| 27th April 2011: Interesting Times So, I read today on OttowaCitizen.com that a British couple are being denied access to live in Canada because the father has an Autistic son. Apparently it would cost the Canadian healthcare system and insurance system too much to look after the Autistic son. Except...the son lives with his mother in England and doesn't want to move to Canada with the couple. And they don't want him to come with them. And both the ex partner and the couple agree that the chances of the 17 year old wanting to move to Canada are so remote that it isn't even worth considering. But Canada still says no. But here is where stuff gets interesting. If the kid even wants to visit Canada, he has to get permission from the Immigration Department first because he has Autism. This is what troubless me. The lack of understanding of Autism is mind boggling. Like most Autistic people - I don't like confrontation or fuss and I don't like my schedule being disrupted. If I see something which interests me, I will go and be absorbed by it, but you can guarantee I will be where I am supposed to be at the time I am supposed to be there. So the chances that this kid is going to stay in Canada if he has a return ticket are pretty much zero. Besides, if he is like me, he'll be astounded by the technology of air travel and the visual spectacle of flying. But it makes me wonder - Canada, if I want to visit, do I need to contact the Immigration Department? I mean, fuck it, I have Canadian friends. What if I decided to stay with them? I'd love to go see Canada, it is a visually stunning place and I bet I would get loads of incredible photos, but I am not going if they're going to be snobby about who can and can't visit with disabilities. And as for the parents not being allowed to enter because their son is Autistic, that's just discrimination pure and simple. The kid doesn't even want to go there. It would be a massive disruption to everything he knows, has and likes there. And trust me, that is not part of an Autistic person's plan. Ever. I mean, I am getting married next year, and I don't want to leave the area at all, because it would disrupt my routine of life. The area, the shops, the people, my job, they are all part of my routine. And disruption to that is traumatic. So, on the off chance that anyone from the Canadian Immigration Department is reading this - reconsider? Note: I have nothing to do with this family or their son, I just feel passionate about defending Autistic people. Especially when they're discriminated against and innocents are caught in the crossfire. Permalink 26th April 2011: Warning - This Post Will Probably Make You Angry. So, I have been reading over the weekend how Sarah Palin has been called "Special Needs" by The LA Times. And how Rugby player Ali Williams from a team apparently called "The Blues" in New Zealand said he felt like he was a "Special Needs" case because everything he did people went "hurrah" over it. I am outraged beyond belief. It is happening more and more often, and people just say sorry and then pretend like it didn't happen or that saying sorry is ok. It's not ok and someone needs to make a stand against this sort of thing. How dare "Normal" people claim our title. Special Needs is our title. I don't go around saying "Wow...I have a job and a fiancee, I sometimes even feel like a Normal, Neurotypical person!" It just sickens me that now Autism is becoming mainstream, and slowly becoming understood by the general population (in as much as we're not Rainman anymore...) But hey, it's ok to insult us and use our terms. Because, after all, we're not that emotional, so we don't have feelings to hurt, so it's ok. But then maybe I should start saying "I feel like a Neurotypical person!" whenever I do something "Normal". It is time for this BS attitude to people with special needs to stop. Someone needs to make a stand and after they've made a stand, draw a line in the sand and say No More! If your sarcasm detector hasn't gone off yet, I am being sarcastic. Permalink 19th April 2011: Amazing Documentary I stumbled across this documentary last night, and I thought it was just stunning and should be shared. These two women are an example to everyone else. They do their thing and they don't give a damn what anyone else thinks of what they do. I think few people do their thing without being self conscious of what other people think. But maybe we should... Anyway, here are the vids. I should add, I don't own the copyright to these videos, but I didn't upload them either. Channel Five - you should have this in your Extraordinary People series on Demand Five. It's part of that series but missing from the Demand Five section... And just to get it out there - if you mock these two, you are a worthless human being. They are two nice, sweet, innocent people without a bad bone in their bodies. More than can be said about most people, myself included. And I will come after you if you mock them. Permalink 17th April 2011: Autism Awareness Training Available I just read about this and I think it's really cool and should be expanded nationwide. A company in Swindon called Signs4Life is offering Autism Awareness training. But not just for Autism. For Aspergers, Dyslexia and Downs Syndrome too. And this might be more important than people realise. I sometimes wear an Autism badge, especially if I am going somewhere unfamiliar. And I've had someone talking normally to me, clock the Autism badge and then speak slowly and deliberately. To which I normally hold the badge in my fingers and say "I. Am not. Stupid. I. Am. Autistic." I've had this conversation with customers too who sometimes feel that saying "Are you fucking stupid?" is acceptable. Now some people might say "Oh, you all want to be treated specially in situation x but not situation y". It's not quite that black and white. Social situations can be hard. I have lost track of the amount of times co-workers have asked me "You didn't realise I was joking?" To the point where I had to explain to my supervisor why calling me an idiot wasn't acceptable and was actually really insulting to me. His counter was that he was joking and I should have understood that. And a friend of mine who is severely Dyslexic told me that when he went to buy cigarettes a few days ago, the shop assistant told him that he should be able to tell if his brand was in stock or not by reading which packets were there. In the end he just bought Marlboro Lights because they're a famous brand. Because it would have killed her to turn and see if they had them in stock. So, I think that Autism, Aspergers, Downs Syndrome and Dyslexia Awareness training is a great idea for businesses. Especially as April is Autism Awareness Month. Just as long as this training is highlighting the benefits. I mean it could be a nice little offshoot of the training, maybe for the last half of the training to show the positives of hiring Autistic employees. My boss told me recently that when it comes to open invite conferences in the local area, I am his go to guy to send to them because I will obsessively make notes about what is said. At the last one I was the only one with a laptop, and I made 6 pages of notes for a 3 hour meeting. I do plan doing a follow up to this post really soon too, because I think this is a really important subject. And as a side note - for the trolls in the last post, I got you a little present each. All will be revealed in due course. Tee hee hee. Permalink 8th April 2011: Absolute Arsehole Thieves Ok, so I read this today and it sickened me. An internal audit at an Autism centre in the US found $304,755 in questionable transactions, $212,000 of that came from residents personal accounts. Forensic accountants found altered receipts, altered purchase documents and fabricated purchase documents as well as cheques which were written for more than the purchase request totals. I mean seriously, how morally bankrupt do you have to be to steal from Autistic people? As I suggested to David Cameron when George Osbourne thought that Autism was a joking matter - I don't think that a measured dose of mercury would be a bad thing for this scuzzy little thief. Perhaps if people had some understanding of how it feels to be Autistic at times perhaps they would think before they do things or open their mouths. I know I highlight the positives of having Autism, but one downside is that sometimes it leaves us a little vulnerable, regardless of how savvy or well prepared or intelligent you are. Permalink |
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