Supporting the 1%
I want YOU to make Autism an important issue in the election!
I am going to try and not get too political here. Truth be told, that is a difficult thing to do, because I tend to wear my political leanings on my sleeve.
All this talk about the secretly taped Romney fund-raiser, and his assertion that apparently 47% of the electorate is full of people that are looking for a hand-out and have feelings of self-entitlement got me to thinking.
I don’t know about 47%, but at least around 1% of the population should feel like they are entitled. They should be entitled to the therapy they need without discrimination from health insurance companies. They should be entitled to going to school free from bullying. They should be entitled to every opportunity imaginable to reach their full potential.
Yet even amongst that 1%, do you know what we find? People that WANT to contribute. We find people that want to be gainfully employed and be independent. So we can’t even say that ALL of the 1% believes they are entitled to EVERYTHING. Just to be given the keys to unlock their passion and their abilities.
Here is the rub though. A fair amount of that 1% will not vote. Their parents probably will, but the ones that are the most impacted; the ones that need the fair shake – they aren’t participating in the political discourse for the most part. They are dependent upon society to do what is RIGHT.
We HAVE to do something. We HAVE to do more. We HAVE to get autism insurance reform on the tip of the tongues of EVERY politician out there. It is urgent. What are we waiting for? Together we can make a difference. We need our leaders to understand that autism is a health crisis! Do it for your 1 in 88. Do it because it is right. Do it because it is necessary.
We need to do something NOW that can greatly impact the lives of autistic individuals. It is about getting kids the therapies they need. It is about providing young adults with job and life skills. It is about making sure that there are safe and affordable housing options that serve not as a place to hide autistics away, but to serve as an extension to their treatment plan so that they can be included in society and all it has to offer.
For more information on what you can do to get involved, PLEASE visit Autism Votes and if you have a couple of minutes, watch this great video.
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If you have not already, please take time to watch my videos, “Fixing” Autism and Autism Awareness with Nichole337 and share them with your friends.
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A married father of three, Lou's oldest daughter Bianca is autistic. She is amazing, beautiful, perfect and has taught Lou more about life, respect and unconditional love than anybody. They have a bond like no other and Lou's only wish for his daughter is that she grows up to be the best Bianca she can be.
@Ikwa@xanga – I am well familiar with the school system’s refusal to adapt to people with disabilities. My mom had to spend most of my school years with a print copy of the IDEA and the ADA on hand. A large part of the challenge is not the law itself, but the fact that it is not enforced.
Changing the law to be nicer to autistics is silly. With the state of the current laws, there’s no reason to expect new ones to be any more effective; what we need is for people’s ATTITUDES to change, and for schools, and localities to show a dedication to enforcing the laws we have. Unfortunately, it seems most levels of government would rather spend money finding ways to put people in jail than in empowering people to contribute to society.
@Colorsofthenight@xanga – Thank you. We know what is best for ourselves sometimes. 🙂
@Ikwa@xanga – probably the most helpful thing that I’ve done so far is write and record myself. When I do this, I can see when I have issues and what my issues are and I can try to work on sorting them. If I repeat it enough, I’ll get it. I know not to talk to people I don’t know for long periods of time. I prefer to write. I talk to my grandma but she mostly talks at me, and she doesn’t notice. I think my new doctor is starting to notice. My guardian, or my other grandma, no longer worries about it or my episodes because they’re brief.
I don’t think therapy will help me any.
I still can’t help but contradict myself due to my brain problems. Some days, I’ll say I like “purple” and others I’ll say “green.” Sometimes, I’ll switch in the middle of a conversation. It’s weird but not as exaggerated in me as it is in other people. It’s odd because I can still learn and remember some things but my output isn’t always correct.
With meds, I’m not as disoriented, and I can think better.
Hope you feel better and can overcome your depression.
@Colorsofthenight@xanga – I know a person with the same problem and they successfully do treatment with meds. I am sorry you feel that way since i have no clue about your life, I won’t judge you. But from what I know about myself, therapy and drugs help my Clinical Depression issues immensely. I feel a huge difference on them and when on them, I know now what other Normal people feel like.
@Ikwa@xanga – I had a LD when I was younger, and they do not help those kids. If anything, they put roadblocks in their way.
I’m in the 1% as well. 1% of the population is schizophrenic. I have a hard time accepting aid, and I did before too, but I have an equally hard time not getting mad at our “masters,” though I can’t feel anger. They push me beyond my ability a lot of times. I am one of the few people that they get to.
Since there’s no cure for my problem, I don’t expect a lot of medical help. If I’ve learned anything, it’s that they can’t do anything for me. I avoid the hospital and therapy and go to medications that don’t make life as miserable/floaty.
I want to be part of the 1% financially.
I so Agree with his post. My son has Type One Diabetes so I worry about his health care in the future. I also have nephews with Autism and their families struggle with bills from treatments. They see Mental health experts that cost quite a bit. It’s a part of our lives that suck out any extra income we might be able to save. I worry about a country that cares little for those who have real struggles.
@NeverSubmit@xanga – it is not just about treatment but education as well.
I have 3 nephews and their parents struggle with not only medical bills but education for their young sons who have Autism. The School system wouldn’t help them if they were not made to by our laws.
Obamacare makes it illegal to discriminate on the basis of pre-existing conditions, including autism.
Though I am autistic myself, I’m not self-centered enough to imagine that I deserve more notice than someone dying of cancer who can’t afford drugs that’ll keep them alive another couple of months. However much I wish the world revolved around me, I, and my autism, are just not the single most important issue in the coming election.
And there IS no treatment for autism. There’s adaptive technology that can help many autistics communicate and socialise, and it should be covered like any other adaptive technology. Other gaps can be filled by education. But there is no such thing as treatment. Some self-styled “treatments” have a better ad campaign than others, but they’re not any more real than the others.