I was just on their website for something else and noticed their autism and gender identity page so clicked through....www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/what-is-autism/autism-and-gender-identity
"Gender identity and biological sex are different things. People are usually assigned a gender at birth according to their genitalia – male or female. "
NOT HELPING ANYONE THIS ASSIGNED BUSINESS!
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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions
Autism society
133 replies
HDDD · 16/09/2021 17:24
OP posts:
WarriorN ·
20/09/2021 06:53
I'm so angry that people who claim to understand autism don't see the way trans is very closely linked to difficulties with flexibility of thought, binary thinking as well as sensory discomfort or preferences.
It's always been known that certain fabrics are either irritating or calming, and how a child with autism might be drawn to them or dislike them.
But that's apparently bigoted now and it's their true authentic self 
ASDmum2 ·
20/09/2021 09:34
@AvaCallanach
What is autism?
Autism is an atypical neurodevelopmental condition in which the brain systems respond differently to sensory stimuli, and have communication differences compared to typically wired brains. This manifests in differences that can be observed during development in social interaction and communication skills, and in the ability to respond flexibly to situations or information.
In part this is because of the different experiences of the sensory world, which can appear too bright/ too busy/ too noisy in the way it is set up for the neurotypical majority, especially in the modern world of electric lights, cars etc. On the other hand that sensory world can bring immense joy to many autistic people for example in exploring textures, smells etc in a way that passes most neurotypical people by (and is pathologised - eg saying an autistic child shouldn't sniff items or run their fingers gently over and through textures).
In part this is because of the communication differences which mean that navigating the social world is hard. For example neurotypical people "parse" language a lot; they are very imprecise or inaccurate and don't even notice; this can cause bewilderment. For example telling a class of 5 year olds to write about "what they are going to do at Christmas". Strictly speaking, until they have done it, none of them knows what they are going to do at Christmas. They can probably predict with some degree of confidence based on past experience, conversations they have had etc. But this is the kind of parsing of language that can cause confusion to an autistic child because they can't answer that question. They could answer if they were given an accurate task such as "write about some things you think you might do this Christmas". This is a disablement caused to a certain extent by the vagaries of neurotypical language use which NT people use in a more flexible, less accurate way.
So autism is indeed about being wired differently. The only common features are differences in communication and interaction, and difficulties with flexibility of thought in comparison with NT people. Evidence of areas of deep focus - and consequent fascination and knowledge - is also usual (again pathologised and often described as 'obsessional interests').
Autism is an atypical neurodevelopmental condition in which the brain systems respond differently to sensory stimuli, and have communication differences compared to typically wired brains. This manifests in differences that can be observed during development in social interaction and communication skills, and in the ability to respond flexibly to situations or information.
In part this is because of the different experiences of the sensory world, which can appear too bright/ too busy/ too noisy in the way it is set up for the neurotypical majority, especially in the modern world of electric lights, cars etc. On the other hand that sensory world can bring immense joy to many autistic people for example in exploring textures, smells etc in a way that passes most neurotypical people by (and is pathologised - eg saying an autistic child shouldn't sniff items or run their fingers gently over and through textures).
In part this is because of the communication differences which mean that navigating the social world is hard. For example neurotypical people "parse" language a lot; they are very imprecise or inaccurate and don't even notice; this can cause bewilderment. For example telling a class of 5 year olds to write about "what they are going to do at Christmas". Strictly speaking, until they have done it, none of them knows what they are going to do at Christmas. They can probably predict with some degree of confidence based on past experience, conversations they have had etc. But this is the kind of parsing of language that can cause confusion to an autistic child because they can't answer that question. They could answer if they were given an accurate task such as "write about some things you think you might do this Christmas". This is a disablement caused to a certain extent by the vagaries of neurotypical language use which NT people use in a more flexible, less accurate way.
So autism is indeed about being wired differently. The only common features are differences in communication and interaction, and difficulties with flexibility of thought in comparison with NT people. Evidence of areas of deep focus - and consequent fascination and knowledge - is also usual (again pathologised and often described as 'obsessional interests').
IME this is an excellent description of autism, thank you @AvaCallanach.
For my autistic kids, the world is horribly ableist. There is only so much accommodation that can be made to ease their way in the world and often those accommodations are not enough to avoid or quell the physical discomfort/ inability/ pain of having to live in the world.
Mine reject the term Aspergers because of its Nazi roots. And one child has become keen to not see their autism as a disability, because they can mostly adjust to the world and they want to be "normal", just like many teens.
One child of mine is trans but doesn't accept that their feelings of "strangeness", "not feeling like a girl" are likely due to their autism rather than actually being born in the wrong body. But the trans ideology neatly fits in with their autistic way of thinking and provides a solution to the problem, so voilà!
GlomOfNit ·
20/09/2021 10:21
@LemonCheesecakeForTea
GlomOfNit
So forgive me if I'm angry about the new activism that comes from highly articulate adults who - by anyone's standards - are doing 'ok'. They have jobs, relationships, children. I'm certainly not saying that people who present like this can't be on the autistic spectrum, but they do not speak for my son. And sadly, I've found that this new autism activism isn't generally at all interested in individuals like my son.
The problem is that so many different things are under the one label. Autism seems to be very poorly defined, in that regard. So someone like me, who can pass for neurotypical, IS different from you son, needing different things, yet it's all swept under the same label so it's impossible to coherently fight for the support that's needed as it's so, so varied.
I don't feel the autism activists you refer to represent me, either. My autism has interfered with me having a job, partner and children (I currently have none of these things, mid 30s). It has meant I have been vulnerable to poor treatment and abuse from men, and went unrecognised for so long I went through many dreadful experiences with various "services" (a friend of mine in the same boat ended up completing suicide). There is basically no support for autistic adults like me, and actually a lot of the support we'd need is around recognition of the challenges we face, for example a benefits system that recognises some people can only work part time due to disability. Or even being able to get a diagnosis.
Its just all so complicated because of how it massively interacts with social factors. I know someone who is likely on the spectrum, and struggles with things I do not, but they met a good partner at a young age and so had someone to organise the home and meals and things so they could focus on career and now earn a lot. In this instance I'm talking about a woman, but I strongly suspect it's much more likely the other way around, with autistic men more likely to be supported/organised (!) by a woman. (Did you know the suicide rate for autistic women is higher than for autistic men?)
So forgive me if I'm angry about the new activism that comes from highly articulate adults who - by anyone's standards - are doing 'ok'. They have jobs, relationships, children. I'm certainly not saying that people who present like this can't be on the autistic spectrum, but they do not speak for my son. And sadly, I've found that this new autism activism isn't generally at all interested in individuals like my son.
The problem is that so many different things are under the one label. Autism seems to be very poorly defined, in that regard. So someone like me, who can pass for neurotypical, IS different from you son, needing different things, yet it's all swept under the same label so it's impossible to coherently fight for the support that's needed as it's so, so varied.
I don't feel the autism activists you refer to represent me, either. My autism has interfered with me having a job, partner and children (I currently have none of these things, mid 30s). It has meant I have been vulnerable to poor treatment and abuse from men, and went unrecognised for so long I went through many dreadful experiences with various "services" (a friend of mine in the same boat ended up completing suicide). There is basically no support for autistic adults like me, and actually a lot of the support we'd need is around recognition of the challenges we face, for example a benefits system that recognises some people can only work part time due to disability. Or even being able to get a diagnosis.
Its just all so complicated because of how it massively interacts with social factors. I know someone who is likely on the spectrum, and struggles with things I do not, but they met a good partner at a young age and so had someone to organise the home and meals and things so they could focus on career and now earn a lot. In this instance I'm talking about a woman, but I strongly suspect it's much more likely the other way around, with autistic men more likely to be supported/organised (!) by a woman. (Did you know the suicide rate for autistic women is higher than for autistic men?)
LemonCheesecakeI absolutely agree, there is a massive problem with calling all experiences, across the spectrum, 'autism'. Perhaps this is something that's currently changing, though when 'Aspergers' was removed from DSM 5 that didn't really help...
LemonCheesecake and indeed any other adult here who has autism, no offence meant by my post.
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