Last night after the news they had a small blurb (about 15 minutes or less) on a 'new look at autism'. They interviewed three people with autism. The three people were all articulate but did not look at the camera or the person interviewing them, as is to be expected.
A couple of things stood out for me:
I could relate to everything the young woman was saying. Acceptance is the absolute key. But what is acceptance. Today a woman in a wheelchair came to the counter and I was so happy to help her get her cup set up so it wouldn't spill and put her other item in the back carrying pack behind the seat. She reminded me of my friend who has MS. I would say I was accepting. And certainly that is important.
As I was reflecting on what the young woman had said, when I was making my pizzas this morning at work, I found it hard not to think 'but how can that ever be..really'. How do we get over the hurdle of needing to be blonde, fit and very thin. We can give lipservice to acceptance but really...(and I know this from experience)...who is getting the cushy jobs and who has visitors and sure you can enjoy yourself and have a 'full' life, as the young woman mentioned. Does that include all the things that are missing?
So mixed with the reality of being in the world and the reality of having access to a wonderful inner life..I am thankful that I have that access. A person who looks like her or who looks like me for that matter, is not liked. Especially when we cannot talk in the correct tone of voice, or imply other things than what is being said, by a look in our eyes to the other person.
Also I certainly liked the hair-do. It really took your mind off the weight issues.
Another comment that stood out for me from the clip was the discussions of the woman working at the university who had some sort of special talent (which I did not grasp and missed), but her saying something about 'feeling useless' until, by surprise, that particular job came along that spotlighted her special talents. I liked that the camera crew took a parting shot of her from a low position as she was looking at the computer so you could see her eyes. That shot totally changed her 'look' and demonstrated to me how it is almost impossible to like someone who does not 'look you in the eye'. That observation has been noted many times in the literature on Asperger's.
I am not sure if these three people would have that latter 'classification' or not. This last sentence certainly demonstrates how sadly everyone is 'classified'. Rather than being 'just a person'.
Anyway the whole clip was a giant step forward for public television. Computers have been a god-send, really...for people with autism. That young woman would never have been able to communicate as she does without the computers. She would have been trapped even more deeply in a concept imposed upon her by external appearances.
