High Needs Autistic Advocates.

Post Reply New Topic

To add to my last comments, you cant be legally disabled without having an official medical disorder.

You cant get disability welfare or a blue disabled badge for a car in the UK without doctors / medical evidence.

I cant just demand a carer to do my shopping for me because i cant be bothered to walk, i need to prove i have some kind of medical impairment that prevents me from walking, its quite strict.

It also has to be an official medical disorder that causes a major impairment of some kind, not one made up.

I understand in the US welfare is not automatically paid to autistic people, they have to prove medically they have a disorder that prevents them from doing the things NTs or more capable autistic people are capable of too, like being able to live alone or working for example.

The term medical disorder usually doesn't need explaining as its simple, for example humans have evolved to talk we have vocal cords and brain structures to allow for this. When a human adult like an autistic person cannot talk he has a disorder, in other words there is something going on preventing him from using the biological things on his body that humans are born with, like vocal cords normally in other words a disorder.

Autistic advocates who don't feel they have a disorder or want curing is fine, but trying to own the whole of autism and whitewash the rest of it, for their own coping strategy, calling black white and denying reality itself are simply causing harm and its good at last there is some push back against this.

I'm in for high needs autism advocacy -- specifically to it's vulnerability to abuse and poor accomodations.

I'm in for their here and now issues -- not for the unborn, and definitely not for catering societies that perpetuates mass unconscious biases along with the problems of mainstream education and ways of living.

Not because of another functioning level wars in particular.
Not another stupid AS with ID vs AS without ID war.

Definitely not another foolish ideologies that perpetuates unhealthy ways of living and treating other people because it's the 'norm' or it's 'natural selection'.

Gained Number Post Count (1).
Lose Time (n).

Lose more time here - Updates at least once a week.

Likes and enjoy the thoughts put forth in the above Post by Edna3362 . Very Poignant ....
We definitely do NOT need to segragate amongst each other. Team / group efforts between all for all .
Wish we had a lobbyist or something of that sort in Congress , if / when this actually grew bigger .
But am pretty sure, not going to get there to that point anytime soon . Unless some other group had gone that way .
Every so often , I wonder if any of those political types have any Autistic relations/ children .

High Needs Autistic Self-Advocates is what you are trying to describe. If there are any "severe" or "low functiong" self-advocates out there, I'll be more than happy to accept and intake their voices and needs. However, I do acknowledge the fact that non-verbal and high support autistics that may oftentimes be judged as "low-functioning" but may in fact have the "mental functioning" to communicate and articulate words by AAC.

Not to get off-topic - Adutls with High Functioning Autism (HFA) are harder and, more elusive to serve that those with developmental disabilites more limiting than HFA.

The levels of the Autism Spectrum can be too confusing to understand, and are especially irrelevent to HFA

The focus on the various levels of the Autism Spectrum, and related support services are unnecessary, and even discouraging for HFA - that is too many of these services are mainly focused on developmental disabilites more limiting than HFA.

For further details on what might very-well be favorable for HFA adults, see my latest WP posts.

My responses are largely based-on the title of this discussion-thread 'High Needs Autistic Advocates' - as well as a discussion-thread placed in the 'Autism, Politics, Activism, and Media Representation Forum.'

Any consideration for a new discussion thread?

This discussion-thread seems confusing to follow. If I'm understading this correctly, I sense the gist of this discussion-thread is a call to boost supportive resources to assist people with Autism.

As I mentioned previously in this disc. thread, both extremes of the Autism Spectrum (such as High-Functioning Autism (HFA)), and developmental disabilities are terribly under-representated.

My personal experiences have involved both of these challenging extremes of the Autism Spectrum.

A recent experience is a fitting example: I was placed in a State-supported 'Independent Living Support' (ILS) program - that is geared toward clientele wiith developmental disabilities more limiting than HFA.

After several weeks (what could have been assesed in a few short weeks) the (ILS) staff felt more hard-pressed to serve an HFA client, than serving their main clientele......with developmental disabilities more limiting than HFA.

I quickly corresponded with my service coordinator (a gate-keeper of sorts) who received a promotion in her agency. I once again mentioned (what could have been determined in a few short weeks) to curb the practice of placing HFA clientele amongst clientele......with developmental disabilities more limiting than HFA.

A few years ago, our state agency the 'CA Regional Center' system expanded eligibilty to clientele with least restrictions to independence - such as HFA. Obviously, service practices are still to this day, unable to reflect just how to best serve clientele with HFA!

The COVID pandemic over the past three years has understandably focused service priorities on clients who are most dependent on services. Unless it's an emergency, HFA clientele barely exist on the CA Regional Center's radar.

Can it be asked that an (ableit small) part of improving services for HIGH Needs Autism clients is to curb the practice of placing of HFA clients amongst clientele......with developmental disabilities more limiting than HFA??

From my own interpretation, this has nothing to do with any diagnosed autistic's IQ or achievements.

This is something to do with support needs, related and relative to community and accessibility.
LFA doesn't necessarily mean high support -- HFA doesn't necessarily mean low support.


If high support means '24-hour supervision and assistance in every adaptive daily living skills' yet doesn't need to take meds, is healthy and from a stable and safe environment...

No psychiatric issues or behavioral aggressions, even if it's so developmentally delayed, all they need is a carer -- not something complex.

No different from a well cared person with intellectual disability living their lives within their existence and capacity, really.

While they need help, don't need to be advocated by a group consisting of someone else other than those who are already providing them to begin with...
Because they already have access and community.


... What about those, regardless of achievement and abilities whether as a consequence of accomodations or lack of thereof, who are in need of therapy, in need of safe space or community, requires several hospital visits, and has no safety nets that the former has?

One doesn't need to have an IQ below 70 to have serious mental illness.
One doesn't need to be LFA to be born or trapped in a system that they didn't chose to be in or are largely inaccessible for them to have accomodations.

Identity, disorder, functioning levels -- it's irrelevant.

If anything, anyone privileged enough to be able to access doesn't need help from this form of advocacy, except as a way point of access and support for others who are in need of this particular advocacy.


So most advocates are not beneficiaries themselves like how self-advocacy does.
Potentially, everyone can be an advocate for high needs autism, benefiting high needs autistics.

But I don't think the dynamic of this advocacy doesn't have to be like those advocacies of 'profound autism' towards 'profound autistics' for obvious reasons.

While low support needs autism advocacy is more to do with fighting stigmas and dehumanization yet becoming sideways into labels and terms, 'profound autism' advocacy is more about preventing and curing autism yet consequently perpetuating stigmas implying that autistics are unwanted...

I think high support needs advocacy has more choices.
They're not fighting for identities and labels, they're not here to tell the world they're unwanted either when that's the part of their own problems.

Gained Number Post Count (1).
Lose Time (n).

Lose more time here - Updates at least once a week.