In the efforts to educate the workforce and schools in our culture, I have personally heard anecdotes and read articles on places having experts come in to do inclusion training. While a worthy intention is there: to establish an environment of understanding and compassion, it misses the mark when sweeping statements are used without care. Man, I take issue with the way some experts going about these trainings.
I have been processing this thought in my mind for years now. It grates on me particularly at this time of year as we approach April and "Autism Awareness Month." So, I'm taking to writing about it to head off some of these well-meaning trainings before they occur. I'm sure many are already in the planning stages as April is only two months away.
One expert explained "everyone has a little autism" in them during one of these trainings. "Do you notice the buzzing of the light sometimes and it annoys you?" she asked. "Have an itchy sweater on that distracts you? That's your own little bit of autism."
Whoa. This is where Neurodiversity training goes off the rails for me. It is as simple as this: autism is a complex medical diagnosis that not everyone qualifies for; similarly, everyone does not find themselves under the treatment for chronic illness or autoimmune disorders because they experienced a single moment of discomfort that is similar to the larger, more exhaustive diagnosis.
Simply said, everyone does not "have a little bit of autism in them." That would be like me saying, "everyone has a little bit of psoriasis" when you have dry skin or "that's your little bit of rheumatoid arthritis" referring to your achy joints after a workout. It is...just...Not. True.
Autism is a spectrum disorder. Yes, the neurotypical (aka: person without autism) falls on that spectrum, but at the stark end of having none of the insistent symptoms that most of the time occurs within an autism diagnosis. Sure, people may find certain sensory or social situations uncomfortable, but that does not make them autistic. Not even a little bit. They may have special interests or hobbies that rock their world. Nor does this qualify them for such a statement.
Going back to those medical diagnosis's- chronic or autoimmune disease are the extreme, rare cases of a collection of specific symptoms that may include itchy or dry skin. May include moments of sore joints and discomfort. But, there are spectrums that exist within the specialties of dermatology and rheumatology, or any medical area for that matter.
That awareness of those slight agitations (the noisy lights or the itchy sweater) that most are able to pull their attention away from and place it back to the more important and pressing matters of oh, working or learning, allows them to EMPATHIZE with the person who is on the spectrum because they are experiencing a small piece of the daily deluge of symptoms that impose themselves on an autistic individual daily. It allows them to see into my world a little bit. But by no means does it qualify them to be "a little autistic."
The trainer should tweak the presentation. Present an audience of autistic individuals their material first and ask for feedback. And listen. Explain that we can all experience things within our environment that make us uncomfortable and we can use those moments to remember that a person with autism is experiencing those things on exponential levels all of the moments that they are awake.
Research can only do so much when it is presented without the voice of those that it is representing. And, trainers need to focus on the point of what to do in response to the recognition of workplace or school environments that are not neurodiverse. What you do with the information after the fact is just as, if not more, important of the awareness.
No comments:
Post a Comment