Aspergian writings Articles in this section were received from Aspergians who gave their permission for us to reprint them on the site. Opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Aspergia.com Why Disability Rights Are Not Enough When you see the terms "autism" and "Asperger's syndrome," what words and images come to mind? Perhaps, like most people, you immediately think of words such as "disorder" and "impairment." You may have a mental picture of a confused, socially inept young adult who spends his days playing video games, has no career prospects, and will be a burden to his parents all his life. You probably hope that these terms will never describe your own child -- or, if your child has been identified as autistic, you may believe that it is impossible for him to have a meaningful, productive future. Teachers and others may have told you that, at best, your child will eventually be placed in some form of supported employment by your local social services agency. They say that's the best you can hope for -- after all, he is disabled and can't reasonably be expected to find a job on his own. Perhaps you are an autistic person who believes that such limitations apply to your own life. Now let's look at the situation from another perspective: Imagine that you are a neurotypical college graduate applying for your first job. Your transcript shows that you received high marks, and you are interviewing for a position for which you appear to be well qualified. However, when you submitted your application, you noticed that there was something unusual about the advertisement for the position. The stated qualifications included such characteristics as "able to perseverate on a task for lengthy periods" and "capable of producing quality work in the absence of regular social interaction." You wonder why these characteristics are included in the job requirements -- after all, you're not applying for a job on Mars, and the ability to focus in isolation doesn't appear to be at all necessary. Even more surprisingly, there are similar requirements for all of the other available positions you've seen. After investigating this peculiar turn of events, you discover that most companies are owned and managed by autistic people who prefer to hire their own kind. In other words, they consider you and all other neurotypicals to be "weird" because of your need for frequent social activity, and they don't want to have to tolerate what they perceive as your bothersome chatter. Naturally, your first reaction is that it can't possibly be legal for them to treat you like this -- after all, there are laws against employment discrimination. After you consult with a knowledgeable attorney, however, you get the shocking news that the equal employment opportunity laws do not address neurological differences and, therefore, what these employers are doing is completely legal. Your attorney advises you to ask for accommodations under the disability laws; perhaps, if you can convince an employer that there is some way to adjust the work environment so that your natural personality won't cause too much of a disruption to your co-workers, you may be able to find a low-level position somewhere, although it's unlikely that you'll ever receive any serious consideration for promotion. Or possibly you take another approach to the problem and enroll in a communication skills class that's designed to help you learn the autistic ways of interacting -- in effect, to teach you how to pass as an autistic person. You hope this will enable you to suppress your natural behavior, at least enough to get a decent job and keep management from finding out what you really are. Although you're aware that the stress of constantly hiding your true self may eventually cause you to have a nervous breakdown, you decide that you're willing to take the risk because you don't want to go through life being unemployed and dependent on disability benefits… Farfetched? I wish. In real life, when an autistic person seeks employment in today's business climate, he or she must face a similar scenario every day. Job advertisements often include nebulous terms such as "people skills" and "team players," which are routinely interpreted to exclude autistics and any other applicants whose speech patterns, body language, and social behaviors differ from neurotypical patterns. Even when such requirements are not overtly stated, the extent to which an applicant's demeanor conforms to expected neurotypical behavior is usually seen as intrinsic to the selection process. For an autistic person who is lucky enough to find a job, these issues are highly likely to make regular appearances during performance evaluations, thus reducing promotion opportunities drastically. In the context of behavioral differences, it should be noted that autism spectrum conditions are not mental illnesses. An autistic person's brain is not diseased or malfunctioning in any way; it has an innately different physical configuration and, as a consequence, processes sensory and language input differently. It lacks the circuitry that the neurotypical brain uses to process speech and body language into an instinctive social/behavioral/language gestalt. The autistic brain compensates, however, by developing other abilities at a higher level. Comprehension of written language, aptitude for mathematics and science, and computer skills are often above average or significantly above average. Many of the world's greatest scientists, inventors, and creative thinkers have been autistic. Because the natural strengths of the autistic brain precisely match the professional skills that are needed in our technologically advanced, computer-dependent modern economy, one might surmise that employers would be eager to hire as many autistic college graduates as they could find. Indeed, autistic applicants are often selected for interviews on the basis of their excellent academic performance. At the interview stage, however, they are likely to be disqualified by reason of their perceived awkwardness in speech and body language, regardless of their actual ability to do the work. Recent estimates of the autistic population range from 1 in 300 to as high as 1 in 100. The exact number is unknown because many autistics feel compelled to remain "in the closet," seeking no official diagnosis for themselves or for their children because of the social stigma and discrimination that would result from it. Whatever the actual percentage of autistic citizens may be, the current situation is one in which millions of competent, intelligent, well-educated individuals are routinely denied employment in their chosen fields, despite years of diligent study and preparation. Many of them end up relegated to a bleak existence of odd jobs and disability benefits, and their potential contributions to humanity -- which may be considerable -- are lost to the world. We have an alternative. The equal employment opportunity laws can and should be amended to include neurological differences as a protected category. Characteristics such as speech and body language should not be considered in making employment decisions unless they are bona fide occupational qualifications -- for example, if a job requires frequent public speaking appearances, then it would be reasonable for an employer to consider a candidate's speaking ability. The onus should be on the employer to justify any discrimination on the basis of neurological differences. Under the current system, autistic individuals have no protection whatsoever from employment discrimination unless they submit to being labeled as "mentally disabled," even though, in many cases, they are intellectually gifted and highly competent in their chosen fields. The use of disability language to address what is actually a matter of civil rights -- preventing discrimination against a genetically distinct minority group -- obscures the issues and perpetuates the stereotype of lack of capability. Regarding the future of our autistic youth, we stand at a crossroads. With the proper encouragement, a positive school environment that nurtures their unique gifts, high-achieving autistic role models in the workplace, and a fair chance to succeed on their merits, these children can go on to accomplish great things. If, on the other hand, they are treated as incapable, warehoused in classes for the mentally disabled, bombarded with self-fulfilling prophecies as to how unlikely they are to succeed, and never given any reasonable chances in life… millions of bright, creative young minds will be lost. We have a responsibility to these children, as well as to our future, to ensure that we allow them to grow up in a world that values their abilities. Copyright, 2004, M. Evans. Reprinted here with permission. This article may be reprinted and/or translated if the copyright notice is retained and the content is not altered. 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