Kimberly Maich, Memorial University of Newfoundland
By now, it seems, almost everyone knows a child with autism, has a relative with autism or has seen someone on television like Big Bang Theory who they think have autism.
But many are still confused about autism even though this term became widely used in the 1940s.
Some wonder if vaccines cause it. Can parents make it happen? No and no! Others question whether we as a society can fix autism. But do we want to? Should we want to?
As an associate professor, teacher and behavioral analyst steeped in the field of special education and inclusive education, I am often looking at disability through the lens of what is aptly termed the medical model.
The medical model, focused on individual treatment and outcomes, tends to see disability as a single person’s problem—as an individual impairment.
I don’t think it’s an over-generalization to say that most people see autism this way, as well as disability in general.
In language about disability, a vocabulary has evolved that often suggests something is missing: think attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. I must admit we often teach about disability in a similar way: as something in someone that is lacking.
Yet often when people first begin living with disability, disability is foremost a change—a change in lifestyle and a change in expectations.
The truth, perhaps shocking to contemplate, is that disability can happen at any time, to anyone. The way you are now, or the way I am now, is a precarious and ever-changing reality.
Beyond being a researcher about autism, I’m also the parent of an adult son with autism. Autism is a near-and-dear reality to my work life, my personal life and my family life.
When we make disability the “other,” seeing those who have it as “the other people”—those who are not like us, those who are not “good enough”—we need to remember that there is no immunity against disability.
This journey of life that is full of unexpected twists and turns can result in disability for you or those you love.
The social model of disability
Let’s understand more about the social model of disability, where we realize that disability—including autism—is framed by societal barriers and is a societal responsibility.
After all, disability can appear from illness, from accidents, and even from living a long life. Disability is not always like autism—there from the beginning and persisting throughout the lifespan.
While one in ten youth in Canada have disabilities, this number increases to 37 percent in Canada’s seniors.
We tend to find it so odd when a young child needs to use a walker to get around or if a teenager needs to use oxygen every day. Yet it seems unsurprising when our elderly citizens use exactly the same assistive devices. Illness, disability, and age all intersect and can look very much the same.
Maybe it’s time to find disability unsurprising, so we don’t apologize and sympathize when autism is introduced into the conversation—or the lives around us.
Maybe it’s time to stop excluding and segregating our students with autism and, instead, smooth the pathways to post-secondary success or supportive employment.
Rights and freedoms
In Canada, we worry about the rising numbers of autism: one in every 66 children and youth in Canada is now diagnosed with autism.
We are concerned about painting a national picture of autism, about finding the right funding model, about using evidence-based interventions and about how stereotypes and stigma shape people’s views on autism.
But here’s what we really need: to keep advocating for services specific to autism all across Canada, to provide accessible supports to our northern and rural areas, to provide funding that is consistent and accessible. Our society should provide choice, advocacy, support, rights and freedoms.
If we look at autism internationally and comparatively, we may also see further complexities, such as mothers being obligated to attend school so that their children with autism can be allowed to attend.
This is why we need a World Autism Day. We need go far beyond a conversation about autism to take action.
And besides this, we need to start celebrating the unique views autism brings. Wouldn’t our global societies be kinder and better if we considered what we learn from autism each day of the year? Then World Autism Day wouldn’t be necessary. Autism would simply be part of the everyday, as it should be.
Autism has changed. The diagnosis has changed. But have we? I have an idea—let’s let autism change us.
Kimberly Maich, Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, Memorial University of Newfoundland
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
—
◊♦◊
Here are more ways to become a part of The Good Men Project community:
Request to join our private Facebook Group for Writers—it’s like our virtual newsroom where you connect with editors and other writers about issues and ideas.
Click here to become a Premium Member of The Good Men Project Community. Have access to these benefits:
- Get access to an exclusive “Members Only” Group on Facebook
- Join our Social Interest Groups—weekly calls about topics of interest in today’s world
- View the website with no ads
- Get free access to classes, workshops, and exclusive events
- Be invited to an exclusive weekly “Call with the Publisher” with other Premium Members
- Commenting badge.
Are you stuck on what to write? Sign up for our Writing Prompts emails, you’ll get ideas directly from our editors every Monday and Thursday. If you already have a final draft, then click below to send your post through our submission system.
If you are already working with an editor at GMP, please be sure to name that person. If you are not currently working with a GMP editor, one will be assigned to you.
◊♦◊
Are you a first-time contributor to The Good Men Project? Submit here:
◊♦◊
Have you contributed before and have a Submittable account? Use our Quick Submit link here:
◊♦◊
Do you have previously published work that you would like to syndicate on The Good Men Project? Click here:
Join our exclusive weekly “Call with the Publisher” — where community members are encouraged to discuss the issues of the week, get story ideas, meet other members and get known for their ideas? To get the call-in information, either join as a member or wait until you get a post published with us. Here are some examples of what we talk about on the calls.
Want to learn practical skills about how to be a better Writer, Editor or Platform Builder? Want to be a Rising Star in Media? Want to learn how to Create Social Change? We have classes in all of those areas.
While you’re at it, get connected with our social media:
- To join our Facebook Page, go here.
- To sign up for our email newsletter, go here.
- To follow The Good Men Project on Twitter, go here.
◊♦◊
However, you engage with The Good Men Project—you can help lead this conversation about the changing roles of men in the 21st century. Join us!
◊♦◊
We have pioneered the largest worldwide conversation about what it means to be a good man in the 21st century. Your support of our work is inspiring and invaluable.
—
Shutterstock ID: 1053207779