THE AUTISTIC SYNDROME AND ITS STIGMA IN OUR SOCIETY

INTRODUCTION

Hi! I am Marta Córdoba Calonge and now it is my turn to post so I will try to do the best I can. I hope you enjoy with it and it serves to make you reflect a little bit.

I choose this topic because I like psychiatrics and many of you like pediatrics and the autistic syndrome is a mental disorder that appears since the childhood so I have tried to agree everyone.

Like the tittle says this article talks about the stigmatization of the autistic syndrome and my intention with it is change your perspectives about it because we are not only doctors who treat diseases; we are people who treat people.

I hope you liked this article and I look forward to read your comments and opinions!

Stigma and Discrimination

Caley and I encourage people with autism to be open about their diagnosis because in our experience there's a degree of protection from bullying that comes with the label, not to mention that openness can help educate others about autism. That said, these benefits come with a steep price because as soon as someone says they're on the autism spectrum, we categorize them and treat them differently. Don't believe me? We'll start off with a story of the stigma I've seen, and then move on to stories of discrimination told by others. Keep in mind as you read the first section that I'm not actually autistic myself.

My discrimination story begins in a place I really wish was surprising – an autism support group. I volunteered there for many years, caring for children during meetings. One day, a new mother came to the group, and brought her autistic son with her. I asked if I could care for him in another room, and was met with a flat out refusal. I was surprised. I’d been doing this successfully for a long time with many parents’ children and had never been met with anything but appreciation. Why now would this change? At the end of the meeting, the mother approached me in embarrassment, apologizing for not having trusted me with her son. Someone had been talking about another girl at the meeting who was autistic, she said – and she’d thought that someone was me.

In short, even this mother of an autistic child was judging me not by my actions, but by her stigmatized view of autistic people. The moment was made all the more painful because the girl the woman mistook me for? She was Caley, my Autistic sister. 

I was the same person as I had always been, but as soon as she thought I was autistic this mother deemed that I was no longer trustworthy. I was being judged not by my actions, but by my label, and that was in a group of parents who are presumably more open and educated about autism than the average person. That's how deep the stigma of autism goes. Up until that point, I’d never really given much thought to the stigma Caley bore, thinking that people would just see her for who she was. It was a shocking moment for me when I realized that Caley had to confront that stigma every single day.

The stigma definitely exists, and we all buy into it to some degree. The only difference is that most non-autistic (neurotypical) people don't realize that they're treating a person negatively because of their autism label. In short, neurotypical people run the risk of using the autism label as justification for treating other people differently, for the worse. 

Being autistic isn't something that someone should have to be ashamed about. It's not something that should be used to discriminate against people, not something that should keep others from disclosing for fear of how they'll be viewed by society.

We may not be able to change society's views on autism (although we can try!), but we can change and monitor our own. So when you interact with someone autistic, keep this stigma in mind. If you're aware of the stigma, you're far less likely to fuel or fall victim to it. 

Judge people by their actions, not their label. 


CONCLUSION

Hi girls! First of all is that I’m so happy you liked the article and the second is thanking you for your comments because they have made me reflect more about. I have found your opinions very different and because it I’m going to say something about each of them.

NURIA: I think the same as you, erroneous values are instilled by society and we, as a doctors, with our knowledge  can and have to change this, first with our children and after with children of our family and friends.

JOANA: I’m with you Joana, many parents, if not almost all, are not prepared to have an autistic child. But you are right, many of these children, fortunately, if are treated from they are little, can have an almost normal development and integrate successfully into society.

DUNIA: It’s true and it’s very sad the fact that people who know better this mental illness are the most prejudices have.

I’m with you when you say that autistic children probably never will live a normal life (from our point of view), but it doesn’t mean that they couldn’t be happy and integrate, they only need a little bit of our help and collaboration.

CLAUDIA: We already know it and in these days the government isn’t going to spend money or time with “things” that doesn’t make benefits, so what can we do? Making us hear.

ANDREA: That you have said is so motivating. When I read your comment I think if we could do it once, we can do it again! And yes, everyone deserves a decent treatment.

ELI: Yes, like Nuria has said, all of wrong thinking about mental illness is because bad or poor information since we are very little, so we must change this view for next generations!

MARIA: I’m glad I surprised you. I think it’s important to do new and different things, not everything consists on study, there are many other things we have to learn that are not in the books.

MERCÈ: Yes, hopefully in a few years, when we are doctors, this problem doesn’t exist, but for this we have to work, it isn’t enough with dream.

Thank you so much to all again for your comments!!