Blog Post 15 Neurodiversity

 Neurodiversity 

        Our system is not created for neurodiverse individuals, and therefore these individuals face institutionalized discrimination, much like people of color (their struggles are not the same, however, they are both at a systematic disadvantage). Something that struck me from this weeks slides was the statement "disability results not from autism itself but from living in a society which tends to be physically, socially, and emotionally inhospitable towards autistic people". 

    In the Juicervose podcast, parents discuss what it was like finding out their young son had autism in the 90s and the signs that led them to seek help. They said that their son, Owen, began acting strangely; not making eye contact, not listening, etc. and that they were concerned, so they took him to doctors. The said when they got the initial diagnosis, their thought was "The Hangover". The doctors said that Owen was probably never going to seem like he had before, but the family believed he was still in there somewhere. They then describe a breakthrough that occurred when his family began talking to him like Disney characters and that is was the first time in years that they had seen their son. 

    We have not created a world that is accessible to all people. There are many ways in which we can combat this, both as individuals and as a society. On an individual level, I think we have to change the way we think about see neurodiverse people. I think we have a lot of misconceptions. We need to learn more about this group and listen to them rather than speak for them. I think accurate representation goes a long way as well. As a society, we need to work to make public places more accessible. We talked about the inclusive classroom and this is a very important part of that. We need to ensure that every student is getting the level of support they need and that they have every opportunity to succeed. 

     

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