Project we are Autism and Aspergers: A Social Era for Autism

The "Social Era”, as Nilofer Merchant coined it is proving that we have come a long ways in how we interact with people. The early days of social media was about connection and engagement, than came measuring our value by the number of friends, and now our influence will be measure by how engaged we are. While many scramble to learn these skills and gain audiences there is a growing subgroup of people who are becoming quite proficient at the art of connection. People with Autism and Aspergers, a group not normally known for being connectors are gaining doorways into talking with folks online.

For people who have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), myself included, the world of interaction can be a challenge. Many have gone their whole lives cut off from the real world either by speech barriers or the absence of Neurological typical social skills. With 1 out of 88 people now diagnosed with ASD it is clear this is starting to look more like a phenomenon than a disorder. Mentioned by Autism Activist and Autistic person Temple Grandin  the rise of internet age may have come from people with #ASD people. Many could argue this but what is clear is people ASD are gaining ground in the Social Era.

Carly Fleischmann , a non-verbal autistic woman from Toronto, for example, is building a world of relationships that has reached 51,000 followers. Many of these followers also share Autistic Spectrum Disorder and are discovering ways to break down walls from both socializing and the belief that ASD is about being intellectually disabled. With the click of a button they are expressing ideas, music and even art they've created to let others knows what they have been trying to say all along.

How is it that so many people with Autism Spectrum Disorder are excelling is social media? They can be the maven of mavens. When they get fixed on something that interest them they (me included) have to know everything about how it works, as well as how they can make it fit into an pattern that is efficient. Sound familiar tech people? Dr. Grandin believes the ASD gene is the origin of creativity and problem solving and may be the reason why we have advance so for the last 200,000 years.

Another example is watching some of the people I work with that have been open enough to share that they have Autism Spectrum Disorder. After talking with a friend about how their social media management was working when she started a few weeks earlier, she was feeling disappointed. When I asked her what the problem was, she said “I can’t get past 32”.  I said, “32 followers?” She said “no 32.2k followers, and my About.me still won’t get past 10k a week. Maybe there is something I am saying that is keeping everyone else away?” The look on my face was priceless. Later that same friend had a total stranger come up and thank them for a blog they wrote.

While all people with Autism Spectrum Disorder vary in functionality and skills it is clear they are finding it much easier to connect. They are making friends with people Globally and some seem to be quite good at building rapport without the use of a real voice. It will be interesting to see what the future holds but I am happy to see so many with ASD gain ground and find their place in the Social ERA.

 
 

 Christopher G. Brownlee 

 Follow on Twitter: @ChristoB78 

Project: We are Autism and Aspergers; we can speak

Project We are Autism and Aspergers is us speaking with our own voice, telling the world who we are and telling our government how our lives can be better improved, with our own words. When we as a community of people stay silent we are doing an injustice to ourselves. Not all of us are capable of speaking for ourselves, some draw and some have trusted advocates and family members who speak for them and it is time that we stand up and let the world know that we are human beings.This community has had a stigma and portrait painted of them that is completely inaccurate and organizations like Autism Speaks have done nothing but increase the reputation of brokenness and inferiority. Project We are Autism and Aspergers is about changing the face of who we are from tragic disasters to human beings.

What would you tell the world if you spoke out for yourself? What would you say to the government to improve the lives of spectrum people? What is life like for you living as a spectrum person? This is our story to tell and it should be told by the very people who live their lives as Autistic and Asperger people. Our stories and our needs should not come through the voices of an outside organization who views us as a mystery, a puzzle, and a mess. Our stories should come from the reality of who we are by ourselves and the people who love and know us. It is our responsibility to stand up for our own needs and our own lives.

Allowing an organization like Autism Speaks to continue their voice in place of us will only  allow for the on going issues to continue that our community faces daily:

1. Media’s continual use of the word “suffering” as a description of our community
2. Media’s assumption that every school shooting should be blamed on Aspergers
3. We are broken
4. We are medical disaster
5. We are unable of making decisions that are healthy for our community therefore we need to be spoken for.
6. Job discrimination.
7. Assisted and non-assisted living programs for spectrum people.
8. Health care coverage for Autistic related services.
9. Funds for families requiring services for the young ones.
10. Spending more time working with teachers and ABA therapist for those of us higher on the spectrum who can offer valuable information for the ones who are not where we are.

Autism Speaks cannot bring to the table the life experience of a spectrum person and they have no interest in doing so. They are an organization that runs like a corporation utilizing funds in such a questionable fashion and it is our opinion they should be investigated by Congress. We feel that the picture painted by them of our community has made us look less than human and therefore undeserving of equal rights with dignity and respect. Silencing their voice and allowing our own words to ring through the media and the halls of congress is the only way to reverse the years of tainted and dishonest chatter about who we are and what we need. The last thing we need is another awareness campaign, we deserve and are entitled to acceptance for the unique individuals that we are.

Project We are Autism and Aspergers will run for the next 30 days. We invite you to write to us about who you are and what we as a community needs. You can submit photos, drawings, statements and videos. Videos can be done directly from our site using a mobile device www.drlorenabrownlee.com scroll over videos click the human project and record whatever you would like or you can make submissions through lorenabrownlee@gmail.com. It is time to change the face of our community from broken mysteries to human beings.

We will also be running the Project through social media. Feel free to take a photo from below and use it as a banner or icon image to invite other spectrum people to join the movement of changing the face of who we are. Use hashtags #ProjectAutism #ProjectAspergers #WeAreAutism #WeAreAspergers or #Project we are #Autism and #Aspergers and follow us on Twitter @brownlee_dr Facebook Dr. Lorena Brownlee or Google Plus +LorenaBrownleeDr