Monday 31 August 2020

Diversity

 My course requires me to interview a person "from a diverse background"

I don't like the term "from a diverse background" for multiple reasons but  I wondered if maybe my readers would be interested in reading the notes  made. I thought I was making a voice recording but I screwed that up so this is more of a paraphrase than a transcript.  I hope I've retained the meaning.

These days   have no idea what is interesting or boring so if you'd prefer to watch paint dry, forgive me.

 

K: What does diversity mean to you?

Miss X: “Siri, define diversity. Understanding that each individual is unique and recognising differences. These can be along lines of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability etc”

 

K: Do you identify as “diverse” and how?

Miss X: Will I mention that I like girls? No, maybe not, that just complicates things and I don’t want to go on record like that, it just makes people freak out, oh wait, it’s anonymous? ok. So I have diagnoses of Autism, Attention Deficit Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Oppositional Defiance Disorder, anxiety, depression and PTSD.

 

K: How does that impact you in the community and workplace?

Miss X: Well it causes communication issues because I think differently to other people and interpret things differently so people think I’m being difficult when I’m really not, I’m just struggling to understand. Sometimes I need extra detail in instructions and I get overwhelmed really easily. I don’t like leaving my house, the noises outside overwhelm me. The people everywhere and the lights and people do random stuff like singing on the street. I don’t like traffic noise and sirens, there’s so many sirens here. I like that the supermarkets have autism hour, it’s really not that hard to turn the lights down and stop with the canned music

 

K: What do you wish people knew about your type of difference?

Miss X: Well I just wish they would be more patient. I had to get doctors reports at one workplace to say what work I was capable of, it made me feel like a freak. I’m not a freak, I  just want to be treated like other people,  I don’t want to be sent home for weeks while people decide what to do with me. Yea, I’d just like patience and if I could say more about my autism, if I didn’t have to hide it, I’d like that.

 

K: What could be changed to give you more equity and understanding?

Miss X: Well, working from home during covid has been great for me. Working from home means I’m in my safe space and if something happens that upsets me I can recover a lot faster and I can be more productive. I just don’t get so stressed and my anxiety isn’t so bad. I don’t have to deal with so many people and interruptions and people judging me. It makes my work better and it makes my life easier. Working from home is great, I have the blinds down in my room and it’s dark in there.

I really hate it when people say vaccines cause autism and I really hate it when people say I don’t seem autistic. Autism in women looks different, we are better at masking, we know how to look more normal than autistic men and we don’t all have an obsession like we don’t all love penguins or something and we make eye contact a lot better than men and sometimes I make eye contact so well that it makes people uncomfortable and I use my hands when I talk, I do that to be more normal and I make sure my voice has different tones so  don’t seem to be autistic but I am so it’s annoying when people say I don’t seem like I have autism because I‘m working hard to understand the world and if I seem like I’m okay it’s because I make a lot of effort.

 

K: Do you like to say you have autism or you are autistic?

Miss X: I don’t care, I don’t like all this “I have autism” stuff, I’m autistic, that’s how it is, it’s what I am. I don’t insist on the whole “I’m a person with autism” thing

14 comments:

  1. I found this fascinating and would love to read more.
    And, as an aside, we shop in 'autism hour' (a term I hate). It makes the whole process much easier to cope with.
    PS: This is Elephant's Child. I am having huge difficulties commenting using my google account at the moment.

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    1. Hi ec!
      I think most of the population would prefer to shop in "autism hour" and just why is it only an hour?
      What happens when the autistic person is having a massive meltdown and you miss the window?

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    2. I would dearly love it to be longer than an hour. And, given that colour and scent can be issues as well, it is a tiny step in the right direction - where strides are needed.

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  2. I thought this was interesting Kylie - particulary because I've started studying for a Cert. IV in Mental Health - but also because I am a bit 'weird' myself and can relate to much of what this person said. I agree that many people would prefer to shop in 'autism hour' - the world is just too noisy and crazy and it's reassuring to me that there are a lot of seemingly 'normal' folk struggling with the ridiculous pace and content we have to negotiate every day.

    Just like Krishnamurti said: 'It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society'.

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    1. Didnt you say you think you might fit the definition of an empath? I'm not an empath but I tend to participate in society on my own terms, avoiding some of the excesses and overstimulation....which of course brings us back to Krishnamurti

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    2. Yes Kylie, I think I am definitely an empath.

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  3. The first thing that strikes me is how many mental issues she has. I imagine she must have had some terrible parenting to be so disturbed by outside reality and other people. Or is it just something biological and nothing to do with her upbringing? It must be hard for someone autistic to get others to understand their odd behaviour. People can be very unsympathetic towards someone visibly "different".

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    Replies
    1. Nick,
      Miss X was fostered out of an abusive situation at about 18 months and then stayed with the same family until she could be adopted by them. Who really knows what comes out of nature vs nurture but significant damage can be done in those first years.

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  4. I too found this fascinating - and if I did go out for shopping [I order in] I think I'd prefer Autism hour as well. There seems to be a demand for this amongst those who are commenting here, so perhaps we should build a whole shopping centre around Autism!
    Sx

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  5. I do love this post. I do volunteer work at a facility for adults with special needs which includes both downs and autism adults. It is interesting to hear a woman's take on dealing with her issues.

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    1. From my observation the ADHD is probably a worse problem in her case but I guess they start to become intertwined. What do you do in the facility?

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  6. How interesting to talk with someone like Miss X and to try to get a sense of how the world looks to her and how she feels about everything. Fascinating.

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    Replies
    1. She's exceptionally bright with a wicked sense of humour, too!

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