Time for some autistic libertarianism!

[James Comey]

Thought this was very much worth of a post.

I remember way back in July 2010 I was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. At that point, my life was about to change, a lot. Because of my diagnosis, it was time for me to get subjected to things like IEPs, speech classes, etc. Because of one diagnosis.

However, I'm really, really tired of the things I've been forcibly subjected through. Because of my Asperger syndrome, I'm viewed as somehow having less function than a neurotypical person. I'm viewed as somehow in need of desperate help for many things. And you know, they may have been right at first. But now I'm 17 and I'm realizing a lot of the things I'm still being put through (speech classes, which will probably start after my IEP) are completely pointless at this point. Hell, I feel an IEP at this point isn't going to be necessary (I also don't understand why everyone else doesn't have an IEP, given that everyone's needs could be attended to, but that's another story for another day), but I'm still going to be forced through it, because of a diagnosis that is very mild.

Worse, what I hate about these services is that I'm often talked down to. I'm treated as if I have difficulty understanding big sentences and such. Look, I've met people in these classes, etc who really should have such, but I'm not like them at all (no offense obviously). My speech is mostly "normal" at this point with the exception of some garbles here and there. Socially, I was always isolated, but that had more to do with social anxiety than anything (and probably should have been approached differently, IMO). However, I've made advances in social skills and have found ways to thrive in a neurotypical extrovert favored environment. Basically, Asperger syndrome is just a diagnosis I have that needn't be taken so seriously at this point. Hell, it's going to be irrelevant once I'm an adult.

Sorry, but this was partly a venting post. I just hate being seen as somehow in need of massive help even though I feel my cognitive skills are far better than "normal" people. Anything I do wrong, it's immediately because of Asperger syndrome. Stop judging me by that fucking diagnosis, I'm more than that!

But I do have a serious message: those that have Asperger syndrome, autism, schizophrenia, etc should all be able to have opt outs for services (especially like speech) that does not get determined by parents. We're full-functioning people. There's more than that goddamn diagnosis.

All in all, I'm tired of being pandered down to. I just want to be taken as a human being. Imagine if all black students were forced through similar programs so that they wouldn't be committing crime, etc. I understand the rationale for early stages, but not so much when I'm older.

[Ky]

Interestingly, "libertarianism" has multiple meanings, some of which aren't just political - in the world of philosophy, it is considered the acceptance of free will and denial of determinism.

Why must everything be determined for the individuals within these services who are perfectly capable of making decisions of their own free will?

[Dead]

I think they should probably go over each case and decide what to do from there (with the input of the student) instead of just lumping everyone who has autism/special needs together as needing the same things because, as you've already said, they don't.

Hell, I've never been diagnosed with anything, but when I was younger, I had to go through this weird behavior program thing because I didn't play nice with others. It included a speech program which I was forced into despite not having speech problems. My mom asked the school about it and they just said it was protocol for any students who seemed to have trouble "adjusting".

My current school seems to have a pretty shitty way of accommodating for "special students". They just sort of throw everyone who does poorly into this room; whether they really do have special needs or just don't do their work, whether they just need some help or a lot, it doesn't matter. Into the room you go.

[SoulRiser]

So even in the rare cases school tries to accommodate people with different needs, they fail miserably at it. :/

[Ky]

(08-29-2014 10:23 AM)SoulRiser Wrote:  So even in the rare cases school tries to accommodate people with different needs, they fail miserably at it. :/

With the efficiency of a cancerous government and the budgeting of no successful business ever, what do you expect?

[James Comey]

Sadly, where I live, it's just the way it goes. If you dare be committing the crime of having a spectrum disorder, then by god you must go through this shit!

It's things like this which make me want to destroy humanity with napalm and re-build it...

[no]

Because the term "special needs" just screams out "homogenous group," doesn't it?

[xcriteria]

Yeah, that's quite messed up. I wonder what might be done to change things, for yourself this year, and in general.

This could also make a good article/essay/story, like if you wanted to make a small project out of it. I'm curious what the staff and admins and policymakers would say if they were interviewed.

Really, everyone should have some form of individualized attention -- a lot of people struggle to get IEPs in order to actually force schools to provide some accommodations. Yet as your story shows, IEPs can also end up being forced on the student, regardless of their preferences or needs.

This is an example of a "hard case" I'm curious how StuVoice would respond. They have this Student Voice in Box series going on now, with "classroom materials, teacher stories and student stories that teachers can learn from to promote Student Voice best practices in their classrooms". But what about the cases where a student experiences being totally stuck with what's being imposed on them, by an unquestionable system?

We have the allies to actively question a lot of entrenched practices and assumptions. I wonder what might be done to get schools having conversations about people who don't fit in the school-defined boxes of "normal," gifted (a few advanced classes), "bad/lazy, (punishments), and "special needs."

One of the biggest roadblocks I see is that more shy / introverted / socially-anxious / "different than usual" students, who often have some of the biggest school-incompatibility problems, aren't necessarily the most motivated to make a big deal out of their situation, call in allies, and try to shake things up. Especially without really knowing where to begin.

But someday, people will look back on things like this and say why did school-from-that-era persist for so long, even when people knew it didn't make sense. What steps might some of us take to get people talking about that gap between reality and potential?

[Missile]

I have AS. I find more annoying than being thrown into the mental hospitals is how morons use the term "autistic", like the term "retard". I got into an argument with this one guy on youtube who said "minecraft is heavily autistic" and "call of duty isn't playable for autistic little kids" I personally don't really like minecraft that much but this guy was just being a retard. I told him: "I know autistic people who play FPSes and Allbert Einstein and Bill Gates have autism. A week later: (I can't fully remember the reply and I deleted the email notification) the guy said: (Since this game is heavily autistic...(can't remember the middle part)... and who is Allbert?". I though "I'm not going to argue with this moron anymore". But a few days after, a third guy came in and said to the autism bashing guy: "so all you can use in your defense is a spelling error? get to the point Albert Einstein had autism... and he was smarter than you. You are dumber than an autistic person. How does that feel?" I salute that third guy.

[James Comey]

(08-30-2014 10:29 AM)Missile Wrote:  I have AS. I find more annoying than being thrown into the mental hospitals is how morons use the term "autistic", like the term "retard". I got into an argument with this one guy on youtube who said "minecraft is heavily autistic" and "call of duty isn't playable for autistic little kids" I personally don't really like minecraft that much but this guy was just being a retard. I told him: "I know autistic people who play FPSes and Allbert Einstein and Bill Gates have autism. A week later: (I can't fully remember the reply and I deleted the email notification) the guy said: (Since this game is heavily autistic...(can't remember the middle part)... and who is Allbert?". I though "I'm not going to argue with this moron anymore". But a few days after, a third guy came in and said to the autism bashing guy: "so all you can use in your defense is a spelling error? get to the point Albert Einstein had autism... and he was smarter than you. You are dumber than an autistic person. How does that feel?" I salute that third guy.

Good, common-sense, sane people, on the YouTube comments section?

I'm glad that commenter got shatted on. I don't care who says it, but I have a massive crusade against people using the term "autistic" as if it universally applies to all people with autism... I swear I'd psychologically whip these people's asses.

[DeadorAlive]

(08-29-2014 10:52 AM)Hansgrohe Wrote:  Sadly, where I live, it's just the way it goes. If you dare be committing the crime of having a spectrum disorder, then by god you must go through this shit!

It's things like this which make me want to destroy humanity with napalm and re-build it...

I feel so bad for you. Isn't there a way to get a reverse diagnosis?

[James Comey]

Reverse diagnosis? Yeah... easier said than done. I could possibly get re-evaluated by another psychiatrist or whatnot, but to be fair, I do have some mental health problems. They're just not as severe as the school would make them out to be. I could only imagine how I would get treated if I was diagnosed as schizoaffective....

The best I can do at this point would to probably discuss these things in my IEP and see if my mom agrees. I literally have no use for speech.

[Dead]

(08-31-2014 06:18 AM)Hansgrohe Wrote:  I could only imagine how I would get treated if I was diagnosed as schizoaffective....

They might not be too keen on keeping you with the general prison population.