Thanks for providing the perspective, Laura. I agree that changes in policies and practices are needed. I hope we can identify measures of increasing independence and competence that will allow us to assess whether any changes that we all (parents, educators, policy makers, etc.) make actually help "move the needle" in beneficial directions. How will we know if what we're doing is working?
Great question, John! We can assess progress in a lot of different ways: number of young people with autism in college and employed, number of students with autism in mainstream classrooms, decreased expenditures, surveys of parents and individuals, number of individuals living independently in safe conditions, and so much more. There are already tons of assessment tools for measuring independence and social skills. We don't need to change them, just use them more often.
Thanks for the observations about outcomes, Laura. Those you mentioned are good ones, especially for long-term effects. And though I know about assessment tools for social skills, for example, I'd also like to think about some metric (or combination of metrics) that we can use to measure progress along the way to employment, independent living, meaningful social interactions, and such. I think we need measures that we can collect repeatedly for years, plot on a graph, and analyze the curves to examine progress, and say, "Yay, things are going well" or "Uh-oh, things aren't so hot...we need to do something different."
It could be the way society perceives us is at issue.
The compliance systems western civilization rely on, including education, are not designed for us to exist.
The game board was designed by allistics and it is disingenuous to suggest or believe inclusion would ever be a thing (although we can dable in fantasy to hope).
While that may seem harsh, we have sufficient historical evidence and behavioural science to understand why it will not be a thing.
It could be more appropriate to build neurodivergent communities where we are able to design our own culture whilst including blue zone attributes which would account for longevity and deep, purposeful connection.
All the programs and tactics in the world are not going to resolve what is causal.
To that point, every historical paradigm shift in human consciousness has been as a result of a fully self-expressed neurodivergent mind.
Yes, my post was about how government systems weren't designed to support autistic people. I love the idea of self=designed neurodivergent communities. My son will be attending an autism college in the spring, because he enjoys being in a community of people who "get it."
Thanks for providing the perspective, Laura. I agree that changes in policies and practices are needed. I hope we can identify measures of increasing independence and competence that will allow us to assess whether any changes that we all (parents, educators, policy makers, etc.) make actually help "move the needle" in beneficial directions. How will we know if what we're doing is working?
Great question, John! We can assess progress in a lot of different ways: number of young people with autism in college and employed, number of students with autism in mainstream classrooms, decreased expenditures, surveys of parents and individuals, number of individuals living independently in safe conditions, and so much more. There are already tons of assessment tools for measuring independence and social skills. We don't need to change them, just use them more often.
Thanks for the observations about outcomes, Laura. Those you mentioned are good ones, especially for long-term effects. And though I know about assessment tools for social skills, for example, I'd also like to think about some metric (or combination of metrics) that we can use to measure progress along the way to employment, independent living, meaningful social interactions, and such. I think we need measures that we can collect repeatedly for years, plot on a graph, and analyze the curves to examine progress, and say, "Yay, things are going well" or "Uh-oh, things aren't so hot...we need to do something different."
Autism is not a problem.
It could be the way society perceives us is at issue.
The compliance systems western civilization rely on, including education, are not designed for us to exist.
The game board was designed by allistics and it is disingenuous to suggest or believe inclusion would ever be a thing (although we can dable in fantasy to hope).
While that may seem harsh, we have sufficient historical evidence and behavioural science to understand why it will not be a thing.
It could be more appropriate to build neurodivergent communities where we are able to design our own culture whilst including blue zone attributes which would account for longevity and deep, purposeful connection.
All the programs and tactics in the world are not going to resolve what is causal.
To that point, every historical paradigm shift in human consciousness has been as a result of a fully self-expressed neurodivergent mind.
Yes, my post was about how government systems weren't designed to support autistic people. I love the idea of self=designed neurodivergent communities. My son will be attending an autism college in the spring, because he enjoys being in a community of people who "get it."