I never claimed autism wasn’t a disability. The fact that autistic people are disabled in some ways isn’t in question. But its neither just a disability or - like all disabilities - something that isn’t disabling by virtue of the world its part of rather than its intrinsic nature.
For example, you say an autistic person cannot experience social interaction in the same way as a non autistic person. True. But the non autistic person can, with very little adjustment, be aware of that. My kids have good relationships with NT friends and whilst they might not experience them in the same way as NT friendships, they still find them fulfilling.
Those people are likely your kids’ best friends. Your kids are likely not their best friends.
Aside from marrying someone that is also neurodivergent, it is unlikely that your children will ever be the best friend of another person. They may be the friend that offers the most help, the person that always shows up to the party with lots of food and a keg, the ones that are always there with tape, boxes, and a truck when someone needs to pack up and move, the one with a spare couch when someone needs a place to stay for a couple days. …But not the best friend. If they’re very, very lucky, they’ll end up married to someone else that is also neurodivergent; otherwise, they may end up married to someone that is neurotypical, and will be taken advantage of and/or abused by their partner for their entire life.
That’s what you’re missing.
Social interactions end up being lopsided, and can never be anything but.
There’s a possibility of all that, sure. But there’s also a possibility of none of that. My autistic kids relationships with their friends is different than my non autistic kids relationships with their friends. I’m not sure I’d describe it as lopsided but I see what you’re getting at. Be that as it may, neither of them, as far as I can tell, are unsatisfied or unhappy with their various relationships. And certainly not to the point where either they or I would describe their lives as ‘ruined’.
I didn’t start to realize how lopsided it all was until I was into my 20s, and then started to realize how much I was missing in life because of a disability. If your kids are younger than, say, high school, it they probably haven’t come to that realization yet.
My best friend in the entire world is autistic, as am I. We don’t talk as much as we used to, now that I’m in college and he has a job, but we do emotionally look out for each other, reaching out and being a shoulder to cry on when the other is going through a rough patch. I can’t say for certain that I’m his best friend in the whole world, especially considering that ever since he went off to college, we no longer live in the same time zone, and I wouldn’t blame him for making new friends closer to home, but he’s made it clear I’m still in his top three. Besides, I’ve met his new inner circle both in person and through online videogames, and if even half of them are neurotypical, I’ll eat my hat.
Regardless of whether he considers me his best friend or not, your statement that an autistic person cannot be the best friend of another human being, or worse, anything other than the one “friend” who everyone only keeps around because they are useful, is simply false. I am deeply sorry that your experiences thus far have been so awful that they have led you to believe this, but I assure you, they are not universal. There is hope in the world. And I truly believe that even at your age, if you go looking, you’ll find plenty of people for whom being autistic is a bonus in a friend rather than a detriment.
I never claimed autism wasn’t a disability. The fact that autistic people are disabled in some ways isn’t in question. But its neither just a disability or - like all disabilities - something that isn’t disabling by virtue of the world its part of rather than its intrinsic nature.
For example, you say an autistic person cannot experience social interaction in the same way as a non autistic person. True. But the non autistic person can, with very little adjustment, be aware of that. My kids have good relationships with NT friends and whilst they might not experience them in the same way as NT friendships, they still find them fulfilling.
Those people are likely your kids’ best friends. Your kids are likely not their best friends.
Aside from marrying someone that is also neurodivergent, it is unlikely that your children will ever be the best friend of another person. They may be the friend that offers the most help, the person that always shows up to the party with lots of food and a keg, the ones that are always there with tape, boxes, and a truck when someone needs to pack up and move, the one with a spare couch when someone needs a place to stay for a couple days. …But not the best friend. If they’re very, very lucky, they’ll end up married to someone else that is also neurodivergent; otherwise, they may end up married to someone that is neurotypical, and will be taken advantage of and/or abused by their partner for their entire life.
That’s what you’re missing.
Social interactions end up being lopsided, and can never be anything but.
There’s a possibility of all that, sure. But there’s also a possibility of none of that. My autistic kids relationships with their friends is different than my non autistic kids relationships with their friends. I’m not sure I’d describe it as lopsided but I see what you’re getting at. Be that as it may, neither of them, as far as I can tell, are unsatisfied or unhappy with their various relationships. And certainly not to the point where either they or I would describe their lives as ‘ruined’.
I didn’t start to realize how lopsided it all was until I was into my 20s, and then started to realize how much I was missing in life because of a disability. If your kids are younger than, say, high school, it they probably haven’t come to that realization yet.
My best friend in the entire world is autistic, as am I. We don’t talk as much as we used to, now that I’m in college and he has a job, but we do emotionally look out for each other, reaching out and being a shoulder to cry on when the other is going through a rough patch. I can’t say for certain that I’m his best friend in the whole world, especially considering that ever since he went off to college, we no longer live in the same time zone, and I wouldn’t blame him for making new friends closer to home, but he’s made it clear I’m still in his top three. Besides, I’ve met his new inner circle both in person and through online videogames, and if even half of them are neurotypical, I’ll eat my hat.
Regardless of whether he considers me his best friend or not, your statement that an autistic person cannot be the best friend of another human being, or worse, anything other than the one “friend” who everyone only keeps around because they are useful, is simply false. I am deeply sorry that your experiences thus far have been so awful that they have led you to believe this, but I assure you, they are not universal. There is hope in the world. And I truly believe that even at your age, if you go looking, you’ll find plenty of people for whom being autistic is a bonus in a friend rather than a detriment.