Last years, “Kiss My Asperger..Goodbye” presentation was designed to instruct participants interested in Asperger Syndrome in a variety of key strategies necessary for survival in the neuro-typical world, confronting individuals with Asperger and their families. By identifying the issues and presenting workable solutions for smooth effective Transitions into community living, the intention was to help foster employability training, social skill acquisition, and meaningful relationship building. Participants were asked to submit personal or family stories or incidents that celebrated the lives of individuals with the e or High Functioning Autism label. Sadly, many of these stories were not happy ones, rather they were filled with the pain and suffering of a group of individuals who lives were embroiled in dealing with a society committed to the need to find a “cure” or a “treatment” that would make them so-called “normal”.
“ Is it the mistakes I made, or do people have to keep punishing me for these mistakes?”; “Don’t worry, I’ll still think I’m a nobody even if my family and employers forget to keep reminding me of the fact”; Did I lose my self-respect, or did people continue to withhold it from me?”; “Not a day goes by, that I don’t carry with me the memories of what others have done to me!” These were some of the sample comments I received. I began to wonder, “was it a blessing for those who had never received the diagnosis, or had received it later in life, before the judgment of others could affect their very psyches”? Why must be continue to treat a whole population as if “normal” was such a great thing?
There are essentially 10 major "make or break" areas where individuals with Asperger need support. These areas include, dealing with confusing social situations, making "small talk", creative conversations, identifying levels of details, difficulty understanding other people's feelings and thoughts, the need to focus on more than one thing at a time, "social manners" (being perceived as insensitive, rude, or uncaring), dealing with strong topic fixations, dealing with repetitive, sometimes inflexible behaviors, difficulty making friends, and keeping a job. Each area is discussed and solutions are presented for consideration. The key is in adaptations, not in cures or treatments.
This presentation is about empowerment and acceptance. It is about a new civil rights movement that is emerging. One which allows individuals to have input, control and active participation abilities to self-determine what course their lives should take. It explores how individuals with Asperger are influenced by the expectations of others, sometimes to the point of needing to place happiness out of reach, to satisfy expectations of others for the satisfaction of a “proper” Post-secondary experience or the “right” kind of job. It is a journey that explores the positive initiatives and outcomes that can occur when we build on strengths, abilities and interests, rather than on expectations, normalization and perceptions. This presentation explores solutions that work and will continue to work, while allowing for lives of dignity and respect to be the rule, rather than the exception.
Some of these solutions include: scripting skills for social situations; getting and keeping a job; Mixing play with pay (what is the right job and how do we find it?) How do we maximize our "Quirkiness" to our advantage?; The role of Life Skills Training; Using electronic self-monitoring effectively; How to communicate what we really want, How to live with hurt, at the expense of harm. How to determine proper assessment tools and effective outcome measurement tools and most importantly, how to do all these while remaining in control of our lives.
In the words, stories, songs and poems of individuals who live every day as a person labeled with Asperger or HFA, we learn how desired, informed change can be secured as “non-negotiable”. How do we learn to help make the “past” end and the “future” begin? Let’s explore ways that we can help the cultural differences that we see developing become tools for enhancing lives, not for destroying them. Let’s review the affects of stress and anxiety on the lives of our loved ones and how they make every day a struggle to survive in a Neuro-typical world.
Is there a way to see the invisible? Let’s explore ways to improve the process and support the new emerging culture. Based on what people need and want for themselves, not what others want for them. Aspie, Aspergians, is it about the label or about the people, the men and women essentially just like you and me, who see the world and react to it, just a little bit differently. Hey, you want fries with that?
|