Colin Revell's plight has inspired me to get on the case of housing for
people on the autistic spectrum. After having pioneered the idea of
neurodiversity, I was forced to give up (by pressure of lack of time and
money, and by lack of practical commitment from the local Australian
academic Disability Movement), to concentrate on bread and butter issues -
local politics, with a focus on housing activism.
As a direct result of the multiple hidden disadvantages faced by my family
of 5 generations of women somewhere on the Autistic Spectrum, I have ended
up in Public Housing, which here in Australia is highly stigmatised, highly
targetted, poor quality, increasingly expensive, increasingly less secure in
tenure, and becoming more and more a dumping ground for people that the
health system cannot care for.
As I have educated myself on housing policy, I now want to put
Neurodiversity onto the housing agenda here in Australia, and having been
thinking for ages about starting some research on whether there has been a
start made on the issue of housing for neuro-minorities. This has become
more acute for me as my daughter's cohort moves into young adulthood, and
there is no suitable housing for them.
First, a question for Colin, assuming you are in a space to answer:
What specific forms of housing do you need that your local area would
not provide?
I have my own shortlist for what people with AS need of course, but I don't
want to influence your answers.
Judy Singer
PS. I should say that I am also aware that I have upset some sections of the
Autistic movement by insisting on raising the issue of the suffering, yes,
suffering, of the children of autistic parents, and by insisting that just
because I champion an awareness of neurodiversity, and the obligation of
society to cater for a neurodiverse population, does not mean that every
human mind that genetic variation throws up is inherently good, loving,or
benign.
________________End of message________________
This Disability-Research Discussion list is managed by the Centre for Disability Studies at the University of Leeds (www.leeds.ac.uk/disability-studies).
Enquiries about list administration should be sent to [log in to unmask]
Archives and tools are located at:
www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/disability-research.html
You can VIEW, POST, JOIN and LEAVE the list by logging in to this web page.
|