Aspies For Freedom

Ah OK, yes you see I got confused because you mentioned Aspies excluded, I was not aware you mean Aspies AND autistics and PDD. (And only allowing Aspies but not Autistics did not make sense to me)

Since AS was not mentioned, I figured you meant that omission.

But yes as I said, it's a shame they don't include adults or kids/teens on the spectrum (apart from those who are also parents, I guess), as usual they seem to be gearing all efforts towards small children and pretend it all "goes away" as we grow up  :roll:

I think teens are marginalized more than anyone else on the spectrum. Adults have lots of on-line groups, but a lot of them don't allow teens to join. The mainstream groups focus on small children, so it's not as if there are many places for teenagers to go. I'm considering starting my own group or forum for the younger members of the spectrum myself.

Yeah, I signed up for Spectrum Haven about 2 or 3 days ago...I was just saying that there need to be more communities for the young, that's all.

The mainstream groups focus on children because that's where the grant and donation money lies. Try showing a picture of your typcial aspie teenager or young adult and the donations will pass you by.

No kidding. I've been jobhunting like crazy with no luck whatsoever. I got my dad to agree to pay for an appointment with my usual (expensive) hairdresser because I said, "gee, Dad, my hair is coming in all grey and with my slim resume, looking older isn't going to help me." He didn't even argue with me.  :smile:  At least by going my usual red color, I'll look ten years younger and match up with the experience on my resume better.

And it is so true that we continue to develop later than NTs. In fact, I think the advantage to being on the spectrum is that we continue to develop and grow and learn all of our lives whereas most NTs just seem to stop as soon as they leave school.

I'm still growing! I'm 35 and I grew an INCH last year! I'm also far more physically coordinated than I ever was in my teens and twenties. I'm also physically stronger. Studying dance would not be an exercise in embarrassment now. But then, I didn't lose my first tooth until I was ten and still had half my baby teeth in high school.

The sad thing is, it really seems possible that I will get it all together some day. I get more functional by the day. But by the time, I get it all together, I'll be too old for anyone to give me a chance. If age discrimination wasn't so prevalent, I wouldn't have to worry.

I really really need to learn to lie about my age. Convincingly. And except for the grey hair, I really do look much younger than my age. People still ask me what college I go to. I'm like, "I remember college..." I still get carded sometimes.

Ah well. I'm feeling a tad better lately because a friend told me that she's going to put together an old person's commune for her retirement and I'm invited. At least I know that whatever happens, I'm not going to end up an old bag lady. yay!

I don't know if you have to give your age or not, but wouldn't they work it out approximately from school certificates and the like? I should think it would be quite insulting for someone to tell you that you're too old for a job when your age has nothing to do with how well you'd perform.

Sounds like a bit of a brush-off to me. I think we are often marginalised in society due to ignorance that autism even occurs in teenagers and adults ie. that it is a lifelong condition.

Some of us have only been diagnosed very recently as adults, too.

Age discrimination isn't yet illegal in the UK, I don't think, Bonnie.

Apparently, age discrimination is being outlawed here next year.  Not sure of the exact date though.

Well...
There is a site set up specificaly for teens...
http://www.tashome.org.uk
I set it up, but have not done much with it due to the influx of people being <4 a month (maybe that is my meta taging skills lol)
so, if anybody wants to get some people over there, send me some stuff and sutch, go for it! I have a bit of spare time, and if I get some emails of what people want, I'll update it more regularly (like, weekly +)

yes it is cruel, why are some peole so cruel?

I agree. Maybe they didn't include adults because it is easier to think that autistic kids don't make it to adulthood at all. <sarcasm>Then autism is a real disease that MUST be cured by any means necessary!</sarcasm> Any thoughts on this?

My husband and I have discussed, several times, that there are NO autistic adults ever talked about!  What, do people "grow out of it".  Drives me mad! Of course that is a place where there needs to be serious funding, how to help Autistic adults and educate the "NT world" about the SPECTRUM of Autism!

Hmm...that's not entirely true. When they talk about autism in school, they talk about how horrific it is for the children and then they mention that they grow up to be autistic adults. In public, the only mention of autistic adults I hear about other than the mention that autistic children grow up to be autistic adults are the autistic adults that are put on a pedestal as "miracles," "exceptions," and the like. Once a dinner was held in my honor when I was eight years old to show how "special" I was for being able to be educated with "normal people." I didn't really like it that much because there were so many people there, all the attention was focused on me, there were no children I could talk to, and the dress I had to wear was extremely uncomfortable! I wish I knew back then how offensive the purpose of that dinner was, but at least I can say that I disliked it back then!