For “Autism Awareness Month”…which most real
live autistic people and parents of kids on the spectrum feel should be called
“Autism Acceptance Month.”
My friend Heather, @ Changed for Good,
wrote a companion piece to this one; please check it out over at: http://changedforgoodautism.blogspot.com/2015/04/day-28-acceptance-is-not-awareness.html
I received this
email last month:
[Swan Ayi {Auntie Swan}]
to me
Odd, NH [New Hampshire] Senate just voted to have
Autism Spectrum Disorder printed on individuals' drivers licenses. What's the point of that?
My reply:
[Full Spectrum Mama]
to [Swan Ayi]
EFF you, NH.
Hers:
[Swan Ayi]
to me
Agreed.
This is flat out DISCRIMINATION.
Suppose you heard
that from now on all blonde people would be stigmatized in this way? Or all
people with depression? Obviously, some blondes (depressed people…) may be
precise, single-minded, “excellent drivers,” but others might have trouble
focusing, or erratic behavior, or compromised intellectual ability, or – who knows?
Yes, they passed
the rigorous driver’s test same as everybody else with a license. And, true, some
blonde or depressed people might not
need to have this factor listed on their licenses, but since some blonde and/or
depressed people are “different” -- and therefore possibly dangerous drivers – the
state of New Hampshire needs to make their condition perfectly clear to
cashiers, police officers, airline personnel, restaurant servers, and so on…just in case.
No, I am not going
to address the possibility that being autistic might affect some individuals’ driving or demeanor.
So might being tired, or being an a-hole, or being worried, or distracted…
G’s shift to
confidence has been so gradual, so delicate, so life-changingly wonderful. What
does a ruling like this tell him and the rest of us on the spectrum, many of
whom work so hard for our confidence and accomplishments and inclusion in a
neurotypical world? As lame and wrong as they may be, such rules send a strong,
potentially devastating message.
I’ll be letting
those politicians know where we stand: My family, for one, will be spending as
little time and money in NH as possible following this decision.
Love,
Full Spectrum Mama
Full Spectrum Mama
