>>I did a talk, and the second time I gave this talk, it was recorded.<<
You are awesome. \o/
>>"That's great, that's awesome, that's a really good project, you're doing great stuff here, but you can't have what you're asking for."<<
Because ... * they think you're bad for even wanting/needing the thing. * it would be a nuisance to them and they don't want to do it and won't be rewarded for doing it or penalized for not doing it. * they are willing but have no money to do it. * they are willing and have resources, but no power to do the thing.
These all have very different solutions.
>> And eventually, I'm hoping to make that website include information for staff on the spectrum. <<
We need resources for neurovariant staff so we can have more neurovariant staff. Unless people hire them, nobody growing up will believe they can do anything because they can't see any examples of it. >_<
>> And then for people who think they might be on the spectrum (because if you are on the spectrum but don't know it, then you will feel not included by information stated to be for autistic people because you don't know whether it applies to you or not and don't want to assume, even though that exact feeling is in itself a sign that it probably does apply to you and did I mention Irony as a universal force?). <<
I would say, focus on traits and experiences rather than diagnostics. It doesn't matter if someone in a white coat gave you permission to have a problem. It matters if you hate being touched, don't like eye contact, find smalltalk painfully boring, nobody cares about YOUR passion, etc. and you need advice on coping with that from people who have successfully coped with it in different ways. That resource would be useful to everyone regardless of their documented mental status.
>> And for parents who think they have autistic children and don't know what to do about it (and don't know where to go for help, and might wonder what's so bad about Autism Speaks anyway). <<
The first thing I tell people who want to do a thing is talk to those who have done it. You want to parent autistic kids? Talk to parents whose adult kids are now healthy and happy. Then figure out what they did and pick out what of that will work for you. For comparison, look at people who had shitty childhoods and DON'T do that stuff.
Something else that would be super useful: "I wish I had known then" notes from older people about what would have helped them growing up.
I get lost very easily. It drove me and my parents nuts when I was little. We never did think of using a safety line. I wish we had, it would've saved us a lot of headaches. It's not a dog harness. It's a safety line, literally like climbers use in case of a snowstorm. Some people might hate it, but for others, it's a perfect solution. A GPS would drive me batshit (and also die almost immediately) but other folks seem to love those things. The site needs to list problems and multiple solutions.
>> And eventually (maybe sooner than I dared hope) there will be quiet spaces on campus marked on the map (for those who know to look). <<
Everyone needs quiet spaces. Some people just need them more often than others. Look around at the noisy, awful world we've built and how many people have physical or mental stress conditions. We need to counteract that before everyone keels over. If you want to spread them, explain how they are useful to everyone: a place to go when you have a breakup, flunk a major test, hear of a death in the family, have just been groped, etc.
I've written a lot about this kind of stuff. If you need content for a website, ask me, I'm usually happy to have it reprinted. Here's one on EFA for adults and quiet rooms.
Know anyone who writes apps? Ask them to make some for quiet rooms. One good option is a mapper that shows the location of known quiet rooms and/or will trace a route from where you are to the nearest one(s). Another is a photo log so you can take a snapshot of the building, the quiet room door, the interior, etc. A feature tracker lets you can write in what it has like couches, fidgets, a white noise generator, a bubble wall, etc. They're all different so this bit is important.
You really want to spread quiet rooms on campus? Start a club. Student clubs often have leverage. Call it a mental wellness club, teach emotional first aid and self-care skills, and lobby for quiet rooms. You can make one out of a walk-in closet, there's space for it in most buildings. Advertise with things like, "Do you know how to deal with a crying friend? If not, come to our workshop on Crying Skills!" When you teach people in general how to handle challenges, there's more likely to be someone who knows what to do when the shit hits the fan.
Oh, and when it's so bad the neurotypicals are melting down? Autistics are used to it. They know how to identify it. They know how to cope with it. They can explain these things to a roomful of coworkers who have no clue why their head is exploding. I've had friends do this and talk about it. It's important. We need the skills and the diversity, so people can back each other up.
>>And that's not just for them, because autistic people generally need to see people who are autistic and succeeding. We need role models. Because so far the only autistic people most people see are on the media, and they are almost universally freaks, jokes, or both. We need people to see us as people, and, because Irony, those of us who have succeeded have typically done so because the first thing that they learned was how to hide it. <<
Crowdfunding can help with that. Anyone can hop on a prompt call and ask for autistic representation. Mine are scattered around, but I have one setting that's mostly neurovariant of assorted flavors: An Army of One. Lots of my neurovariant fans have prompted for that.
So look for other writers or artists who are crowdfunding and ask them for stuff. Look for autistic folks who are making things and spread the word so people can support them. "There's no good X" is a problem that can be solved by making good X.
I never have the patience to wait for society to work through the whole literary development process. I just skip from "oh look, a trait I haven't written before" to "put trait in protagonist." This can be challenging if all the published data is rubbish, but if one can find trait-having people, this is easily corrected. Just having a good list of horse's mouth resources can really help progress by reaching out to creative folks who want to get it right.
Thoughts
You are awesome. \o/
>>"That's great, that's awesome, that's a really good project, you're doing great stuff here, but you can't have what you're asking for."<<
Because ...
* they think you're bad for even wanting/needing the thing.
* it would be a nuisance to them and they don't want to do it and won't be rewarded for doing it or penalized for not doing it.
* they are willing but have no money to do it.
* they are willing and have resources, but no power to do the thing.
These all have very different solutions.
>> And eventually, I'm hoping to make that website include information for staff on the spectrum. <<
We need resources for neurovariant staff so we can have more neurovariant staff. Unless people hire them, nobody growing up will believe they can do anything because they can't see any examples of it. >_<
>> And then for people who think they might be on the spectrum (because if you are on the spectrum but don't know it, then you will feel not included by information stated to be for autistic people because you don't know whether it applies to you or not and don't want to assume, even though that exact feeling is in itself a sign that it probably does apply to you and did I mention Irony as a universal force?). <<
I would say, focus on traits and experiences rather than diagnostics. It doesn't matter if someone in a white coat gave you permission to have a problem. It matters if you hate being touched, don't like eye contact, find smalltalk painfully boring, nobody cares about YOUR passion, etc. and you need advice on coping with that from people who have successfully coped with it in different ways. That resource would be useful to everyone regardless of their documented mental status.
>> And for parents who think they have autistic children and don't know what to do about it (and don't know where to go for help, and might wonder what's so bad about Autism Speaks anyway). <<
The first thing I tell people who want to do a thing is talk to those who have done it. You want to parent autistic kids? Talk to parents whose adult kids are now healthy and happy. Then figure out what they did and pick out what of that will work for you. For comparison, look at people who had shitty childhoods and DON'T do that stuff.
Something else that would be super useful: "I wish I had known then" notes from older people about what would have helped them growing up.
I get lost very easily. It drove me and my parents nuts when I was little. We never did think of using a safety line. I wish we had, it would've saved us a lot of headaches. It's not a dog harness. It's a safety line, literally like climbers use in case of a snowstorm. Some people might hate it, but for others, it's a perfect solution. A GPS would drive me batshit (and also die almost immediately) but other folks seem to love those things. The site needs to list problems and multiple solutions.
>> And eventually (maybe sooner than I dared hope) there will be quiet spaces on campus marked on the map (for those who know to look). <<
Everyone needs quiet spaces. Some people just need them more often than others. Look around at the noisy, awful world we've built and how many people have physical or mental stress conditions. We need to counteract that before everyone keels over. If you want to spread them, explain how they are useful to everyone: a place to go when you have a breakup, flunk a major test, hear of a death in the family, have just been groped, etc.
I've written a lot about this kind of stuff. If you need content for a website, ask me, I'm usually happy to have it reprinted. Here's one on EFA for adults and quiet rooms.
Know anyone who writes apps? Ask them to make some for quiet rooms. One good option is a mapper that shows the location of known quiet rooms and/or will trace a route from where you are to the nearest one(s). Another is a photo log so you can take a snapshot of the building, the quiet room door, the interior, etc. A feature tracker lets you can write in what it has like couches, fidgets, a white noise generator, a bubble wall, etc. They're all different so this bit is important.
You really want to spread quiet rooms on campus? Start a club. Student clubs often have leverage. Call it a mental wellness club, teach emotional first aid and self-care skills, and lobby for quiet rooms. You can make one out of a walk-in closet, there's space for it in most buildings. Advertise with things like, "Do you know how to deal with a crying friend? If not, come to our workshop on Crying Skills!" When you teach people in general how to handle challenges, there's more likely to be someone who knows what to do when the shit hits the fan.
Oh, and when it's so bad the neurotypicals are melting down? Autistics are used to it. They know how to identify it. They know how to cope with it. They can explain these things to a roomful of coworkers who have no clue why their head is exploding. I've had friends do this and talk about it. It's important. We need the skills and the diversity, so people can back each other up.
>>And that's not just for them, because autistic people generally need to see people who are autistic and succeeding. We need role models. Because so far the only autistic people most people see are on the media, and they are almost universally freaks, jokes, or both. We need people to see us as people, and, because Irony, those of us who have succeeded have typically done so because the first thing that they learned was how to hide it. <<
Crowdfunding can help with that. Anyone can hop on a prompt call and ask for autistic representation. Mine are scattered around, but I have one setting that's mostly neurovariant of assorted flavors: An Army of One. Lots of my neurovariant fans have prompted for that.
So look for other writers or artists who are crowdfunding and ask them for stuff. Look for autistic folks who are making things and spread the word so people can support them. "There's no good X" is a problem that can be solved by making good X.
I never have the patience to wait for society to work through the whole literary development process. I just skip from "oh look, a trait I haven't written before" to "put trait in protagonist." This can be challenging if all the published data is rubbish, but if one can find trait-having people, this is easily corrected. Just having a good list of horse's mouth resources can really help progress by reaching out to creative folks who want to get it right.
Good luck with it.