Autism is NOT a Super Power - My Friend Autism
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- čas přidán 12. 09. 2024
- Hi! I'm Orion Kelly and I'm Autistic. Please enjoy this episode of my podcast 'My Friend Autism'. #orionkelly #autism #asd #autistic #podcast #autismsigns #whatautismfeelslike
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Autism is not a superpower. It's a daily challenge to live with. There's admirable traits in autistic individuals, and things autistic people can be especially good at offering, but to call it a superpower is patronizing, untrue, and paints over the constant struggles.
I’m honestly insulted when I hear people say that autism is a super power
It’s delusional
@@brianmeen2158it’s insulting to say we don’t deserve a cure and should keep suffering because their pathetic delusions matter more
Totaly right, we cant advance as a society if we see every different thing as "special". It really just fuels ostracization. Well said👏
You realize he eats poop right?
@@nordicfrost WTF
I like the term “spiky skill set”, personally speaking. Many of us have areas we’re particularly good at, but it’s offset by all the things we’re particularly bad at. As Orion said, Superman wasn’t cursed not to walk in order to be able to fly.
OK, it's like about how they fall on a graph?
i always think of corrupted mods in Warframe.
they give you a bonus in one area by taking away something in another area.
@@tulleuchen "spiky" refers to a spider graph specifically. like a pokemon stat wheel.
I believe neurodivergence is a functional trait at this point in history: it's important to deviate from the "norm"; to be less "programmable" and inherently unable to conform so that we can shift to a new paradigm.
Also, being able to focus in like a laser on subject/s of interest allows for a different kind of advancement.
I'd rate this discussion a 💯/💯!!!
I think the idea of "Oh Autism is a SUPER POWER" is that it does come with advantages. like being able to see things objectively, or being fixated on a specific topic. I think the issue is when you are autistic, hearing that makes it feel like you're wasitng your potential. "oh The guy on that show got super technology autism and I got video game autism. wow that sucks." I think different people can hear the same thing and interpret it in different ways so maybe hearing you can use Autism to your advantage can be helpful to some people. Not everyone though and it depends n the person.
For me, even though most people don't know me as "autistic" because I'm unofficially diagnosed and it's not safe for me to disclose, I have been the subject of very much bullying, abuse, neglect just because I've got certain skills that people (parents included) find incredible enough to have told me I have superpowers. But then they can't understand how I could have any significant struggles in other ways, and so their idea of me having superpowers, or like another person mentioned, calling me superhuman, also turns into them thinking I am just intentionally having and causing problems for myself to get attention or escape reality. They say "well you're super gifted, you can do anything. You're just not trying." It's real lame, even when they call my skills superpowers without referring to autism.
@@user-yv6xw7ns3o"I've got certain (...) I have superpowers."
Which are those skills?
Only just discovered your podcast and loving it! I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 7/8; my autism was diagnosed last year January, aged 36 (I am now 37, going on 38). I HATE people who use the phrase "autism is a superpower", however, hate it even more when it comes from autistic people! If they want to say "autism is MY superpower" whatever, they can say that, but not "is A superpower". Autistic people have said to me "oh but you are so good at so and so, that is a superpower". But no, to me, a superpower is an EXTRA thing you are good at, not something you are good at at the expense of other things, especially things that would actually make my life better/less difficult. One thing I found during my self-diagnosis and later actual diagnosis, that many fellow autistic people are way more toxic than neurotypical people.
Oh I can so relate to this!
I DESPISE situations where my sensory issues are being referred to as "special needs" particularly when I know for a fact that what it really means is that my sensory issues are an INCONVENIENCE to other people!! And WORSE YET when it is "INCONVENIENT" for others because I am essentially being FORCED to do something that I don't actually want to do in the first place but apparently MUST DO to appease social norms or societal expectations!!
IF MY SENSORY ISSUES ARE AN INCONVENIENCE THEN I HAVE A VERY SIMPLE SOLUTION TO THAT!! DON'T EXPECT ME TO ATTEND SOMETHING, OR JUDGE ME FOR NOT ATTENDING AND/OR BEING A PART OF SOMETHING THAT I DON'T WANT TO DO ANYWAY AND THEN IT WON'T BE AN INCONVENIENCE ANYMORE!! SIMPLE.
IN FACT I DON'T KNOW HOW TO MAKE IT ANY MORE SIMPLE AND STRAIGHTFORWARD THAN THAT.
IT IS THAT EASY!
BUT NOOOOO PEOPLE HAVE TO MAKE IT ABOUT THEM AND HOW IT AFFECTS THEM!!!
IT MUST BE SO DREADFULLY INCONVENIENT FOR THEM TO HAVE TO PUT UP WITH MY ANXIETIES, HOW SELFISH OF ME!! IT'S RUINING THEIR DAY!! MY ANXIETY COULDN'T POSSIBLY BE IMPACTING MY LIFE, OHHH NOOOO NOT AT ALL, I'M JUST DELIBERATELY BEING DIFFICULT SO I CAN HAVE MY OWN WAY!! MY ANXIETY IS SUDDENLY JUST A CALCULATED CHOICE I'VE MADE BECAUSE MY SOLE INTENTION IN LIFE IS TO INCONVENIENCE OTHER PEOPLE.
SURE.
ALL I EVER DO IS JUST SIT AROUND THINKING UP NEW WAYS TO RUIN SOMEONE ELSES DAY WITH MY INCONVENIENT NEEDS AND REQUIREMENTS.
WHAT A FANTASTIC SUPERPOWER THAT IS!!
WATCH OUT WONDER WOMAN THERE'S A NEW SUPER VILLAIN IN TOWN!! IT'S SENSORY OVERLOAD ANXIETY WOMAN WITH HER AMAZING POWERS OF INCONVENIENCE!! MWAHAHAHA!!
*shakes head*
apologies for the rant by the way.
You are so right Orion. I would love to be accepted. Understood, loved and appreciated. I can't count the names I've been called and the insults I've received. Yes, what is the superpower? Perhaps it is our GENUINE individuality and our ability to work things out for ourselves because we have to, which makes us creative, empathic and kind. Cause we can recognise struggling and suffering in others and for me at least, I'm hot on social justice, finding it impossible to do nothing when I see others clearly being bullied or discriminated against. Yes, being different means pain and loneliness with maybe just a few glimpses of what it could be like when some kind person takes the time to help and makes you feel human. You are doing that Orion in your ministry. You are blessing many and I thank God for you for speaking out and telling the truth.
Amen!
Yes- it is a ministry 🙏
Officially My Favorite Orion Kelly Video/Episode🥇
🎉AAA+++ Podcaster. Orion Kelly has the superpower of communication. From "Disabled," to "Special," to "Normal," society labels us all. Orion makes the call for "Equality," and "Egalitarianism." I couldn't agree more! (And my special needs are "Long and Tall.")🎉
Words are words. They mean what YOU think they mean. Others, think differently😮. I have to call it my superpower. I can do what others can’t do. I don’t have a special superpower, though 😂
You made some excellent points that need to spoken out load. Thought provoking is always good yet seldom embraced.
with you, every single sentiment of this. yup >100% emphatically agree, with the logic and the emotion.
with you, every single bit of this, unless, while I was boiling the kettle I didn't hear you say something horrible like we should boil all squirrels.
but from what I heard, 100% agree.
glorious catharsis. so glad to hear it said so well. the poison of the unreality of both "special" and "super power". yup. back to reality.
Exactly. We love a lot about ourselves, but let’s be honest- this thing makes life almost insurmountable my difficult. I’m surprised I’m still alive
You help me understand myself, thank you.
A troll told me "you think you are special."
I told him, "Yes, I am special. Every person on earth is special!" And we are. We're all different.
When you discover some of your abilities are much stronger than NTs it feels like a super power and it can empower those who have disabilities in other areas. The super power narrative helps some of us. Your rant disempowers autistic people who have tapped into and use their unusual strengths and abilities. Physical strength, pain tolerance, hearing, taste, BS detectors, photo memories, empathy... some of our strengths are not only seen by NTs are "super", they also help us navigate our engagement with our worlds. Some of you don't like it but don't take it away from those of us who need it.
Yep.
Absolutly right❤
Omg your batman/superman analogy, I love it 😂
Totally agree with everything you said.
Thank you for this one. I have really been struggling with hearing this narrative and feeling like I'm just not enough because I'm truly struggling so much.
It's not a super power.. It's challenging. I will survive though.
Specific requirements. 👍🏼
Special needs 👎🏻
And defo ditch any special powers bollocks. Altered abilities yes.
Laser beam eyes no.
Good chat fella 🙌🏼🏴💙
This is such a good podcast episode. I agree with what you are saying. Use of the word "special" definitely comes with inverted commas. In my opinion, this seems to flag the individual as "other". I'm late diagnosed, and on a steep learning curve with all of this. It's possible that I have got this wrong. I think that the learning curve brings with it a deeper perspective and understanding of humanity, for better, worse, whatever. With this understanding, I think there is MORE empathy (which I wouldn't have previously thought possible), for everyone (ie, not exclusive). Yes, we all have needs. Thanks Orion!!
Agree that for most things special is an alternative for different, special ed means that it is education for people who have additional requirements, usually an intellectual disability but not always.
I have one experience to share on this issue. I worked for group homes for people who can't care for themselves. When I started, they walked us through the history of disability, one of the things that was emphasized was that language referring to disability is implemented with kindness in mind but quickly becomes pejorative. I witnessed this in action while I worked there. We referred to our residents as "individuals" which is pretty neutral and factual. The intent was to highlight that they are distinct and not to be dealt with as a group. Just as I was moving on to another job, the announcement was made that we were no longer to use the term "individual" because it was being used as a label.
So good job to the higher ups for being on top of an internal social shift and trying to stay ahead of it. But it really emphasized to me that the issue of word whack a mole will go on as long as anyone is different. Any terminology will become tainted in time.
The problem is, unlike the organization I worked for, society as a whole doesn't keep up with the taint. There's even a sizable chunk of the population that revels in it, because they can engage in harmful intent while acting like they're pure in heart.
Totally agree, you can change the name for something as often as you like. If there isn't a societal change to accept people who are different then all that happens is each new term you come up with become pejorative.
I look at just the way that in mental health I used to go inpatient a bit (has been a couple of years now so yay me) and when we were inpatient we were patients, but when we used the outpatient service that was connected to the hospital (both run by the local health district at separate locations though) we were considered clients. Towards the end of me using the community health service there was a push for us to be called consumers instead. That one didn't make sense to me as people are clients in all sorts of industries, apparently it was to make us feel more empowered which again didn't make sense as your case manager was assigned to you and you had to have a really good reason to be reassigned (that you didn't think you gelled well wasn't a good enough reason).
It doesn't change anything about the service or the way that it is run but somehow by changing what the case managers called us it was supposed to change the way that we felt about it.
For me that is up there with being told to use person first (pre autism diagnosis) as it was important for me to remember that I am more than my diagnoses. I always thought that was really stupid logic as if you need that as a reminder then it says more about you.
@@amandamandamands I relate. I hate the term "consumer". It sounds like you are eating a bunch. "Client" was much better.
@@Catlily5 Yes that was my take too.
I’m new to the Autistic “world” and I am noticing that certain words, descriptions etc make me feel uncomfortable and just irritated. No bloody angry. Super Power? In what universe! 😤 Patronizing as you say. The most frustrating thing is that autistic people are often the biggest culprits. On social media. I saw this that upset me on a big account on X “Keep Autism Weird” Is this some secret language I don’t know about. Maybe lingo Autistic people use? I don’t think it is helpful.
See for me if I saw keep autism weird I would think of it as something that we have been called our whole lives and to embrace it rather than burn ourselves out trying to fit in (cause we know that it isn't going to happen anyway)
This has always bothered me. I've suffered with Autism and ADHD and have felt out of place my entire life, and 2 of my 3 kids are suffering as well. There is nothing special or powerful about wishing you could just crawl under a rock and die almost every day.
I’m with you on superpower. It irritates me because it is overly cute and rah-rah. I think it developed as a way to push back on the notion that being neurodivergent is nothing but a tragedy - that, like everyone else, we have areas of strength and areas of weakness. But IMO it goes way overboard, takes on a patronizing edge, and also contains a whiff of savantism, which exists within the autistic community but is far from universal. I may have been a bit hyperlexic as a child, but that is neither savantism nor a superpower. All that said, I think it is reasonable for an individual to identify with the idea themselves. But like many things, I don’t think people should apply that sort of label to others, and certainly not a group.
Special needs is a harder one for me. I have no particular love for the term, but I work in an industry where some term is needed to differentiate approaches to support. So it’s a legitimate dilemma at times: sometimes you can use terms like inclusive, but sometimes you are identifying certain - yes, disabilities - that you are trying to address the needs of. Sometimes it’s possible to list specific needs: mobility issues, sensory issues, low or no sight, etc. Sometimes you have to have a term that acknowledges a general or not-yet-established aggregate group you are trying to serve. How should I do this? “Disabilities” or “disabled people” is disliked by many, which I can also appreciate. When talking about general terms, it’s important to realize that “special needs” covers a variety of groups. The fact that some groups generally prefer “person first” language should not be taken to mean the autistic community is wrong to prefer “identity first” language, for example. But that works both ways. My point, in the end, is that I am very much up for finding the best language possible, but that it’s a challenge.
Some of this debate touches on disagreements we have within the neurodivergent community, and maybe some conflicting emotions. Difference or disability? There’s some of both, and I think different schools of thought can invalidate one another at times. I’ve felt invalidated by ADHDers who regard hyperfocus as a superpower, and insist that we’re fine and the problem is society focusing on productivity. There is some of that for sure, but I’ve always been frustrated with various issues I have that I now see are ADHD. And my need for help from ADHD meds involves my ability to use plain function as a human, so I don’t love it when some suggest the meds’ only purpose is to make “worker bees” for a capitalistic society. At the same time, I know my bitching about my own struggles has invalidated some ADHDers who really don’t like seeing themselves as defective. I think some of this same dynamic plays out in the autistic community.
It’s all a source of controversy, as you note, and I think the best we can do about it at times is to acknowledge that there is no one way of looking at or describing things that everyone will agree on. Or likely a perfect way to say anything.
I suppose autism is unusual in that despite all its challenges, it has some noteworthy positives as well, allowing us to accomplish certain types of tasks better than NT people. I don't know that is true of many other disabilities. But it's still more like a silver lining to a dark cloud, not a "superpower." That term irks me as well.
Most of those horrible terms used in the past were once new untainted terms. Then bullies ruined the terms and new terms had to be found. Someday intellectual disability might be a horrible tainted term because bullies will have ruined it. Unless it is just too long for the bullies to use as a taunt.
I'm autistic but I am not a savant. The "superpower" thing means we are a special resource to be mined by good old capitalism, or so I have read. We can be exploited in the workplace but are in fact more likely to be unemployed. Complex, I need to think about this one...
Same and at 54 I’m not magically in my prime fitness like I was in my teens and 20s. Yet workers are basically being treated like robots and when we burn out we get discarded like trash. There is no understanding of age and people with a mix of co morbid disabilities and ill MH. I actually look younger for my age as I didn’t take the drugs and alcohol self medication routes and used to be fit, not super fit. But I worked hard at it at the time.
True, I'm in the home straight for retirement now. Looking back I've been exploited in the workplace, as Orion has picked up on in other videos, we tend to turn up on time, are very productive, accurate and we don't take our holidays. We would not be good at what is called "performative work", that is jobs with fancy titles, plenty of meetings, talking-the-talk, walking-the-walk and hierarchies which are nonsensical to us. Also much better pay! I too might have lost it and not been here today on several occasions. Like you I take personal responsibility. Best wishes to you.
Thank you for speaking about this
I completely understand you here, Orion. It was funny but you were listing off some things in society that disable us @ 6:31 and I had myself a laugh when you were saying the last word and I just *KNEW* you would say ANNOYING because I’ve lived it my whole freaking life. You slowly got to the word and I just said out loud “annoying” and there you go and say it.
I absolutely despise this whole “special” needs, or that autism a “superpower” is just stupidity. Different individuals have different needs. That’s it. “So just because your needs are annoying to me I’m sick of this guy.”
I get it Orion. I get it dude. I have been fired from 7 jobs in the past year. I’ve *always* been fired from every job I’ve ever worked save two that I got out right before the firing. The only jobs where I had job stability is if I become a night shift worker and there is no money that could get me to work nights again, when I have a wife and one autistic boy and a NT boy. Why is my normal autistic self “too much” for others? Why is it so weird that I need to be ostracized from society for being born to the point where I need to work the graveyard shift and be by myself just in order to keep a job and provide for my family. Been trying to start my own business or income of my own where I’m my own boss because I can’t take the “job world” anymore with the meetings where we talk about work but it’s also a social judgment area as well because you can’t be the quiet one in the meeting, or you make yourself a target (just my experience). I had them and having to mask so hard because everyone’s the “rough and tough,” hyper-masculine guys with egos that I don’t care to be around. I just love that with that job is that I get to take home a company vehicle.
I’d love if you’d make a video about guys like that if you’d look into it with the construction type guy. I’m a college dropout but who got his associates in physics and almost doubled in math. People treat me like I’m just quirky at first until I get annoying enough for someone to say something to the general manager and my life is completely disrupted. Don’t be surprised when my nervous system is jacked up and my sensory problems have been an issue lately. Eventually I can’t mask anymore.
I think your idea that all humans have different needs, and all needs should be met is how we need to think. I have a concern about the idea of disability. Disability is an idea adopted from the medical model. The common assumption of the public and medical community about disabled people is that we are broken, and not that society is failing to meet people’s needs. My terrible executive functioning is in part a byproduct of my extreme hyper focus. Likewise my sensory hyper focus can lead to a deep experience of nature, but it will make me meltdown as well. I was diagnosed at 52 but I wonder how I would fare if I was told I was disabled at infant school when my speech and social differences were obvious. Would it have been a self fulfilling prophecy? Would I have tried out the extremely intimidating and anxiety nightmare of university, where by studying my primary interest I was able to shine, albeit in a wonky spiky way? These are all such complex issues that we need to reflect upon together. Thank you Orion
You're BETTER than Batman!
The only thing that I will say about the r word is that it did used to have a medical definition (same as idiot, moron and imbecile). It has become a slur because of the way that the general public used it over the years. The same way that there is a service near me that when I was growing up was called The Spastic Centre. It was renamed years ago, again the word spastic became unacceptable to use because of the way the general population was using it.
The actual issue isn't with the words itself, it is that the NT population will use them to put down, demean and bully people around them. Some categories of people/disabilities have been renamed numerous times because society just over time adjusts and uses the replacement word instead. Until society actually accepts people who are different this won't change.
I appreciate this direct reality check
I've been thinking about this a lot recently. I think you touched on a great point here but I also think it cannot be solved. "special needs" sounds like a very ableist term. Sara Silverman had this joke 15 years ago which was "and by special, I mean they can so anything". Because that was the story. If you are what we called the R-word 1 week ago, then you are special and you can grow up and be an astronaut. When in reality if you are colorblind that is already a reason that you cannot be an astronaut.
So why was that the narrative? Because of politics. You are right that everyone has need and everyone needs to engage in some form of politics to bargain for those needs with other people. In politics you need catchy narratives. You don't necessarily need to be right, you don't need to be logical, it's about a good story that people want to support. And at that time it was a step up to have that narrative.
Diagnosis and the medical model play into this as well. In medieval times autistic people might have been called "a changeling" and put in the woods to survive on their own or not. Then it was diagnosed as schizophrenia, then you have the Asperger eugenics part and today we have the neurodiversity movement. These labels were all part of a process and of politics. And of how much a society could support people that were different. In the middle ages it was by far harder to support someone who cannot work in the fields than it is today.
And today I feel that there is a strong group of "normal" people and they need to be coerced into giving a helping hand. And that could be ableist to think of it like that. A model of "normal" people versus people that need help. Yes maybe it is. But if you look at the numbers of employment of wealth of just people being out in the street. There is a difference between being disabled but accommodated and being part of society and being disabled and struggling to take part in the most basic aspects of society.
if 90% of "normies" are working but only 10% of diagnosed autistics there is a difference. And I know of very few companies that employ super power autistics that are really good at math, or of people who manage to be self employed or found niche jobs that work for them. But the majority has not. And they are great people with "superpowers". And of course it's a circle conclusion. You only get diagnosed if you have enough problems, so of course in the statistics that will show up.
But as far as the community or representation in the media goes, I think we gotta take our wins. Rowan Ellis looked at representation recently in a great video (imop). But yeah, how do we market ourselves? Do we feed the superpower narrative or the disabled narrative. It's hard to do politics in a way that you are seen how you think you are. I love that many autistic content creators focus on the positive aspects and they make it look fun and quirky. But when I am overstimulated it's really hard to see the fun in any of it.
And sometimes I think advocacy doesn't go far enough because the real problems are being sugarcoated. The neurodiversity narrative sometimes feels like "we are just like you but communication is a little harder for us". and then people think you can live a perfectly normal life and are just a little shy in social situations. When in reality you can't find your voice when you need to.
But that is politics. Its probably a form of fawning where you want to appear harmless and hope that its easier to ask for help that way.
Loved your rant
Its a hard struggle to just live your life 😢
No, I don't have super powers. I have to tell myself: yes, you can go outside, no worries, it is okay, the NT's are not gonna hit you, they only swear and scream, you can do this, you can go to the groceries, you can do this etc...... This I say every day to myself before I go outside.
Does that sound like superpower???
I’m Batman 😂😂😂😂
Ironic as hell, is this topic. 2 months ago I started with autistic content creaters, eager to learn. The super power thing cropping up in content and comments had me already pulling back and unsubscribing.
I have seen too many margenalized groups rise up, become special, then move to obnoxious demands then become hated and die down as a "special group".
I sure did not want to be part of the next toxic group being used as a division and distraction by the media.
Great rant. 100 % agree.
You don't have to rise up and become a "special" group to be scapegoated or hated.
@@Catlily5 I agree that I could have worded that better but usually marginalized group are already hated from my experience.
@@reneedevry4361 You made it sound like they were hated for rising up. I agree with you that they were already hated.
It might be because I'm an adult and not around kids, or maybe it's different in the UK but I haven't seen special needs very much. The only place I see it is for SEN schools. I usually see the terms support needs/accomodations or adjustments used.
The movie that came out in 2018 the predator made the plot that an autistic kid had an ability to understand and control the alien ship. I get there intention but
People are starting to label food allergies as a superpower too. Good god screw their delusions
OMG that deadpan intro hit me hard … why?
My autistic superpower is getting strep throat and being bedridden for a week, 6-8 times a year due to burnout
During my teaching career in the UK primary school sector terminology has changed from retard to educationally sub normal to special needs and before I retired had become just additional needs. It's been quite a journey of words! I like the term additional needs as it just implies that we need to try different strategies to help a child... because as you said we all have needs...
I don't know. What do I say when people ask how I do something uncommonly more efficiently or with less difficulty? As a recently diagnosed adult, I struggle with my identity and how to explain myself to other people. The term superpower is ambiguous enough to cover all of the intricacies without additional details. It's also not a term that's self-deprecating or negatively stigmatized in society. It's a term that has a vague definition and broad enough connotation to be accepted and understood as a short explanation. If I see myself as being wired like a superhero, it's much less internally damaging than seeing myself as wired incorrectly or with malformed neurological pathways. If neurodiversity isn't different neurology then what is it?
I think you’re hitting on the problem from a lateral position. My take is that initially “special needs” was meant to indicate needs outside of the usual, expected needs of an average, ordinary person whose body and mind are consistent with those of the majority of people. Any outlier being described as “special” becuse it means the many must apply their understand ping to the needs of the few. If all people can climb stairs effectively, no people need ramps. Some need ramps so we make this special accommodation.
However, because humans are the way they are and because we assign so many connotations, some negative, to the word “special” we have ended up either seeing it as either entitlement or a euphemism used to humor those too disabled to recognize that they’re being mocked. Either the term breeds resentment, or entices condescension. So we get one group acting like we’re asking too much and another either infantilizing us or snickering behind their hands at us. That’s my take anyway.
And I know what you mean about the super power crap. Can’t we just be us without having to prove we deserve to live by making Autism some precious gift that serves mankind? Humans deserve basic respect because they’re humans and even neurotypicals have differences. But we gotta build it up somehow. I always felt uneasy at parents of kids with various neurodivergences who go on these rambling, defensive rants about all the things that make their kids so special… as though they’re trying to prove it to themselves.
The problem with calling them special is that for people who aren't knowledgeable about the euphemism or why it is there just hear that person X is getting special privileges/accommodations and that isn't fair, why are they getting something extra. Somewhere along the way there needs to be a reframe of you can do Y, person X needs these things so that they can also be able to do Y. If it is framed like that from the time that they start school then there would be less resentment that 'those people' are getting more than me.
I know that this was some of the thought process for making schools more integrated, unfortunately they didn't factor in the extra support staff that are needed for it to be successful (kind of the same way that when deinstitutionalisation happened there were supposed to be extra community supports so that people can survive/thrive in the community but it is woefully underfunded).
🫡👏👏👏👏
Superhero analogy of Batman vs Superman being representative of a person who is autistic versus a real, albeit fictional, superhero who is universal loved and adored…yup! You nailed it, Orion!
Needs are needs…fuck the “special” appellation since it is absolutely meaningless except in its use to demean and other-ise people who don’t comport with societal norms🤬
But you're MY FRIEND
Batman is one of the only people who COULD kill Superman. He thinks about it enough 😅.
I think ‘special needs’ is referring to them being unusual. Unusual compared to the norm. It doesn’t mean special as in better..
Restaurants.... are you allergy sensitive? Lol
Do you want the special menu? 😂😂
Next people are going to label food allergies or autoimmune diseases or even common colds a “superpower”
Is it okay (and perhaps normal) to not only be on the spectrum, but to have maladaptive daydreaming? Especially if you live life realistically? I think I have the latter. I'll explain in context to whoever understands it.
Which betrayal there's so many
I m maybe too old now, but I prefer my brain, my honesty, my memory etc than to be an idiotic non autistic woman 😂, I accepted my life, specially since I know you... People were jealous about me so ? To be surround with hypocrite people ? No thanks, I love my brain until it will be very tired 😊 no offense Orion, but you made loving me ❤
26:12 "except"? Surely you meant "accept".
Saying it’s a superpower is super delusional
So his friend has a routine (playing golf) every week end, and would be upset if he couldn’t. Please explain how that’s any different from an autistic person having a routine and getting upset if they can’t do it.
But that was the point. It is not a "special" need, it's just a need, just like autistic people just have needs, not "special" needs. He was using that as an example that we all just have needs, and each person has their own set of different needs.
The autistic person might get more upset. Or not.
Well people with good social skills in autistic communities would be considered special.
That's me. I'm very verbal, I'm very good at anticipating needs of others and reading social situations. I have good social skills. I can't physically process them the same way as a neuro-typical person. I have major delays in understanding and processing events and emotions so it can appear that I can be cold when in fact I am processing what is happening and that can take days whereas others can take hours.
Ok, 1. I like you, but I can only take a little bit of your rants. I think it is because I'm loud and honest at heart, but the world beat it mostly out of me. But I watched the whole episode, and I'm commenting on it - that is a big deal.
2. I agree that we don't have special needs or superpowers. I think the super power thing came from people who have a serious need to feel valued... which is something I want to help others with - each person has great value.
3. I needed to hear you say the same thing over and over out of an emotional need. I usually turn off your episodes after I get the information, and I don't need to hear it repeated over and over. I'm telling you in case it helps you.
Sorry, not sorry...
ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS
I like that much better