Dual Pronged Approach to Autism

 I have significant autism challenges which means I straddle two worlds. The challenges part do make it harder to get to the full level of inclusion/belonging that I see my non-disabled peers or even my less-impacted autistic peers get access to. The challenges part consume 90% of my time and effort. Some of these are discussed below


It saddens me to see the divisions and attacks by different groups within the autism community. I believe we all have a common goal and should work together instead. We need to follow a dual-pronged approach that looks at both CHALLENGES-BASED-SOLUTIONS as well as STRENGTHS-BASED-OPPORTUNITIES. Its does not an EITHER-OR?

A Dual Approach is needed for Autism 
ITS NOT EITHER-OR





1. Challenges-Based Solutions - Urgent Need

My disability. Bottomline - I am significantly disabled and there is no sugar-coating this. And dealing with them takes up 90% of my time - its exhausting. 

Here are a few of the challenges
  1. Dual dx of Autism and ADHD since age 3. I can't seem to walk, I have to almost run from point A to point B. I get easily distracted and am impulsive, even as the logical part of my brain is vexed  "Here we go again!" ADHD and autism in the same body can be contradiction at times, as autism loves sameness/routine while ADHD loves change and novelty. 
  2. Oral-Motor Apraxia/Aphasia (not sure what label exactly) which affects my talking ability and I currently primarily use text-speech apps. However my talking ability is starting to improve slowly (while it did not as a child) and I hope to get to conversational speech in a decade - we are never too old to learn, progress and grow; don't let anyone tell you otherwise. 
  3. Sensory System: I have issues with somatosensory body mapping (difficulty in forming body mapping), sensory dysregulation, impulsive and random body movements. There are lots of other terms in this area - proprioception/vestibular etc - but you get the picture - there is a lot going on. 
  4. Motor Skills: Poor fine motor skills, poor body coordination (like coordinating left/right sides of my body). This impacts my daily living skillsm my handwriting ability and my communication speed. 
  5. Repetitive Behaviors: A core feature of the autism dx is repetitive behaviors but these often cross over to becoming OCD like in my case. So stims beyond a threshold are not always a good thing. 
  6. Mood Dysregulation and the yo-yo it brings is the bane of my existence. It can result in unpredictable meltdowns and SIBs. 
  7. Social Anxiety. I want to be around others, yet get so anxious simultaneously. It's not just the people but adjusting to the new environment, food, even the furniture. Conversations can go anyway and add to the unpredictability. Transitions/changes and autism are not the best of bedfellows. 
  8. A bunch of Health issues, diagnosed and undiagnosed due to dx overshadowing. In short, my body does not feel healthy. 
I need supports for most aspects of my daily living and functioning which is personally very frustrating, despite the inclusion that I have managed to avail of. Professional, therapists even support staff only want the easy cases. I worry how long these supports can be sustained (funded / availability / quality etc) as I grow into middle age and old age and if my challenges will further deteriorate as I age. Many of these issues do indeed present significant and frustrating obstacles to my everyday functioning. I never know what kind of day I will wake up to or when I will fall apart. My disability can feel like a leaky boat many times and consumes almost 90% of my time. 

For many autistics like me the challenges of our everyday living are so consuming that the dream of true inclusion and true belonging seem to slip further away. Our quality of life will only decrease. So, we need those challenges-based solutions. This intersects into bio-medical solutions, biomarkers and precision-meds tailored at our physiology, along with long term services and supports. THIS IS AN URGENT NEED! 
It's a misconception to think that any medical interventions must mean eugenics. 


2. Strengths-Based-Opportunities  


Strength-Based-Opportunities are important for inclusion so that every autistic can move towards Belonging (the big goal). Even for the autistics who are more significantly impacted like me, we need inclusion and belonging too. So it has to be both approaches, even as we wait for solutions on the medical/health front. 

Possibilities and Opportunities

So what did/does this Strength-Based-Opportunities prong look like for me. It looks at the "Possibility-of-Me". I think of myself as Possibility - #Hari_as_Possiblity.  Neurotransmitters flow in this autism mind.  I am just Uniquely Hari!!

I believe this idea has driven much of the strength-based opportunities I have gotten to do, even as I don't want to sugarcoat the significant challenges of my disability reality.  

Many don't realize that Possibility actually precedes Opportunity. When the mind opens itself up to the thought of possibilities this in itself subtly suggest the existence of alternative paths. Out of this are born opportunities. Opportunities, that let you delve in and explore. And this is the just the beginning of my journey. (Poems on Possibility)


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