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 

#AutismSpeaks, I am not a Medical Disaster

Last night I watched the Documentary, Sounding the Alarm, Battling the Autism Epidemic. I as a spectrum person walked away with this one thought, If you are my advocate I am in big trouble. Using statements like Autism is a medical disaster or describing us as troubled, difficult or even ensuing family troubles conveys the statement to people like myself that you do not favor our kind. A lot of us, spectrum people, go on to do many good things such as acting, writing, or activism. The spectrum is so wide ranging that there are even a few of us you do not know about whom have gone onto become Doctors, Lawyers and Engineers. The bottom line is that we are human being and deserve to be referred to as such.

I completely understand the struggle that you as Neurologically Typical people have in understanding us as people in what we think and how we feel. I also understand how difficult it must be for you as Neurologically Typical people to deal with one of our meltdowns or inability to communicate, perhaps adding one of us who are higher functioning to your staff would serve to enlighten your understanding and encourage you to refrain from using such derogatory language to describe what many of us as adults find as an asset to who we are and become. When you speak about us in such a negative fashion you only further the struggle we have with mainstream media and the very intolerable way they describe us as suffering beings.

I am not suffering, nor am I medical disaster or troubled person and many spectrum individuals I know are not either. We will never do things the way you do them nor will we ever be just like you but we are human beings who deserve to be treated with respect and dignity in both speech and actions. We stand in agreement with you that Congress does need to take up our case and Insurance companies do need to serve our families better. However,  if you are going to continue advocating for us and suggesting a governmental office for an Autism Zar, perhaps really taking the time to speak to higher functioning spectrum people and understanding our position in the world from the very different perspective we hold, would serve all far more greater than to assume all things about us from Neurologically Typical standpoint. After all this is about advocating for spectrum people not just the Neurologically Typical family members. .