I would expect that some people with ASD may have found success as an artist.
Some may have also been successful at academic qualifications in the Arts.
I originally went to art college, which i dropped out of, only to return to Uni a few years later
(after paying off the money that i was given to live off while at Art college, which is a strange
requirement that my tiny local government requires of students who drop out before they are
eligible to reapply for a different study path).
So, yep, i did go to art college.
One thing i found frustrating with Degree's in "the Arts" is that they have been made incredibly and
perhaps unnecessarily academic, requiring artists (painters / sculptures etc) / musicians / producers
to have to be able to back every thing they do in writing (accurate English Grammar etc.)
So the people who get good results from Degree level are those who are good at English.
The problem with this with people with ASD, is that many of us are dyslexic due to various
abnormalities to various parts of our autistic brains.
This means that we may be good at good at creative arts / music, but will struggle with
the academic side of such courses.
The course i did at a uni called LIPA, intentionally made the course extremely academic,
requiring a long 3000 word essay with every module.
For a dyslexic with ASD, this was a complete nightmare, as more time was spent
writing crappy essays than actually spent engineering / writing / producing music.
Where I see being able to write about everything may be useful for people who want to be
teachers or authors, i don't think the academic side is that necessary, at least not to the level that
the college i went to, as its the music (or art) that counts in the end of the day.
Well that was college.
Once people with ASD have left college, there are other factors that determine as to whether
a person is successful in their chosen industry, i.e. the art world, or the music industry.
Many of these factors are influential and can range from ability to manipulate others using dishonest means,
being able to fit in with the in crowd, having established contacts in the industry (perhaps a relation or two).
So, i am afraid people with ASD often fall short in this area of soft skills.
I have noticed that the most successful people with ASD, often come from wealthy backgrounds.
I wonder if they would be as successful if they didn't have extremely wealthy parents.
Not to discourage anyone in pursuing a career in the area that they love the most.
Please don't misunderstand me, i think people should follow their dreams.
I also know that there are now some degree courses that have been set up specifically
for people with dyslexia, so involve mostly practical and very little writing.
This i see as a positive change.
12 Nov 2020, 3:59 pm
