I suspect you have written that out of a cynical and prejudicial
construction of mental difference of the type that people have had to combat
through the ages, shame on you.
Anyway one of the problems with Autism is not so much its invisibility in so
far as the way the behaviors manifest but the construction put upon those
behaviors, which are not understood by the public or sadly people like
yourself in the context of neurologically based differences but defects of
character or the result of bad parenting, etc etc.
Even disabilities such as the varying degrees of blindness or deafness are
met with hostility and mistrust, where people construct from there own
inadequate thery of mind, explanations for the apparant social gaffes, such
as "he/she can hear perfectly well but it just ignoring me", or" he just
uses that white cane to gain sympathy and can see as well as I can"
It is all to do with social construction, the historical, and media
connotations of certains ways of being and artefacts associated with
disability, such as the wheelchair, the guide dog, the cane etc.
I myself use a walking aid. (my autism does have physical components in the
tendency toward joint hypermobility that actually becomes a problem as one
gets older) however I choose a neat silver handled cane, which does not
carry the connotations of an obviosly orthopedic example and thus it is not
always realised I use this thing for support as well as decoration. Means I
get frowned upon if I claim priveleged seating on the buses. If I needed any
other kind of aid, I would chose an item for its esthetics as well as its
practicability (as one does with glasses for instance) why shouldn't an aid
look good as well as be useful ?
Of course I do not walk around with a visible badge declaring my Autism,
Dyspraxis, Dyslexia or whatever because my Eccentricity trumps the lot, and
thats the way I want it to be.
I merely want the understanding and recognition where there are barriers to
understanding, the rights and priveleges that level the playing field in
employment and academia.
I neither hide nor display my condition, for it is me, I am my condition, my
status, my role even, and if that should change over time, as everything
does then naturally like Shakespeares player I shall adapt into that.
Larry
> -----Original Message-----
> From: The Disability-Research Discussion List
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of David Quarter
> Sent: 29 December 2005 12:53
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Invisible disabilities and the disability card
>
>
> Priority: normal
> Date sent: Tue, 28 Dec 2004 21:20:09 +0000
> Send reply to: Mitzi Waltz <[log in to unmask]>
> From: Mitzi Waltz <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Invisible disabilities and the disability card
> To: [log in to unmask]
>
> > Maria said:
> > >In the last few years I have been confronted with a few women who have
> > confided they have hidden disabilities and that they use the identity of
> > disability to obtain privileges and hide it when among non-disabled
> > community. This for some reason seemed wrong and patronizing to me. I
> > could be wrong or jealous as one of them accused me of being.
> > >
> > I don't think I understand what "privileges" one could obtain
> by using a "disabled" identity. Having food to eat and a
> > place to live are not privileges, they are human rights. All of
> us wheel & deal for these things, by claiming one
> > identity or another,or by performing labour, usually with far
> more profit accrusing to someone other than
> > ourselves.
> > The few actual "privileges" I can think of are quite minor
> things--getting a pass to avoid lines at Disneyland, for
> > example, or having a parking pass. These kinds of privileges
> are often given to celebrities and the rich as well, and
> > similar items can be blagged on grounds other than disability.
> I'd say, don't feel jealous--be in solidarity, and work
> > towards others (yourself, also!) being accomodated, treated
> nicely, etc. They are hiding their disability whilst in
> > non-disabled society because of prejudice, most likely. I see
> this all the time with students, past experience has
> > taught them that if they can keep things quiet, that is the
> wisest course of action. It's like staying in the closet
> > when you're gay--not ideal, not great, but for some people in
> some situations and places, sadly the only workable
> > option. Definitely a sitution to worrk against, but I wouldn't
> put down anyone for making a personal decision about
> > being "out" about, for example, mental illness in some
> situations but not others.
> >
>
> I can think a few stereotypical examples of a 'mental illness'
> being used as 'crutch' to ' get ahead' (although I don't know if "
> privilege " is the right word to describe this).
>
> 1) You're taking a difficult class in university and are unable to
> finish an assignment. You ask the instructor for an extension,
> citing your disability as the consideration -- ie., high anxiety, OCD,
> depression.
>
> 2) You're applying to a competive LAW school -- haven't got high
> enough LSAT scores to get in through the regular stream, so you
> claim a mental disability has prevented you from performing to your
> ability on the LSAT and apply in an alternative stream (with a less
> competitive pool of students to compete against)
>
> 3) You have the usual deadlines to meet at work. To avoid the
> heavy load, you claim that your "mental illness" (disability)
> prevents you from taking on too many tasks at one time. You cite
> the "fact" that stress often precipates mental disorders).
>
> 4) You mention that you have a disability in your application for a
> government job. There is quota set for the number of disabled
> people to be hired and as a result you are selected for the position.
>
>
>
> DOQ
>
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