Is a AS Community possible?

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Because the US has outsourced a high proportion of jobs to low wage countries that people with AS were highly suited to.



Not quite. In some countries people with AS traits are highly valued economically because there are plenty of middle class to well paid jobs that they are highly suited to like software development, engineering, animation, data analysis, etc.



Communities might already exist but nobody is aware of them. Some areas must have quite high concentrations of people with AS traits and other areas could be AS deserts. What percentage of the adult population of Idaho or West Virginia is diagnosed with AS and how does this compare with California or Massachusetts?

Perhaps I am being too negative tonight, but I voted "no." I think there would be too many conflicting opinions on how things should be run and operated in such a community for it to work well. But, I like my independence away from groups, so maybe that persuades me. I tend to stick to myself.

I agree with you, that is an issue. I would like to point out that people disagree with each other all the time, we call it "congress" or "township council", or "board of freeholders". People are always free to vote with their feet.

Me thinks the OP may be seeing the light. The final step (pun intended), is for you to envision the majority of Aspies in this community voting with their feet once they all finally realize the degree to which we can disagree, which is a far higher probability than in NT communities.

Imagine the most chaotic town meeting you have ever seen. If you can't, go google some videos. Watch a bunch of them. Pick the worst example.

Multiply it by ten at least (only in this one, those who aren't involved in the shouting matches get up and leave quickly).

There's your Aspie town meeting.

The problem is you want to create a society with socially dysfunctional people. Social structure requires a great deal of flexibility.

You may as well try to make bungie cords out of granite.

Dude your being unrealistically negative.

For one the financing is relatively easy.

The benefit of going somewhere with cheap land is that you can build a community of cabins much cheaper, than building in a inner city.

There land for growing food, there's tree to be had for cabin building, and heating, and there is usually easy access to brooks or streams.

You have a large number of aspies, with small amounts of money 40-100 k that can invest in electricity etc.

There is also the social assistant programs that many aspies have to back them up.

Family support structures, my parents alone wasted over 50 k on my education.

There is a surplus of labor you'd have to tap into.

There are ton's of online business can be done.

Working part time in other parts of the country.

Second you wouldn't have all aspies in one spot. There would be multiple camps, people can choose to live with who they agree with.

Some aspies such as myself, can be quite easy to get along with in those types of situations.


Obviously designing codes of conduct, and rules of social interaction, economic systems etc would be hard to develop, but they

A) My name is not "Dude."

B) I am simply being realistic, not negative. I believe aspies can do quite well in the communities within which they already live.

C) You're definitely not 82 years old. What 82 year old calls anyone "Dude?"



Show us the cash.



So I'm the one who's not being realistic? It's a nice ideal, and I would encourage it if I honestly thought it were doable, but the fact is, I don't, and I'd be disingenuous if I said otherwise. The fact is, I've seen these ideas (frighteningly similar down to the details), many times now, and not one of them has ever gotten off the ground. Why? Well it could be easy to blame it on the plethora of seemingly negative responses to them, but that's not really the problem is it?

All great ideas have to overcome negativity to become reality. Banging your head against the negativity won't get you there. Ignoring it and getting things done will.

The fact is, these ideas come up all the time, yet nothing ever happens, because Asperger Syndrome tends to cause weaknesses that prevent people who have it to get past the naysayers and get it done. Not only are we already weakened by our own negativity, but that is compounded by our inability to deal with negativity in others. Considering that you're going to be dealing with other aspies, with their own negativity added to the inability of all to deal with each other's negativity, and what do think the result is likely to be?

So far, the result has been the same every time. Eventually the author of the idea throws up their hands and nothing ever happens.

That's not negatively unrealistic. That's observation of what actually happens. That's realistic. If I had what I thought was a great idea, that many others before me have already thought of tried and failed, I'd much rather have those who have seen it all tell me the truth rather than stroke me with unrealistic encouragement out of fear of squelching my optimism.

Would you rather we all just say what you want to hear, or tell you the truth as we see it?

I won't do the former. Sorry.

In all honesty, the only way I see ideas like this working is if AS really isn't a true disability, and really can be overcome totally with nothing more than mind over matter.

But...

Okay. Far be it from me to stomp on your dreams. Good luck in your endeavor. You're going to need a lot of it.

MrXXX, I think we will have to disagree on this one. I am well aware of the examples that you have provided, but I cannot make the leap that Aspie=Disgruntled Meeting-goer. I do see where your thoughts are coming from, but I do not agree with your conclusion.

No one would come to the hypothetical community unless they wanted to, if people do not want to live near other Aspies, then they would not want to live in the community in the first place.

I would expect differences of opinion, as has been said many times "Show me one Aspie and you've shown me one Aspie". I'd be very concerned if there wern't differences of opinion. There are differences of opinion at zoning board hearings, and at School Board meetings. Just because many of the residents of the proposed community would be on the spectrum, does not mean that meetings would be screaming matches.

Finally, I must admit that I am not aware of studies that show that Aspies are incapable of existing with differences of opinion. There have been suggestions that this "inflexability" is the result of social exclusion, in that many never get the oppertunity to share opinions in an intellectual "safe place", and instead are subject to dismissal, mockery, or even abuse, often due to low social status.

In short, I would not expect anyone, who feels that an AS community cannot exist for this reason, to join such a community.

Never said there were any studies. It's anecdotal observation.




And I totally agree with these suggestions, but only in that that is part of why it happens. However, my personal observations are that those same causes would exist in steroids in a purely Aspie community. All one has to do to see evidence of that is stick around Wrong Planet for a while.




I got that. And this is the very reason I don't think it would work. I highly doubt you'll ever get enough Aspies to agree as to HOW it should work, much less that it will work at all.

That said however, if you CAN get it to work, more power to you!! Don't let my "negativity" or anyone else's stop you.

Seriously.

I said your being unrealistically negative I could care less if your negative, it's the fixation on the less important issues that grinds my gears.

As far as the cash supply, I think it's the smaller of the issues.
If I were a business person trying to exploit the autism community, the argument could be made that were a group of people that are severely under exploited, because dxm is extremely slow to get acknowledged. You have a surplus of people searching for a cause, government folks wanting these people off welfare, and ton's of families with money. I'm quite confindent I could of gotten 100k out of my parents alone, and I'm just one in several million. The dollar value comes from escaping the extremely high cost of living were forced into to, in the major cities.

You even make a "Because" statement where you create the magical reason why it won't work.

You then seem to suggest that I'm saying it's a question of mind over matter. It's not, it's a question of design and planning.

Were trying to design a whole new civilization as it were. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither will our civilization.

It'll take time and a great deal of planning. However the shortage of planning and idea's is the real problem at the moment. Getting the monies for such a concept is a relatively easy.

Calm down man.

If you really couldn't care less about my supposed negativity, then ignore it. Go get the job done.

Are you not seeing that I am challenging you?

Unfortunately, you're getting too wrapped up in responding to me (basically supporting the very reasons I've been saying all along that it won't work), rather than ignoring me (a nay-sayer), and getting it done.

If you really want to make this thing work, your only spinning your wheels trying to overcome my supposed negativity (about which you are mistaken, but that's another discussion).

My point is, and has been all along, "If you're really serious about this, quit talkin' and start walkin' the walk!"

It can get tiring seeing these ideas come up over and over and fizzle out for the very reasons I've already explained. But now you're arguing with me that those reasons are not valid, yet your very arguing with me about this is proving my point!

Are you truly serious about this?

GOOD!! !!

Now go get it done!

First off I'm perfectly calm, it's pretty obvious when I'm upset, and none of the signs are there currently.


Start walking the walk, I just said planning is the issue, to do so one must talk on sites like these to find like minded people. To sort out the needs and desires, etc.

Good! Then don't argue with the likes of me.

I'm the wrong person for this, because I don't think the idea if exclusivity gets me where I want to be. To me it only perpetuates the idea that we aren't fit for society. That's for starters.

Second, to find like minded people, you'd be better off spending your time talking with those who respond positively to your idea.

My point isn't to say this can't be done. My point is more about the idea being talked about too much and nothing really ever being done about it. That gets a little tiring.

Talking on forums might get you some decent feedback, but it's not productive unless you focus on the positive not the negative. There are quite a few others here with very positive attitudes. Mine is not really negative at all, when the ideas strike me as not only doable, but in line with my ideas of how I'd like to see myself in this world. This idea is not in line with my ideals, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be done. It's just not for me.

I will challenge ideas, not necessarily only because I don't agree with them, but sometimes to light a fire under people. All great ideas have to overcome great obstacles. The way to do that is not to see the obstacles as obstacles, but landmarks to get around, over or through, to reach your goal.

The problem is that I see this on forums all the time, and it never gets any further than that, because you will have to get out into the real world to get this done.

You DID ask if this were possible, and if I'm not mistaken, I never specifically said it couldn't be. The better way to approach this, isn't to ask if it IS possible, but to ask HOW to MAKE it possible. Asking simply IF it's possible implies you already have doubts, and if that's true, you'll never get it done until you get rid of the doubts.

Also, arguing nay-sayers indicates you may actually still have doubts, since you still feel it necessary to prove yourself to them.

Don't do that. If you really want to get serious about this, treat the supposed reasons you think mean you can't do it, as problems to be solved, not arguments to win.

Talk only to people who are willing to brainstorm solutions. Don't waste time convincing what you see as negative thinking.

In time, if you stick with it long enough, you'll build a case that even some nay-sayers (most importantly those who could actually help you get it done), can be convinced with.

Do you have what it takes?

Only time will tell.

Good luck.

I leave you now to your task at hand.

Okay, all those who say it can and should be done, state your potential contribution. I'll start.

I would donate money (<£10/month) and time, when available (I have university to do, after all, but they have long holidays). I do not know much about constructing or converting a building, though willing to learn. I would not move to such a place in the foreseeable future, though I would love to visit it. Any other information anyone wants to know?

I donno I live in canada, I have a bunch of land, on a river valley, live in a place where it's easy to get welfare/social assistance.

I've thought about spending the summer on the land by myself, the only problem is I don't want to do it alone.

How much land?

So again I'm curious, is this a welfare funded community?

I thought the purpose of an AS community would be to develop a place that catered to AS talents and jobs and social things would be suited to AS people.

If you want a place to live together and just collect welfare, there's tons of empty houses in any major city.