One girl with autism started a global youth movement to deal with climate change

kropotkin1951 wrote:

Aristotleded24 wrote:

I think this thread is highly disrespectful and is in the wrong forum. The main thrust of Thunberg's activism is taking action to deal with climate change, so it belongs in the Environmental Justice forum. So what if she has autism? What does her autism have to do with any of this?

Highlighting her Asperger's diagnosis is abelist and sends the message that people with an Asperger's diagnosis doing something impressive is so rare as to be newsworthy.

Quote:

robbie dee wrote:

Aristotle, the OP includes an excerpt of Thunberg’s Ted talk where she draws the connection between her autism and her activism.

 

As a key part of the talk, Thunberg describes how at the age of eleven, several years after learning about the concept of climate change for the first time, she fell into a depression and became ill. "I stopped talking. I stopped eating," she explains. "In two months, I lost about ten kilos of weight. Later on I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, OCD, and selective mutism—that basically means I only speak when I think it's necessary." After a short pause, she adds, "Now is one of those moments."

"For those of us on the spectrum," Thunberg explains to the audience, "almost everything is black or white. We aren't very good at lying and we usually don't enjoy participating in the social game as the rest of you seem so fond of. I think in many ways we autistic are the normal ones and the rest of the people are pretty strange—especially when it comes to the sustainability crisis.

Obviously her work can stand on its own merits, but I thought this observation was an interesting one and illustrates how important a neurodiverse perspective can be when allistic society needs a G.D. Wake up call.

Thanks Kropotkin and Robbie Dee. I hadn't seen these comments until today. As a father of son with an official diagnosis of autism and with a wife who thinks I display some of the characteristics of autism (by the way we've been married 30 years to break down another stereotype), I was trying to get across to readers a positive image of those with autism. To get my son the help that he needed as a child we had to fight for years through five different specialists. I won't bore you with the details. While my son is university and doing well now, I understand autistic stereotypes mean he will have challenges finding employment after graduation. 

The 2012 "employment rate for autistic adults was 14.3 per cent, compared to 92.7 per cent for the general population" (https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/86-of-adults-with-autism-are-unem...). This means their unemployment rate is 85.7%.  The biases encountered by autistic people from those who know little or nothing about autism need to be countered and this can only be done by talking about it and by using positive role models to help break down stereotypes. 

Greta has been a role model for many with autism as the articles below testify. 

Alexander Burke was in high school when he received an explanation for his lifetime of difficulty making social connections. Diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, Burke, now 34, felt he had a better understanding of the interpersonal struggles that he had had in his past — but it did nothing to alleviate his worries about his future.

Burke says he would have been "thrilled" to have someone else with Asperger's whom he could look up to. But there weren't many other people with Asperger's that he knew of, either personally or in the public sphere.

That has since changed. In the past year, as teen environmental activist Greta Thunberg has launched an international movement to address climate change, the 16-year-old from Sweden has notched another accomplishment, say those on the autism spectrum. By being open about her own diagnosis of Asperger's — even calling it her "superpower" — Thunberg has emerged as a role model to those on the spectrum, and has educated others about what autism can look like.

"I think it is really inspirational," Burke, of Somerville, Massachusetts, said. "I would have been thrilled if I was in high school right now." ...

That has not stopped her. Last month, she tweeted: "When haters go after your looks and differences, it means they have nowhere left to go. And then you know you’re winning! I have Asperger's and that means I’m sometimes a bit different from the norm. And — given the right circumstances — being different is a superpower. #aspiepower".

That message is meaningful for Collier Litel, 23, of Lake Charles, Louisiana, who found out in seventh grade that he had Asperger's.

"It means a lot that she's willingly embraced Asperger's syndrome and talks about it openly."

"It means a lot that she's willingly embraced Asperger's syndrome and talks about it openly," said Litel, who graduated college in May and is now studying to take the LSATs. "It creates a lot of awareness and destroys some stigma."

"She's doing a lot to not only show people with Asperger's that they can be very powerful and effective in their own lives, but to show other people that the autism spectrum isn't something that's completely debilitating," he added.

Like Burke, Litel said he wished he had someone like Thunberg as a role model when he was growing up.

"I think it would have had a tremendous impact on what I viewed as possible not only for myself, but for cultivating relationships around me."

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/people-asperger-s-role-model-emerge...

Amanda McCarthy of Acton, Massachusetts, thinks back to when she was that age and can barely contain her amazement. That’s a common reaction to watching such a precocious teenager on the world stage, but McCarthy shares a trait with Thunberg that paints a fuller picture.

They both have Asperger’s, a neurological disorder characterized by difficulty with social and communication skills. It’s considered within the range of the autism spectrum, although those with Asperger’s typically have normal language development and normal-to-high IQs, so they’re regarded as “high functioning.’’

McCarthy, now a college graduate at 24, said she was ashamed of who she was at 16 and worried about what people would think of her.

In Thunberg, who has helped organize global climate strikes – the next ones are Friday, when she plans to protest in Montreal – McCarthy and others see a role model. ...

Trump seemed to be mocking Thunberg’s stern, impassioned lecture at the summit when he tweeted later that day, “She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!’’

In response, Thunberg briefly co-opted some of those words and made them part of her Twitter profile.

She also tweeted Wednesday that opponents of her message were deriding her appearance and behavior, with Fox News guest commentator Michael Knowles referring to her as a “mentally ill Swedish child.’’ The network later issued an apology.

“Being different in not an illness and the current, best available science is not opinions – it’s facts,’’ Thunberg said in a series of tweets that included the hashtag #aspiepower. She has referred to Asperger’s as her “superpower.’’ ...

Thunberg’s celebrity has not only inspired others with Asperger's but also prompted some who may be on the spectrum to seek help.

Dania Jekel, executive director of the Asperger/Autism Network, said the nonprofit organization usually gets more calls when a well-known figure – such as musician David Byrne and actors Dan Aykroyd and Daryl Hannah – open up about their own neurological differences.

“For many of the folks, they will see somebody like Greta and they’ll say, ‘Maybe this could be me also,’’’ Jekel said. “So we get an uptick in the number of people, very often older people – 30, 40, 50 – who will call us and say, ‘Where do I get a diagnosis?’

“That’s why it’s so wonderful she came out and talked honestly about it, because it destigmatizes it and shows people on the spectrum can do creative, wonderful things.’ ...

In her nearly 30 years working on this field, Jekel said she has noticed people on the autism spectrum often show an interest in social causes, much like Thunberg has done with her involvement in environmental activism. “When you grow up feeling like you’re kind of on the outside or you’re different from other people,’’ she said. “I think it makes you empathetic for animals or people who have differences in our society.’’

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/09/27/teen-climate-activ...