Jenny Morris (Jenny Morris2) explains in his book "The Battle of Pride and Prejudice" (Pride Against Prejudice, 1991): The disabled person (disabled person) is by no means a "attached" person, just as a woman is by no means a man's The same is attached. According to Morris' logic, to make the whole society agree that the disable is just "different, not worse than others" ( different, not lesss), we cannot let "non-disabled" use the third person to tell "disabled" On the contrary, I encourage and support the "disabled" to have the initiative in narrative - I am the master of my youth, and I am the master of my narrative. This tweet is consistent with the views I held in my comments on "Humanities Symphony-Life and Health Narrative" on disability narrative last issue.
In the Chinese life and health narrative system we have built, we also advocate that the "autumn subject" share life stories from their own perspectives in the same way, and contribute our own narrative to the construction of a good autistic narrative ecology. The survival status of individuals with autism traits is similar to those with disabilities. If they cannot obtain first-person identity narratives in the mainstream narratives about autism in society and cannot find their exact position in society, they will lose themselves and thus lose their survival. Value, think you are not worth living. During the growth process, individuals with autism are often excluded and difficult to integrate into the group due to their special thinking and behaviors, and cannot find a job that can play to their strengths. They are repeatedly frustrated in intimate relationships and often suffer from mental and physical torture. If the social narrative ecology is not good enough, and you are more sensitive to the topic of autism or do not have an open and inclusive attitude, it will be difficult for individuals with autism to integrate into the group and are more likely to be misunderstood or even indifferent from others. Therefore, individuals with autistic traits will experience a higher proportion of loneliness and frustration, and some individuals will suffer from depression and even tend to commit suicide, which often leads to tragedy in autistic families. This is the tragedy of society and the diverse world. loss.
In such a narrative ecology, the survival status of individuals with autism traits is mostly presented through the perspective of "non-autistic groups". Therefore, the fear and hostility of individuals with autism traits in the world will dominate the world to view them. way. In the autism narrative ecology dominated by non-autistic groups, it is difficult for autistic individuals to maintain a long-term healthy survival state. The first-person "autistic life writing" mentioned by Anna Stenning) mentioned in this article can be regarded as a third-person non-autistic writer with a dominant narrative status. Autism imagination narrative "combat the counternarrative that fights equal narrative status ( Counter-narrative ). Only when the life narrative of the first-person autistic person is more widely and consciously respected and accepted can the autistic narrative ecology truly develop in the direction of "neurodiversity".
"Neurodiversity" (Neurodiversity) is a relatively new concept for many domestic researchers and autistic caregivers. It describes the differences in brain neural functions between people, which is relative to "neurotypical" ( A concept for Neurotypical). "Neurodiversity subjects" generally show some degree of atypicality in social behavior, learning ability, attention and psychological function. The term neurodiversity covers autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, selective mutism , tourette and writing disorder, etc. It is estimated that the number of people accounts for about 15% of the world's total population. . Neurodiversity emphasizes that humans are not a “one-size-fits-all” concept in neurology, but a gradual lineage from “normal” to “abnormal” without a clear boundary between normal and abnormal.In other words, autism is not a disease, but a personality trait.
Neurodiversity subjects are able to look at the world from a different perspective, see places that ordinary people cannot see, and are even very different from ordinary people's thinking and behavior. This is the human nerve The embodiment of diversity. Autistic subjects should accept that autism is part of life and be proud of their differences, rather than transforming themselves into individuals with "standard development". Just as Dr. Barry M. Prizant) is a senior authoritative autism researcher with a high level of empathy and narrative literacy in his book "The Unique Human: A Solo Dance World for Autistic People" (Uniquely Human : A Different Way of Seeing Autism, 2015) Autism is not a disease, but another way to experience life. Thus, autistic characteristics should not be described as a disease requiring treatment. Dr. Presan believes that the best way to help people with autism change is to change ourselves, change our attitudes and behaviors towards people with autism, and accept human diversity.
This is also the reason why I don’t want to call it “autistic patients” but rather called it “autistic individuals” or “autistics” in my writing. The famous Neurology Poet Lair Oliver Sacks) was an expert who had earlier integrated the view of "neurodiversity" into his narrative works. Sax's "An Anthropologist on Mars" (, 1995) contains seven cases of patients with different nervous system problems. There are painters who have developed works with different styles due to color blindness due to accidents. There are two autistic patients who have shown talent and talent in painting and zoological research, respectively. Each story in the book is the result of communication and discussion with past neurological and traditional scientific views through the author's personal contact and observation with patients. These stories all reveal this view that the so-called patient has his own set of order patterns to cope with daily life and even develops abilities beyond ordinary people.
In fact, autistic talents have now become the goal of many high-end enterprises. Individuals with autistic characteristics have extremely high creativity, concentration and logical thinking, ADHD patients have extraordinary imagination, and dyslexia patients have the ability to break away from the traditional thinking framework. Peter Thiel, a VC celebrity in Silicon Valley in the United States, once emphasized that those with autism are most suitable for leading new industries in the information era. Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerber, and many Silicon Valley celebrities are considered to have distinct autistic qualities. Google , Microsoft, HP , Ford, SAP and other Fortune 500 companies have launched the "Neurodiversity Talent Launch Program" to provide opportunities for talents with autistic traits and other neurodiversity to integrate into the workplace and display their expertise, and enrich the opportunities for talents with autism and other neurodiversity to integrate into the workplace and display their expertise. Their social narrative connects them to help them realize their dreams in life.
Today, neurodiversity has become a global social movement, which reminds us to embrace all kinds of people, tolerate and accept various groups of different personality traits and neural characteristics in society. If we can actively build a healthy and harmonious autistic narrative ecology, we can guide the whole society to identify with, understand its unique personality traits, and provide appropriate assistance, ultimately assisting people with neurodiversity to play their strengths and enrich the diversity of the world sex. As Deng Bo Grandin (Temple Grandin), a owner of autistic traits, said, "the world needs all kinds of minds", and the development of human society also requires neurodiversity. expects that more first-person life narrative works for people with autism traits will be published in China, enriching the narrative connections of people with autism traits and promoting the domestic autism narrative ecology to evolve towards a healthier and more humane direction.
PART ONE
Translation text
Anna Sterling [Author]｜Chen Xuan [Compilation]
My current research project aims to explore how autistic writers write texts in life change people's cognition of autism at the medical and cultural levels . In May 2021, I participated in the host of an Interdisciplinary Autism Research Conference (Interdisciplinary Autism Research Conference). The purpose of this conference is to examine which disciplines are driving the shift in thinking patterns in autism research and thus establishing the New ways to re-understand autism.
Re-recognition of autism is imminent. Research shows that adults with autism have much higher chances of dying from suicide than non-autistic patients (Segers and Rawana 2014). This is not caused by autism itself, but rather Because autistic patients are forced to hide their symptoms of autism and do not receive corresponding support (Cassidy; Bradley; Shaw and Baron-Cohen 2018). To figure out why this is the case, we must cooperate with groups that are under oppression of "spiritual-emotional disableism" (Thomas 1999).
Existing works of life writing by autistic writers include Polly Samuel's "Homeland: The Extraordinary Autobiography of an Autistic Girl" (Nobody, Nowhere: The Remarkable Autobiography of an Autistic Girl; 1992), "HughesSongs of the Gorilla Nation: My Journey through Autism; 2004), these autistic writers use words to describe how autistic patients deviate from the “normal” track of “communication,” “narrativity” and “sociality” (Happé 1991); Belmonte 2008; Roth 2018).
For a relatively alternative way of communication between people and between people and other species, people always feel that it is pathological and does not regard them as part of a system with unique value and significance (Stenning, 2020) . This single thinking pattern that regards autism as a "deficiency" not only contradicts the experiences told by autistic patients themselves, but also does not conform to the facts - the difficulties experienced by autistic patients are extremely individual and are in line with the patient's condition. The cultural environment in which they live influences each other. However, the cultural environment in which autism is often "secondary processed" by professionals who support autism (Re-writen).
Just like the cultural construction of disability and somatic differences (Embodied differences), scholars and individuals who work to improve the quality of life of minorities do not usually come from clinical or related scientific fields. Imaginative descriptions of autism in literary works are often regarded as a direct reflection of the experiences of autistic patients. Many writers have publicly stated their autistic identity, and their literary works have received resounding among the autistic population and have been widely recognized outside the group.For example, Dara McAnulty's "Diary of a Young Naturalist" (The Diary of a Young Naturalist" (2020), Katherine May's "Wintering Wintering ; 2020 and "The Electricity of Every Living Things" (The Electricity of Every Living Things: A Woman's Walk in the Wild to Find Her Way Home; 2018)
Although some people will say that the experiences mentioned in these works and the literary talents of these writers only belong to a small number of outstanding privileged people among autistic patients, this statement also applies to those with literary talent. Non-Autistic Writers. Successful and famous autistic writers face the cruel fact that even they are unable to change the prejudice against autism that is prevalent in popular culture, such as the lack of empathy or imagination among people with autism. The life writing works of autistic writers and other neurodiversity authors (Neurodivergent) challenge the rationality of mainstream values and mainstream aesthetic systems, and criticize the negative impact of culture in strengthening unrealistic ideas in human nature.
If we examine the life writing works of autistic writers from thematic level alone, we will find that they have many similarities with other artistic expressions, such as the yearning for sense of belonging, interpersonal connections, social interaction, meaning of life and joy of life . Like the works of other "minority" artists, they often explore the consequences of the pursuit of social identity, internalized stigma and shame (Internalised stigma and shame). Compared with social work, the importance of cultural work related to autism is that it allows us to express our imaginations of different life experiences, let us think about what belonging is, and experience desires in situations where physical defects are Identity and connection, while not denying the difficulties encountered by autistic people and their families in achieving basic needs. Social scientists need to make efforts to help autistic groups overcome obstacles they encounter in integrating into society and seeking social identities, and humanities workers must demonstrate the importance of stating the work.
From this perspective, Medical Humanities can help us study the ethics of current medical practices and interventions in the field of autism and ideology . One way to conduct research in this area is to read traditional and experimental life writing works to expand our understanding of autism, to understand what situations make people with autism feel "disabled" ("Disabling") and what makes them Feeling happy, at the same time, other art forms are equally important. Performance and comprehensive artistic expression can challenge our thinking patterns and allow us to rethink our role as an audience or audience; visual art can allow us to focus on the physical aspects of aesthetics (Embodied aspect), such as synesthesia ("Synaesthesia", It refers to the stimulation of one sense to trigger another sensory perception); we also need to pay attention to the materiality of language through reading ("Materiality") (Goidsenhoven 2018).
For a long time, mainstream culture has defined autism as the lack of social relations ("Absence of social relationship"), psychologist Georgia Pavlopoulou) and well-known autism researcher and sociologist Damian Milton () challenged this cultural bias in their respective fields. Paropoulo has published a large number of articles to illustrate the importance of social relations to the mental health of people with autism (such as Pavlopoulou and Dimitriuou 2019). Milton is most famous for his study on "double empathy" ("Double empathy" ), which shows that people with autism understand the thoughts and feelings of non-autism people than non-autism. It is much harder for people with autism to share feelings with people with autism (2012; 2016).
Paropolo also joined Jon Adams (Jon Adams; he called himself a neuropluralist, a defender of synesthesia and mental health, an artist) and filmmaker and photographer Bryny Campbell (Briony Campbell) Cooperation started. The team developed a research project called "Flow Unblocked), aiming to explore the impact of novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) on the autistic population and better understand the epidemic lockdown (Lockdown) What is the most important social relationship for the autistic group after the period of reconciliation (Campbell 2020). To further advance this project, we held an interdisciplinary research conference on autism in May 2021, attracting autism researchers from all walks of life, including newcomers and graduate students.
I interviewed Joe Adams, autism visionary behind the "Smooth" project, trying to understand his work and the autism research he was involved in. In 2016, he established the "House Observatorium" (Flow Observatorium), aiming to promote the contribution of neurodiversity culture to society and eliminate neurodiversity groups - especially those with autism - as artists or art audiences obstacles encountered at the time. Art and research tend to unrealize the images of neurodiversity populations in very similar ways, Adams said, removing humanity from such groups and turning them into negative consumers or research “objects.” Because researchers often use "participatory research" (Participatory research) to describe a superficial, lacking sense of participation (Fletcher-Watson, Adams, Brook, Charman, Crane, Cusack, Leekman, Milton, Parr and Pelicano 2018) , Adams collaborated with Milton to explore how to design participatory research to ensure a sense of participation in autistic people in the study.
Adams participated in Paropolo's autism research and sleep research (Pavlopoulou and Dimitriou 2018), and explored how autistic patients participate in the study of social understanding of autism, suicide status and mental health of autistic patients. At the same time, he also used the autism community worker as a studio coordinator to explore which interpersonal relationships are important during the lockdown. Adams is a professional geologist. In order to echo Paropolo's "life world" to connect important interpersonal relationships, he chose to write himself in the poem "Hidden Friends" ("Scattered Friends"). One thing that cannot be achieved during the lockdown. This poem tells the "ritual" of Adams collecting stones at the beach in Cornwall, England (Cornwall) that will be placed in his home and he will return them to the beach a year later, it's like we Visiting friends always make us feel more belonging to where we are.
I promise
One day
We will
Happy singing
Swim
Brothers and sisters
This day
Will come soon
Although clinical gaze will allow us to interpret Adams' poems as completely unpoetry, The "Smooth" project has developed a reading mode that allows the poem to be read by readers in the way the author wants. Not all artists respond to the restrictions they faced during the lockdown in the same way as Adams. For other artists, technology provides us with opportunities for online communication, which slows down the isolation caused by lockdowns. Feelings - Online meetings also give art the opportunity to interact directly with a wider cultural issue.
021 Autism Interdisciplinary Research Conference has received support from autism researchers and institutions, and everyone can participate for free through multiple channels.The conference created a platform for neurodiversity artists, researchers and allies to study the interpersonal connectivity, creativity and autism culture of autism, which will better address the communication barriers we face when cognitive differences . The conference aims to challenge the idea that there is and only one “core” narrative (or metaphor) to express an autistic experience. For anyone, the way we experience life depends on the relationship between us and the people around us, the creatures, the environment we live in, and the stories we tell.
Author introduction | Anna Stenning Anna Sterling
Researcher at the University of Leeds in the UK (Wellcome Research Fellow), her research project titled is "Remembering the Really Important Things: Congenital Genetics, Culture and Autism" ” (Remembering what really matters: nature, culture and autism).
original link | The Polyphony
https://thepolyphony.org/2020/12/18/shouting-above-the-noise-autistic-life-writing-and-the-interdisciplinary-autism-research-festival/
