking and planning) difficulties, social inadequacies, etc. - all of which would be assessed based on severity as described by the AS job-seeker.

It's a damn shame that around 80% of Spectrum adults are jobless. The media portrays HF autistic individuals as being "gifted" all the time... this is sadly not the case. Executive function is something that I struggle with, and I feel absolutely stupid for not being able to multi-task at times (especially under pressure), micro-managing can be almost impossible, and when I attempt to explain things in person I often use the wrong words and facial expressions and tone of voice are all wrong and sometimes I completely shut down in social situations

I would like to see the state of funding for research about ASD match the reality of the need. I would also like to see a huge increase in the amount of support and services for adults with ASD. There is a huge service gap in the US for kids who go through intensive early interventions like applied behavioral analysis for 20+ hours a week for many years and then I am not really sure what happens after..

I also have a feeling that one day Autism will be seen not as a disease or developmental delay in those who are not necessarily delayed in any area except for social functioning. If the only reason someone is labeled as having Autism was a result of social deficits then I feel like we are treating difference as a disease.

Lastly, it bothers me that the image people conjure up of those with Autism is either a child who is biting/hitting/screaming or an adult who is an engineer or scientist/mathematician genius. There are a lot of people in-between those two pictures (the majority of people).

I would definitely prefer to have autism viewed as a disability in the likeness of blindness, deafness, and physical disabilities that require the use of a wheelchair or motor scooter, one that societal accommodations can be made for regarding the unique social and sensory needs that many of us have (i.e., like how we have closed captioning for the deaf, Braille for the blind, and ramps and elevators for those in wheelchairs and motor scooters).

Better forms of AAC for nonverbal or for barely-verbal autistics, as someone else mentioned. I have a nonverbal autistic cousin who is only a year younger than myself, and it's obvious that he tries in any manner possible to engage in conversation with others via laughing, facial gestures, and sounds that appear similar to words and phrases-- unfortunately, his segregated "low-functioning" autistic school and his parents only taught him to request very basic needs in ASL, which is why we truly cannot converse with him via that. There is no way possible that he could simply be dismissed as "intellectually-incompetent" when he obviously tries SO HARD to talk to others-- he just can't.

And of course, better services for autistic college/university students and autistics in the workforce. It's difficult to fully-integrate into society without those ever-necessary supports, because, like many, I am "low-functioning" when it comes to most social interactions.

1). I would like to see therapies and supports that maximize functioning as an autistic person, instead of equating success to how closely a person resembles an NT.

2). I would like to be portrayed and thought of as a person with a slightly different set of skills, weaknesses, and struggles, instead of as a monster.

3). I would like to be able to see a new doctor, psychiatrist, or other health professional (situations in which I must disclose my diagnosis) without having to take my husband along to speak for me because they don't speak to me when they speak and they don't listen when I talk.

As our society becomes more and more dependent on technology, technically oriented Aspies and Auties will be valued for their labor. As it stands now, the proper functioning of our very computer dependent society is very much promoted by technically talented Auties and Aspies. We are the guys that make things work....

First, I love the fact that you're asking this question.

My short answer is that I would want most people to have an accurate perception of how autism is different from other neurotypes. Too many of the descriptions of autism would fit just as well as descriptions of other minority neurotypes.