AUTISTIC - The ultimate guide to surviving in the wild neurotypical world

AUTISTIC - The ultimate guide to surviving in the wild neurotypical worldThe human being tends to stigmatise and brand anything that isnt in keeping with the majority as wrong, categorising it as a disease or disorder. When put through this unfair test, all different ways of thinking and processing are condemned to failure. This is what autistic people have been subjected to for decades: if youre unable to adapt to society, Ill exclude you from it, and only because youve got a different processing system that doesnt fit in

The human being tends to stigmatise and brand anything that isnÕt in keeping with the majority as wrong, categorising it as a disease or disorder. When put through this unfair test, all different ways of thinking and processing are condemned to failure. This is what autistic people have been subjected to for decades: if youÕre unable to adapt to society, IÕll exclude you from it, and only because youÕve got a different processing system that doesnÕt fit in with the way the majority processes information.

For as long as we maintain the archetype of autism as a disease, or at the very least, a disorder, those who look for the easy way out: eradicate and side-line it, will continue to exist. Only through conceptualising autism as a form of neurodivergence and a different way of perceiving the world will we be able to help change how itÕs seen and understood. This conceptual transformation will come as a result of changing the world, not autistic people.

Daniel Mill‡n L—pez is a graduate in Clinical and Health Psychology from Madrid Complutense University. HeÕs been working with autistic people of all ages for over 15 years. He did his training and gained experience in the field of autism through the Asociaci—n de Padres de Ni–os Autistas and the Deletrea diagnostic team, among others. He was the director and line manager at the Asociaci—n de Padres de Ni–os Autistas de Badajoz, where he undertook innovative therapies in the region, such as the creation of therapy groups for children with AspergerÕs syndrome, the development of awareness programmes, and the launch of diagnostic tools for paediatricians and other health professionals. He currently offers therapy and diagnostic services for people around the world.