Aspergers - Social Injustice?

I started this blog, of which I have not truly started until now, to discuss aspergers autism of which I was diagnosed with at age 26 after having molded my life to appear normal as possible I realized there was not only an explanation but a whole new life waiting for me, a life where I could freely accept that yes, I not only think differently but I tend to now enjoy that I do think differently.

My sudden urge to begin blogging about aspergers came from the humor I find in the everyday thoughts of an aspie. Some may not find it so funny but those whom are closely related to aspergers will and if they don't, they can chose not to read :)

However, last night during my typical ritual of fighting sleep I was thinking about the recent news of the school shooting in Connecticut. I am a Chef, a solo Chef (of course). I work in a kitchen alone since I love food but do not love leading out a kitchen of 15 guys who can't get their head out of their behind. So during a little slow period I was chatting with a few regulars at the bar and we were watching the news unfold and discussing the motives, etc literally as it was all happening. What a tragedy.

I googled the story everyday since it happened, more so because in the first day they mentioned the shooter as being mentally disturbed, a popular term for an autistic child or adult. All be it very far off.
I searched news clips, editorials, blogs, you name it. And unfortunately our society is very behind in the autistic communities. Outside sources, doctors included, often just do not understand what it means, how to embrace it, what to do, where to turn, etc. And honestly in my opinion it's simple. No one needs a cure, we need awareness. People need to be informed that Aspergers is a alternative way of thinking and processing information. Autism on a higher scale can mean much more like home care, speech therapy, special education, etc. But I am speaking on behalf of all of us out here who look like normal functioning citizens, physically there are no signs of indifference however mentally the only true indifference is thought pattern which can of course trickle out into physical and social behaviors, etc. My point is that awareness will help the community, parents of aspie children, classmates, coworkers, doctors and any person in the community coming in contact with aspergers.

If the community understood how diverse, interesting, genuine, person specific and useful people are with aspergers things could be different. As it stands everyone is afraid to speak, myself included because the responses from outsiders can vary but it's always the same.. They either know someone with an autistic child and have plenty of horror stories, have no clue and wonder if you just said you have a STD or they think it is someone whom can become very violent at a moments notice. And even more often it is confused with lower functioning cases of autism.

Let's say the school shooting did have something to do with the shooters diagnosis, if indeed he had one or had something on the spectrum, awareness for parents and the community could stop tragedy from happening in the lives of those we are forcing to hide due to their different thinking. If parents understood how to relate to an aspie, what is important to them, how to handle sibling groups where an aspie is present, recognizing the difference between a bad habit and a harmless abnormal action, etc. Parents could finally understand their children rather than seeing them as purely defiant, teachers could tweak their methods to relate and discipline aspie children in the classroom, siblings would embrace rather than exclude their abnormal acting brother or sister which would all come together to not create such hardened hearts in children and young adults on the spectrum. In my head I can see how this entire situation might have played out considering the information that is out there for parents of high functioning autistic adults.. The mother was a school teacher, parents divorced, an older brother in college whom he had little contact with and he was at home with his mother. His mother took time out of her life to be home with him due to unspoken issues with him being left home alone, clearly there was a problem there somewhere. Depending on her choice of discipline, upbringing, equality, sibling comparison, etc. would determine more on this situation of how much his possible autism could have played a role. If he did have autism and perhaps a diagnosis of sociopath or such it could be very harmful due to the fact that having a sensory issue already elevates your senses in that you feel things so much more than others do. Yes, this is a lot of speculation on my part. But all I am saying is over all, there are far too many people being recognized as autistic and high functioning now to ignore awareness. Had this young man been dealt with differently perhaps his outcome in life would have taken another path, perhaps that is not the case at all and there was a much bigger problem. Whatever the underlying solution may be, the media is all over labeling him as autistic and putting the idea in peoples heads which can hurt the community considering they know so little and now the only thing they do know is negative. Way to go.

I have many ideas and have put forth effort to help change this. But more adults affected by it offering their voice and stepping above the social disgrace of associating yourself with such an issue will absolutely make a world of difference. There is too little medical science for practitioners and medical professionals to spread the word about the truth behind autism, people affected are the only ones who truly understand what it is like, what it means for you, what it means for those around you and how you would like to be treated by the community and government.

I hope this post does not offend anyone, it's intent is to shed some positive light on a troubled circumstance that is sadly gaining a lot of negative attention.

I look forward to posting more soon and connecting with other aspie bloggers out there.

A. Plancarte