Thank you for criticizing these policies openly on your channel. I feel like there is too much bs that is swept under the rug because they are "trying" to make things better and we're supposed to be all happy that they even remembered us. It is telling of how inadequate they are that they didn't want you to be "negative" when you were invited to speak on these issues. Also i wanted to add im a medical resident in sweden, we barely even had a unit on autism 😅 we had basically one lecture as a med student, and one more as a GP resident, that's it! 🙈
I find that because you're physically capable and are mentally capable on the outside the authorities don't class it as a disability to work, even though my social anxiety through my lack of social skills, is through the roof
people still think you can't be intelligent and also disabled. it's really frustrating. being intelligent is useless if I get no support for my disability!!!
It's people's DISDAIN for any invisible disability. Any time someone has a disability, and you tell them, if it's invisible, it doesn't matter if they technically know they exist, they still default to - you can't be. Or you are lying to get special attention, exception from rules. 🤦🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
Forget strategies, how about just educating GP's, no one should have to explain to a Dr that they may not have been diagnosed with ADHD and ASD till they were nearly 45 but they still had them their whole life.
That's part of what birth year prevalence is supposed to help address when figures are being talked about. It's still deeply problematic when most of the people who could be diagnosed for a given year don't have access to the services or have given up on even bothering because it's good enough, knowing that there's unlikely to be any real help provided even with a diagnosis. .
@@SmallSpoonBrigade Their are no service for either ADHD or ASD where I live, I had to push and push to even get an assessment. I stupidly thought getting diagnosed would at the least result in thorough medical care, but no. Nothing other than ADHD meds.
What the world needs is for the autism advocacy creators on TH-cam to team up and go tell each country what they should really be doing to support the autistic population. Let's create the framework by telling them what we need. Also, there was no mention of late-diagnosed autistics beyond the college education mention. What about us middle-aged folk who may have no idea what to do with this psychological hand grenade suddenly dropped into their life in their 30's or 40's?
The government would rather spend money housing immigrants in hotels and on their proxy wars than helping their own disabled people. I’ve seen first hand the decline of support for autistic people since a decade ago.
"Classic Public Service Crap!", that sums it all up perfectly! I have so much to say on this, but so little energy to put it into words today, given... Well... Exactly everything you just outlined, how EXHAUSTED I am at 52 and no voice left to scream for help anymore than I have in recent years. 🤯😤🥺
Sorry to see that your last live was (presumably) taken down (again presumably due to complaints from a certain body). And thank you for getting this up so quickly. What I like is that the call for this strategy started back in 2019 when the Senate Select Committee on Autism was established and it took them (going on) 6 years to get this out. What a croc. And let's face it, all of their stats are BS because there are so many of us that remain undiagnosed (at least those of us with perhaps the old Asperges level of Autism - I don't even know how to explain it anymore without pissing somebody off); because there is zero support at this level: So a diagnosis basically means a thorough blasting of your deficiencies which is guaranteed to send you into burnout, at which point you're wished good luck and sent back out into the World to deal with your own problems by yourself. Honestly, there's too much anger and frustration to cover here. I think you could break this whole "National Autism Strategy" down into bite sized chunks of Videos lasting well over an hour each (rants, raves and unhinged explosions) as to how poorly this document (that was concieved over a period of 6 years) covers the general Autistic population of Australians. And just how long will it take for them to actually take the action and get the results if it took them this long just to formulate the plan? The way shit works in Australia, I'm guessing never. Why don't we first start with the most basic thing like provide accessible diagnosis (via available, experienced Psychiatrists, who are subsidised by the government to do so), and maybe then rewrite this 'National Autism Strategy' document, because as it stands it is complete BS. We have a plethora of undiagnosed Adults who are trying to (and more often than not failing) navigate life based on what a Neurotypcal person is capable of achieving. We are throwing these people to the side like garbage, when they could be aimed in a direction where they could thrive and contribute greatly to society, rather than struggle through life based on pushing yourself harder to achieve a goal we will never achieve (and one that we don't want to). I remember my school pushing everyone to go to University (just so the school would get a good name and good stats): They didn't care about the children and if they would flunk out shortly after starting because it wasn't something that they were going to excel at; it was all about School stats and building their name. So what if I've got a university degree (if I'd have even gotten in): Then end up working in my own business (and failing), or working in a warehouse where I don't have to interact with anyone else as a result because I've been pushed into the wrong path, when I could have been guided to choose the right one. Too much to rant about (and I'm only just 5 mins into your video now). Chicken Crap, well said.
Well said. When discussing the position Austic people are in, I usually say something like, "remember all the stats on how poor off Aborginal people are? It's about the same for Autstic people". That usually gets me unbelieving stares, but at least it creates a context they understand. Your right about schools - due to sights like "myschool", they're all pretty much obliged to built up their stats, rather than do what's good for kids - not just autistic, but anyone who is "not academic" in the traditional sense. A number of teachers recognise it, but... the again, the policy makers are clueless. Either they've never been in the classroom, or they have not been recently - and certainly have never had a "blue collar" job. Most of the education decision makers went from school to uni (maybe some teaching) and then into government admin jobs. No real life experience to be seen. And don't get me started on support for adult-diagnosed! I was promised so much, but no-one wanted to talk to me because "I wasn't autistic enough" (basically). Because I had to learn to cope, and have basically destroyed myself over 50 years to "act normal", I apparently don't need any help now.
State high school teacher here. Educators learned nothing about autism at uni and if they did, they didn’t retain any information. Some schools have professional development on autism but others none. This is a typical slap my hand to head conversation I have with colleagues: “She’s acted that way because she’s autistic and there’s a barrier to her learning in your classroom.” And the reply, “I know she’s autistic, but that doesn’t excuse her for not doing this assessment!” The problem so many teachers have is they are told which students are autistic but it’s meaningless information to them. They have no idea what it means to be autistic and because autistics don’t have an obvious physical disability, the teachers limited knowledge results in them treating them like all the other students in the room, which is why so many autistics ‘fail’ their school assignments. It’s as if the word ‘autism’ is meaningless. And I feel that not just in schools but in social settings. I think it’s great that the federal government is finally doing… something, which I hope can be improved upon, because we need autism to be meaningful to people.
1. I’ve got a really simple, concrete suggestion: if a person is autistic but not judged disabled “enough” to be put on the disability pension then they should NOT be made to jump through the torture hoops the Job Network tries to trap people with. That then does go back to making autism assessments available for people who have a reasonable suspicion that they are autistic. 2. I work in the public sector and a few months back one of those “action plans” written in a Word table came out. It made me rather angry because it was all words and no actual plans. The way I read it, we peasants were supposed to come up with the actual ideas. And the thing that really pissed me off was that the people who wrote this garbage had had a conference (with travel costs) and some time afterwards to compile it and the best they could come up with was some essentially meaningless waffle. But they get paid the big bucks and those of us who do the actual work aren’t so well paid and we certainly don’t get a lot of respect. Unfortunately being (probably) autistic, I’m not really good at job applications…
Words just words. No action in the near future I fear. For Autistic people with higher support needs this is the worst outcome. Even for “high functioning” autistics that struggle and can not claim benefits here in the UK it is just so bloody sad and frustrating.
Autistic Unemployment: I (Aspie) was unemployed and homeless for a couple years because I did not know who to use as references on a job application. It is only when I had a job interview without filling out an application and then they made me fill at an application at the interview I was able to comepup with 3 references, and 2 of those had to be professional references. I just check my contacts in my phone and luckily I was able to come up with 3 references.
I'm in the UK and didn't know about this so I looked it up. There's alot of "we want" and "we will" and "reports". They are supposed to have all the things done by 2026, I can't see that happening.
Late diagnosed asd here, I just had my first ndis planning meeting, where the planner 1) questioned my diagnosis 2) questioned the professionalism of my clinical psychologist & 3) lectured me on using the word “meltdown” when describing my own life experiences. After over 50 years of no diagnosis and finally trying to access support, the conversation with the NDIS sent me into the deepest depression. The government doesn’t care, it’s all bullshit and word salad. Inclusion is a mirage.
Sorry to hear this. The processes involved in applying can actually be traumatising. Also too with the new legislation changes. All ndis workers being trauma informed could be helpful along with allocating workers who have some accurate knowledge around late diagnosis in adults. All the best✨
Fk the NDIS as a neurodivergent adult with multiple disabilities they’ve ruined my life blocking and banning community activities that are essential to my everyday physical and mental health and wellbeing and the continuing management and improvement of my conditions
Fk the NDIS as a neurodivergent adult with multiple disabilities they’ve ruined my life blocking and banning community activities that are essential to my everyday physical and mental health and wellbeing and the continuing management and improvement of my conditions
And when you try to have a conversation with a person, they just argue that the opposite is the truth. Then you ask them to show you and they say I am showing you......
We don't even have a god damn autism policy in 2024 You CAN NOT access private healthcare sector when you're not Dutch and need an expat The desired results is the ISSUE. You're amazing. You challenge the hardest topics. I REALLY want to help the DIB/Expat/documented migrants living especially in the community in Amsterdam. I got a dual DD from a leading neurodivergent Psychologist (takes one to diagnose one TOGETHER WITH scientific testing and homework and behavioural and observational interview over hours The Dutch stated that isn't enough to discredit a medical misdiagnosis. As it's from only a mere neurodivergent AND a Trained, specialised and 1 of us leading NEUROdivegent psychologist in NY He's shit though compared to a Dutch psychiatrist apparently. He wrote 2 shit Dutch books about neurodivergence. How dare he. He's not one of the *prisoners* I met. What does he know He loves his pretend psychosis book. Autistic people having meltdowns and shutdowns can still be dragged and restrained for this BAD behaviour into locked wards In highly sensitive producing households there is dysregulation shouting, drama and inconsistent parenting HSP implode at 1 point from being accommodating. AUD-HD double trouble Paralysis by analysis PLUS The hyper focus on the anxiety of doing anything I think I'm shit. I try everyday to see I'm not shit. I call you my ME time. I think most of us like small spaces and feeling in TOTAL control Then this strange acting FLOW kicks in. It's like the angry/sarcastic/rude/challenging late in life diagnosed kicks in HUMOUR Dark autistic challenging humour is therapy Omg don't do the creepy DIB or IDB voice again ewwww
They don't know what to do about us, I was on SSI for years (pretty much as soon as I finished education) which doesn't pay much and penalizes its recipients for working, saving, or getting help from someone. Now I'm on Childhood Disability Benefits, and could work part time on those, but don't want to lose Medicaid (government insurance for poor or disabled people.) I have two college degrees, one of which is a Master's, but I do need support. I don't drive, but not for lack of trying. It took me ten years of trying to realize that my vision, motor coordination, and reaction time were too bad for me to drive. I also can't work a full day due to sensory issues and lack of endurance. I have other diagnoses besides autism. I just can't remember their names. I have my disability redetermination for my benefits later this year, and I'm not looking forward to it. I'm in the US.
Here in te Netherlands there a still prejudices about autism too. Even occupational health doctors keep mataining them ! What does keeping household to do with how mutch you can work in hours ??? I have a bad back, hips and knees to but that don't seems to matter ?! I am 60 yaers old and they want you to work until 67 years and 3 months till your pension ! WTF ?!
By the way I am Australian undiagnosed and I was super excited when I saw this update. I read the article and was very disappointed. I was hoping it would be more specific for me.
Yeah, it would be nice if people would educate themselves about autism, and take it seriously (at least doctors should be, and managers in workplaces, as well as teachers in the education system). It doesn't seem to work when I am the one educating them (because autistic people often aren't taken seriously and people think that we are just being sensitive, and that autism isn't a real problem (it is another way of them saying that autism isn't real, especially if you are able to drive, and are able to talk and have a conversation with somebody). And I get the impression that this is why neurotypical people often tell me to just go to therapy; because I guess they think that I can talk myself out of getting burned out or having sensory issues, and that I will suddenly stop thinking literally, when I have been to counselors throughout my life and have spent the past 38 years actively researching and asking neurotypical people what they mean when they say and do (or don't do) certain things. And tried to keep a mental list where I tell myself, okay, "If they say or do this, they actually mean this". And it's not solving my problems, because it's still a guessing game (because not all 100% of neurotypical people use the exact same phrases, and there are some here and there who actually say what they mean (and once in a while one is willing to be patient enough to answer my questions about what they mean, without getting the impression that I am being smart Alec, and then get offended). Because it is still a guessing game, I wait for more evidence, which is why my literal thinking comes into play. Furthermore, I can spend a bulk of energy explaining all of these things (and then go into more depth about my autistic traits), just to have them ask me the same things later on. I can't tell you how many times I have explained the same things to the same person (and to do that with almost every person makes me ask, why would I go back for more?). I feel quite alone in the world, and it's not from having a lack of people in my life. A lot of people make me feel more alone when they show so much misunderstanding, and start comparing themselves to me; that "Everybody has that problem once in a while". And I am just like, "Yeah, ONCE IN A WHILE, they don't have these problems all day, everyday (and they don't show to experience it at as high of an intensity, or they would be showing more signs of feeling overwhelmed). And not just overwhelmed because of how I think, but because of how my body physically responds to having to rush all day long during an 8-hour shift, 5 days a week, and end up getting let go because I get to the point where I wake up feeling exhausted and the boss starts worrying about my health. I was actually wondering if I would end up in the hospital at one point, for constantly pushing my body past it's limits, when I physically could hardly push a mop. I haven't seen neurotypical people struggle like that in a workplace before, and I have had at least 7 different jobs in the past 20 years. It all breaks my heart knowing just misunderstood we can feel by the world, even by counselors who hardly know anything about autism. I have a Minor in psychology and can tell you that there was maybe 2 paragraphs about autism, out of all of the text books I had read and studied (at least 14 text books). 💔⛓️
This isn't an action plan; it's a loosely organized list of objectives lacking a structured framework for practical application. It outlines broad goals and expectations without incorporating strategic mapping, implementation pathways, or defined mechanisms to effectively apply these practices and achieve meaningful, measurable change.
@@Curiosity.did.not.kill.thecat I'm not it's just a part of my AuDHD experience when growing up that I had always felt different; like an alien in society.
@@Progressive_Alien I know, I was just curious-thought it might be some wordplay related to the name. :) Being autstic I had the exact feeling growing up,still kinda do. I can't imagine how autism and adhd must be like.
It sounds like it's going to be as 'successful' as the First Nations Closing the Gap strategy. Hope doesn't seem to be an option for this late diagnosed Autistic with 5 other disorders on top Australian. Thankfully I'm on the disability pension, because yes, all my disorders make me very disabled in this culture! Thanks Orion, you help me feel less alone.
@@StorytimewithDeadline yes I found it easier to access the dsp than actual support. As a late diagnosed autistic, I feel like I’ve been put out to pasture. Not fit for purpose. It’s a relief and devastating all at the same time. 🫶
For me I couldn't think of anything worse than having my own business. One of my issues is that I go into analysis paralysis really easily, I need to know what the rules and regulations are and can fit within them (don't get we wrong I will question them if they don't make sense). Within that framework I can make decisions.
I hate when people fake like they care or I'm right. Just be honest and do something dammit. Life in Turkey is extreme for me and other autistic people. Because I'm good at math they said I can't be Autistic and act like i was faking it. After that I cried and said my mother lets go home but my mom saved me he get a papper about my diagnosis then give that bastard they forced to accept also I'm %100 sure my dad granddad and grand graddad also same but because they good at something no one try to diagnosed them. One thing in my life was great I have a great psychiatrist who understand neurodivergent people. I used to not able to speak this days i write essays for people only way i get money sadly. Like you said Orion I want to work on lab as labour to create medicine I don't want to talk people or manage them people don't get I'm socialy disabled. 8 years ago I didn't even get being bad mean.
@ I'm hoping that somebody knows of a country that is doing a decent job of it, but every time I've seen the topic come up, it's a range of terrible to just very bad. At least if one or two countries were getting it right, there'd be something to pattern policy on.
Meaningful employment, when I LOATHE money and LOATHE working under someone's rules. Working for capitalism does not feel meaningful to me whatsoever. Helping out my friends, now THAT is meaningful to me.
Having dealt with an APSC agency declaring my autism diagnosis and my fight for adjustments (and their tick box mentality) I have strong concerns about inclusion in employment in the APS. There seems to be no interest in adult diagnosis or reference in the strategy to those undiagnosed.
We don’t need an autism strategy like they’re proposing. Each individual with Autism has a unique experience. What we need is for the NDIS to stop blocking our essential supports and services, to be participant focused and give us the control of our funds in person, and the discretion to use those funds as we see fit to improve our quality of life, and not be dictated to by bureaucrats who know nothing about us. Until we have the autonomy to do this nothings going will change. If the current government refuses to listen to us they will be ousted in the next election. All politicians need to sit up and take notice and take us seriously. More than two thirds of the Australian population are neurodivergent and we are sick to death of being shafted by politicians in favour of the t ran nees and people pretending to be indigenous when they aren’t.
Yes, as in the video about the just released autism strategy (well, one half of it), there is a fair amount of vagueness and wordiness that kind of hide any real-world action clarity. As it stands, there is also almost no capability, capacity, workforce, or partnerships to deliver any fast actions anyhow. We also have no national autism bodies capable of currently delivering a far better set of coordinated autism services across Australia. Currently, autism services cannot cope with even a tiny level of all the unmet needs of the autistic community. Also the fact that so many adults, especially over 40, are undaignosed. They are simply left in the wilderness, literally to die of loneliness and neglect. One can only hope they utilise the right autistic people to take things forward and use a language that autistic people relate to (which is usually not government speak). Its important to take things forward in a way that actually improves lives without undue delay. The peer support commitment could be a very good thing if it is properly designed and delivered and that it has goals attached to it that make sense to autistic people. Tackling autistic loneliness is one such significant required action goal because loneliness is the biggest single predictor of poorer health, distress, isolation, low employment, depression, brain changes that increase autistic vulnerability, etc. Loneliness creates these brain changes. There is a lot of work to do to make sure things are implemented with autistic leadership and that the government really does hand over the reins to autistic people to repair all that is wrong and sad about the extent of autistic community suffering, which includes very painful loneliness and the bias against us, and horrific devaluing of autistic people
I was diagnosed with autism (level 1/high functioning/whatever) late in my life (in 2019 (I also have ADHD but that was diagnosed as a kid)) and idk I'm just getting nowhere in my life. I graduated with an honours bachelor of computer science but that took me roughly 10 years cuz I failed high school (so I had to jump through a million hoops first such as doing a college diploma first for a few years and then getting a bunch of missing high school courses done after that) and then I burned out intensely during that degree since I took a full course load for everything I've done since I've always felt behind in life (but I did graduate at least, with a good GPA). Had a bunch of internships along the way, mostly research positions, but my final internship was at a bank doing web development (the only big corporate experience I had) and that just burned me out intensely. My GPA was 0.03 away from honours; I think I woulda got honours if I didn't burn out so intensely during this whole thing (it was also during the pandemic too). Like, it was so stressful I'd just start crying (not in front of anyone mind you), and every term I went in certain I was going to fail (but I succeeded). I think it was a traumatic level of stress. But now where I'm at is I can't find work. Finally started getting interviews but I'm just not getting picked. I did well in some of the interviews (being late diagnosed, I learned how to mask decently well). Had a technical interview though (and this was through a neurodiversity hiring initiative) and I just couldn't even answer any of their questions (my mind just goes blank, I can't think and they won't even give me the time to think cuz they keep interrupting the silence when I try to think). Mind you maybe I am just too rusty at this point to be able to answer those questions as it's been 2 years since I graduated (I've had some part time jobs since my degree, doing research projects for my professors, but those don't pay well at all and they're just too stressful for how little the pay is). Honestly I don't even know what to do anymore. I'm stuck between considering a masters degree (I have the support of my professors and I have the grades for it, plus my name is on a number of papers by now because the only opportunities I get are research projects) or just keep looking for work, but looking for work feels futile so it's really hard to keep going with that. Going to grad school would be me continuing to follow my dreams (my dream is mind upload so I can become a robot fox) but along the way I've realized that money is extremely important for that goal (or any goal really), so I really want to get the money out of the way first (I want to work for a few years, like, 5 to 10 at the absolute maximum, and I want to invest as large a percentage of my paycheck as I can by continuing to live with my parents, so that I can achieve financial independence as soon as possible so that I can build my own safety net since if we have a safety net in Canada I really don't know where it is). But if I can't find work I can't start implementing that plan and I'm just getting older so I don't know what to do anymore. Also extremely depressed. Honestly would've ended it a long time ago (back when I was 15 really I would've) but if I did that I can't become a robot fox, so I have no choice but to stay alive. But having gone through all that effort and society still won't give me a chance, I just don't see what hope there is. Interviews just discourage me; what I need is I need to just be given a chance to do the actual work (i.e., give me the job for a month or two and see how I do and let me learn (I don't even need to be trained I'll figure it out myself, I just need a project and I need tangible hope and I need some time); I'd even do it for free for that initial month as long as I was made to feel like there was hope (if I felt no hope then I'm not gonna perform well; the only reason I performed during my degree was I still had hope, though by the end of my degree that hope was starting to decay which is why I couldn't achieve honours)). Anyway I don't really know why I'm sharing all this. I just wish society would help me. I've put so much effort in. I'm 30 now and just getting nowhere. It's hard to feel like I have a future, which makes it hard to put any additional effort in. Most likely, I'll just try for grad school (because trying to become a robot fox is the only thing that's been motivating me since I was at least 15, and it's a very strong motivator) and hopefully I'll manage to take it at a sustainable pace (I need to go slow, I've gone at everyone else's pace for too long and I just can't sustainably keep up). But I'm not sure that's possible because society just pushes people to go faster and faster. Not sure what happens after grad school though if I can't find a job now with my bachelors degree, so idk anymore.
In governmental and business sectors, adequate targeted stakeholder consultation’ is foundational in augmenting organisational and societal change. As Orion has previously highlighted, the people who staff autism disability services throughout Australia are predominantly neurotypical. How about making diversity and inclusion policies extend to the (gasp) hiring of actual autistic people to in turn create policies for autistic people by autistic people? ‘Nah that’s crazy, we can’t have halfwits with more quals than the HR Manager making Neurotypical Management look stooopid.’ Aspie aged 55, self employed, burnt out but no strings attached. Thanks for the channel Orion. Ash
I am shocked, as someone with Foetal/Sodium Valproate Syndrome in the UK due to take a gap year in Australia, I thought your government and society had more of an idea of living with Autism. It looks like I have my work cut out! Anyway, my solution to the strategy is to talk to autistic people that are high functioning, they will have the best knowledge of coping mechanisms, insights into work ethics etc. I for instance do not need a quiet hour for shopping, if I feel uncomfortable about my surroundings, I will shop later. There are some situations such as public transport where this is not possible, which is when people just need to talk and open minds. To me, the solutions are found by trying different techniques, not evaluating. Talk to people!
Is that how that works in Australia? In the US, a lot of the rules and protections to help the disabled come from the federal government and states may, or may not, add additional rules and protections. However, the specific way in which it's put into practice can vary, a lot, but it still has to comply with the laws.
Ha, just spent the last 15 months wrecking my physical health and mental well being in trying to navigate the system for Social Security benefits (after having spent most of my adulthood actively striving to be financially independent and avoid becoming a burden on the system, an injury means that I can no longer work in my field of expertise…paid into the system for 35 years, rejected for benefits now that I desperately need them; despite having 2 disabilities listed in the DSM-5🙄). My experience was that required appointments for evaluation by federal representatives regularly deny “reasonable requests for accommodation related to my official diagnosis as defined under the ADA (for non-US citizens, that is the “Americans with Disabilities Act)! So, federally employed doctors performing required evaluations in pursuit of federal benefits, regularly fail to honor federal laws that would make it possible for me to jump through the governmental hoops that might give me access to the help and support I need. Disheartening and infuriating
There are general disability protections, this is something that is specific to 'improving' the lives of autistic people. We have NDIS (national disability insurance scheme) which is how you get government funded disability services (separate to being on disability). Currently the government is in the process of changing the criteria so that early interventions are no longer covered by NDIS and are provided by the states instead.
@ Thanks, I definitely don't have time to not be ignorant about how other countries are set up. It was only in the last couple years that I learned that both the US and Australia have a WA State. Obviously, it's far from perfect here.
I have 2 Bachelor degrees and I worked in FastFood and restaurants for 15yrs... I now work in the field associated with my degrees (10yrs now) It was ridiculous, people I worked with in fast food would ask me why I wasn't doing something greater/better and I just didn't know (I was undiagnosed). Under-employed for so long was so frustrating.
The problem is that in order for any of this to stick, the entire model of governmental function has to change. Government works by applying processes and policies to social strata to drive the country in the direction of the leaders of the day. That means standardisation, streamlining, efficiency, industrial complex type manufacturing of laws and systems. Autistic people do not fit this. We are a spectrum. Think about this: schooling is still largely assessed by summative high-pressure assessments, especially at the end of Year 10 and 12. You go through in one end and you come out the other. There are so many hoops schools have to go through to even get funding, let alone staffing support for Autistic students. The workplace: you complete a CV, cover letter and for higher paying jobs, responses to selection criteria. These responses require you to think in neurotypical nuance and language which is convoluted and full of conventions Autistic people will never 100% pick up, because we speak directly to an issue rather than issue + social norms in every sentence. So good luck in us getting an interview or even selected. I'm looking at you NSW Department of Education. I could go on, and on, and on. The strategy barely touches what really needs to happen: complete government service delivery change. It won't happen because what we have, however inefficient, is the most cost-effective one we have because it forces standardisation. You won't get true Autistic inclusion while everything around us forces standardisation. Oh and I'm high functioning too. Good luck to me any anyone else deemed high functioning Autistic in getting any consideration, accommodations or look-ins.
41yo aussie m Just diagnosed autistic.. says level 3 on one bit and level 2 on other bit of report... conceptual domain score of 56 extremely low functioning.. I'm so lost
The Federal Government seems pretty good at washing its hands of many things, claiming not their doing or responsibility …it’s up to the individual states and territories. So then it’s like having multiple countries/laws within the continent of Australia. Doesn’t Federal Law ultimately trump State Law?Mmm… Thanks Orion.
I am 77 and just discovered that I am autistic. Well, this certainly explains a LOT!!! What a relief it is to know why I was never chosen, why other people keep telling me I am rude. Most other people bore me to the point of wanting to scream sometimes. I simply cannot see having Aspergers as a disability. Sorry. I have almost always been the smartest person in the room. My ability to see patterns that others can't is a superpower, not a disability. My own hypothesis is that autism is an epigenetic phenomenon. Many Gen Z'ers think systemically, i.e., see the patterns. This isn't something they learned how to do. They seem to be born with it; systemic thinking certainly isn't taught below college level. That said, I guess I am lucky to not be on the spectrum of those who do need help. Orion, I believe one of the problems you have with employment in this arena is that most people do not understand the "spectrum" at all. When they think of autism, they think of those who are easily triggered to scream and bang their heads against the wall. It also scares away many of those who are Aspies from getting a diagnosis because they will be lumped in with those less functional. They won't change until you educate them. In the US, some companies are realizing the value of Aspies. Here is an example of such a company, Ernst and Young. www.ey.com/en_us/services/innovation/neurodiversity-powered-transformation
It's this kind of thing that was a motivator for me to run for office. I work for a federal government contractor so I couldn't run federally. However, I did run for Brisbane City Council and Queensland parliament because my interests as a neurodivergent person aren't being represented.
Bachelor degrees can be achieved especially when related to special interests. Means nothing though when you can't deal with any workplace or selling yourself
A lot of the verbiage in this which feels like delaying screams to me of " bike shedding". This is a term I first learned of from a TH-camr named Zack Freedman who was referring to a facility that was being built but everything about the facility was put on hold until they could figure out how they were going to build the bike shed outside of the facility. It feels as though they want to put a lot of work into some minutia instead of getting down to the hard part of actually putting actions into work.
I need your help with TH-cam bullies and now saying I'm not autistic like there a Dr or something. Theve been really harassing me and of course I put on my community page every time someone does and call them out cause I'm sick of everyone thinking they are so nice and not bullies and thinking I'm the problem cause I speak the truth, but only after I've been attacked is when I strike back, I never strike first.
Something about speaking the truth to them really, really, irritates a notable percentage of the non-autistic population, they clearly have one or more personal issues.
A couple of facts that should be known before implementing policy. First, autistic people (in the US) is the only known demographic where unemployment increases with a college education. Thus, going to college hurts autistic peoples' job opportunities. Second, (in my case) autistic people may often start behind in education compared to neurotypical people, however, they often catch up and even surpass most neurotypical students in middle or high school. Thus, an early diagnosis may hurt autistic students education opportunities by placing them in special ed or the "slow learning" group in elementary school. When I look back in my life, I conclude that the optimum age to be diagnosed would have been just before high school. In elementary school I was at the bottom of the class, but by my first year in high school I was an above average student, and near the top of the class by my senior year. I'm not sure what the optimal autism public policy would be, but you've got to know the facts before you can consider what policies should be put in place.
it should be a'their lives'. pluralfor a plural. they don't share one life. also 'regional area' is tautological. what horrid English! my gov (UK) is just as bad
Hang in there and realize even the bleached baboon will one day die. His 'party' will then implode and the next loonie will come along and need years to build a new one.
3:29 yes people will experience difficulty. I didn't have trouble with learning, still don't. I'm not that rigid. And yes when you lump in high needs Autism in they won't have a uni degree. If it was separated from low needs, the number would be much higher. Getting a uni degree is not the be all and end all. Getting a trade is good too. Talking about the Australian government from 2008 glosses over ten years of conservative rule that don't give a shit, the current government made an effort. The world IS neuro typical. When we're 3% of the population, you think that corporations give a flying stuff? Privatisation of services have led to low needs autists that like no change but have bad days etc, being thrown to the curb vs factory work that was nice and repetitive, or similar work that may be complex but is the same every time helps an autist. Lots become engineers or uni professors, are undiagnosed autists too. They function just fine in life so why get tested? Government was gutted by the lnp so of course the wheels turn slowly. 12:38 they already do pay for higher needs disabled people to work.
Thanks for making a depressing topic a good laugh. So basically, the bureacrats will take 1 year to do some research on what could be done. Meanwhile, a newly diagnosed Autistic adult could hyperfocus and come up with something similar in 24 hours. Are they paid well, these bureaucrats? Oh yes, of course!
“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’” - Ronald Reagan. I wish everyone would understand that government is the PROBLEM, not the solution. Stop relying on government.
I wouldn’t quote Ronald Reagan. His economic policies are a huge fact behind the growing economic inequality we see these days, and the growing problem of homelessness.
Thank you for criticizing these policies openly on your channel. I feel like there is too much bs that is swept under the rug because they are "trying" to make things better and we're supposed to be all happy that they even remembered us. It is telling of how inadequate they are that they didn't want you to be "negative" when you were invited to speak on these issues.
Also i wanted to add im a medical resident in sweden, we barely even had a unit on autism 😅 we had basically one lecture as a med student, and one more as a GP resident, that's it! 🙈
This! 😥
If Sweden hasn't done it, we're screwed.
I find that because you're physically capable and are mentally capable on the outside the authorities don't class it as a disability to work, even though my social anxiety through my lack of social skills, is through the roof
people still think you can't be intelligent and also disabled. it's really frustrating. being intelligent is useless if I get no support for my disability!!!
@@PhilBurns-oc2vg I’d have to agree, that what it seems like
It's people's DISDAIN for any invisible disability. Any time someone has a disability, and you tell them, if it's invisible, it doesn't matter if they technically know they exist, they still default to - you can't be. Or you are lying to get special attention, exception from rules. 🤦🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
Give them hell Orion. Tell them how it is. You are a legend.
Forget strategies, how about just educating GP's, no one should have to explain to a Dr that they may not have been diagnosed with ADHD and ASD till they were nearly 45 but they still had them their whole life.
That's part of what birth year prevalence is supposed to help address when figures are being talked about. It's still deeply problematic when most of the people who could be diagnosed for a given year don't have access to the services or have given up on even bothering because it's good enough, knowing that there's unlikely to be any real help provided even with a diagnosis. .
@@SmallSpoonBrigade Their are no service for either ADHD or ASD where I live, I had to push and push to even get an assessment. I stupidly thought getting diagnosed would at the least result in thorough medical care, but no. Nothing other than ADHD meds.
What the world needs is for the autism advocacy creators on TH-cam to team up and go tell each country what they should really be doing to support the autistic population. Let's create the framework by telling them what we need.
Also, there was no mention of late-diagnosed autistics beyond the college education mention. What about us middle-aged folk who may have no idea what to do with this psychological hand grenade suddenly dropped into their life in their 30's or 40's?
This was a good one! These people are all talk and no trousers as we say here in the UK!
The government would rather spend money housing immigrants in hotels and on their proxy wars than helping their own disabled people. I’ve seen first hand the decline of support for autistic people since a decade ago.
"Classic Public Service Crap!", that sums it all up perfectly!
I have so much to say on this, but so little energy to put it into words today, given... Well... Exactly everything you just outlined, how EXHAUSTED I am at 52 and no voice left to scream for help anymore than I have in recent years. 🤯😤🥺
Sorry to see that your last live was (presumably) taken down (again presumably due to complaints from a certain body). And thank you for getting this up so quickly. What I like is that the call for this strategy started back in 2019 when the Senate Select Committee on Autism was established and it took them (going on) 6 years to get this out. What a croc. And let's face it, all of their stats are BS because there are so many of us that remain undiagnosed (at least those of us with perhaps the old Asperges level of Autism - I don't even know how to explain it anymore without pissing somebody off); because there is zero support at this level: So a diagnosis basically means a thorough blasting of your deficiencies which is guaranteed to send you into burnout, at which point you're wished good luck and sent back out into the World to deal with your own problems by yourself. Honestly, there's too much anger and frustration to cover here. I think you could break this whole "National Autism Strategy" down into bite sized chunks of Videos lasting well over an hour each (rants, raves and unhinged explosions) as to how poorly this document (that was concieved over a period of 6 years) covers the general Autistic population of Australians. And just how long will it take for them to actually take the action and get the results if it took them this long just to formulate the plan? The way shit works in Australia, I'm guessing never. Why don't we first start with the most basic thing like provide accessible diagnosis (via available, experienced Psychiatrists, who are subsidised by the government to do so), and maybe then rewrite this 'National Autism Strategy' document, because as it stands it is complete BS. We have a plethora of undiagnosed Adults who are trying to (and more often than not failing) navigate life based on what a Neurotypcal person is capable of achieving. We are throwing these people to the side like garbage, when they could be aimed in a direction where they could thrive and contribute greatly to society, rather than struggle through life based on pushing yourself harder to achieve a goal we will never achieve (and one that we don't want to). I remember my school pushing everyone to go to University (just so the school would get a good name and good stats): They didn't care about the children and if they would flunk out shortly after starting because it wasn't something that they were going to excel at; it was all about School stats and building their name. So what if I've got a university degree (if I'd have even gotten in): Then end up working in my own business (and failing), or working in a warehouse where I don't have to interact with anyone else as a result because I've been pushed into the wrong path, when I could have been guided to choose the right one. Too much to rant about (and I'm only just 5 mins into your video now). Chicken Crap, well said.
Well said. When discussing the position Austic people are in, I usually say something like, "remember all the stats on how poor off Aborginal people are? It's about the same for Autstic people". That usually gets me unbelieving stares, but at least it creates a context they understand.
Your right about schools - due to sights like "myschool", they're all pretty much obliged to built up their stats, rather than do what's good for kids - not just autistic, but anyone who is "not academic" in the traditional sense. A number of teachers recognise it, but... the again, the policy makers are clueless. Either they've never been in the classroom, or they have not been recently - and certainly have never had a "blue collar" job. Most of the education decision makers went from school to uni (maybe some teaching) and then into government admin jobs. No real life experience to be seen.
And don't get me started on support for adult-diagnosed! I was promised so much, but no-one wanted to talk to me because "I wasn't autistic enough" (basically). Because I had to learn to cope, and have basically destroyed myself over 50 years to "act normal", I apparently don't need any help now.
All we want is a better quality of life . Thoughts from your uk community.
State high school teacher here. Educators learned nothing about autism at uni and if they did, they didn’t retain any information. Some schools have professional development on autism but others none. This is a typical slap my hand to head conversation I have with colleagues: “She’s acted that way because she’s autistic and there’s a barrier to her learning in your classroom.” And the reply, “I know she’s autistic, but that doesn’t excuse her for not doing this assessment!” The problem so many teachers have is they are told which students are autistic but it’s meaningless information to them. They have no idea what it means to be autistic and because autistics don’t have an obvious physical disability, the teachers limited knowledge results in them treating them like all the other students in the room, which is why so many autistics ‘fail’ their school assignments.
It’s as if the word ‘autism’ is meaningless. And I feel that not just in schools but in social settings. I think it’s great that the federal government is finally doing… something, which I hope can be improved upon, because we need autism to be meaningful to people.
1. I’ve got a really simple, concrete suggestion: if a person is autistic but not judged disabled “enough” to be put on the disability pension then they should NOT be made to jump through the torture hoops the Job Network tries to trap people with.
That then does go back to making autism assessments available for people who have a reasonable suspicion that they are autistic.
2. I work in the public sector and a few months back one of those “action plans” written in a Word table came out. It made me rather angry because it was all words and no actual plans. The way I read it, we peasants were supposed to come up with the actual ideas. And the thing that really pissed me off was that the people who wrote this garbage had had a conference (with travel costs) and some time afterwards to compile it and the best they could come up with was some essentially meaningless waffle. But they get paid the big bucks and those of us who do the actual work aren’t so well paid and we certainly don’t get a lot of respect.
Unfortunately being (probably) autistic, I’m not really good at job applications…
Words just words. No action in the near future I fear. For Autistic people with higher support needs this is the worst outcome. Even for “high functioning” autistics that struggle and can not claim benefits here in the UK it is just so bloody sad and frustrating.
Autistic Unemployment: I (Aspie) was unemployed and homeless for a couple years because I did not know who to use as references on a job application.
It is only when I had a job interview without filling out an application and then they made me fill at an application at the interview I was able to comepup with 3 references, and 2 of those had to be professional references. I just check my contacts in my phone and luckily I was able to come up with 3 references.
I'm in the UK and didn't know about this so I looked it up. There's alot of "we want" and "we will" and "reports". They are supposed to have all the things done by 2026, I can't see that happening.
Sorry m8 there’s no room left in the budget after we pay for all the immigrants in hotels
Late diagnosed asd here, I just had my first ndis planning meeting, where the planner 1) questioned my diagnosis 2) questioned the professionalism of my clinical psychologist & 3) lectured me on using the word “meltdown” when describing my own life experiences. After over 50 years of no diagnosis and finally trying to access support, the conversation with the NDIS sent me into the deepest depression. The government doesn’t care, it’s all bullshit and word salad. Inclusion is a mirage.
Sorry to hear this. The processes involved in applying can actually be traumatising. Also too with the new legislation changes. All ndis workers being trauma informed could be helpful along with allocating workers who have some accurate knowledge around late diagnosis in adults. All the best✨
Thank you @ 🫶 it’s a long and winding road.
That NDIS planner sounds wildly unprofessional.
Fk the NDIS as a neurodivergent adult with multiple disabilities they’ve ruined my life blocking and banning community activities that are essential to my everyday physical and mental health and wellbeing and the continuing management and improvement of my conditions
Fk the NDIS as a neurodivergent adult with multiple disabilities they’ve ruined my life blocking and banning community activities that are essential to my everyday physical and mental health and wellbeing and the continuing management and improvement of my conditions
Thank you for making the video
And when you try to have a conversation with a person, they just argue that the opposite is the truth. Then you ask them to show you and they say I am showing you......
If I had a stable living place I might be okay but life just feels like suffering for me I can't keep moving house I was even homeless untill recently
We don't even have a god damn autism policy in 2024
You CAN NOT access private healthcare sector when you're not Dutch and need an expat
The desired results is the ISSUE.
You're amazing. You challenge the hardest topics. I REALLY want to help the DIB/Expat/documented migrants living especially in the community in Amsterdam.
I got a dual DD from a leading neurodivergent Psychologist (takes one to diagnose one TOGETHER WITH scientific testing and homework and behavioural and observational interview over hours
The Dutch stated that isn't enough to discredit a medical misdiagnosis. As it's from only a mere neurodivergent AND a Trained, specialised and 1 of us leading NEUROdivegent psychologist in NY
He's shit though compared to a Dutch psychiatrist apparently. He wrote 2 shit Dutch books about neurodivergence.
How dare he. He's not one of the *prisoners* I met. What does he know
He loves his pretend psychosis book. Autistic people having meltdowns and shutdowns can still be dragged and restrained for this BAD behaviour into locked wards
In highly sensitive producing households there is dysregulation shouting, drama and inconsistent parenting
HSP implode at 1 point from being accommodating. AUD-HD double trouble
Paralysis by analysis PLUS
The hyper focus on the anxiety of doing anything
I think I'm shit. I try everyday to see I'm not shit.
I call you my ME time. I think most of us like small spaces and feeling in TOTAL control
Then this strange acting FLOW kicks in. It's like the angry/sarcastic/rude/challenging late in life diagnosed kicks in
HUMOUR
Dark autistic challenging humour is therapy
Omg don't do the creepy DIB or IDB voice again ewwww
ooh, I needed to end my Sunday with a good Orion rant
Every single mental health progessional and medical professional I have worked with for years...are in the dark on autism
They don't know what to do about us, I was on SSI for years (pretty much as soon as I finished education) which doesn't pay much and penalizes its recipients for working, saving, or getting help from someone. Now I'm on Childhood Disability Benefits, and could work part time on those, but don't want to lose Medicaid (government insurance for poor or disabled people.) I have two college degrees, one of which is a Master's, but I do need support. I don't drive, but not for lack of trying. It took me ten years of trying to realize that my vision, motor coordination, and reaction time were too bad for me to drive. I also can't work a full day due to sensory issues and lack of endurance. I have other diagnoses besides autism. I just can't remember their names. I have my disability redetermination for my benefits later this year, and I'm not looking forward to it. I'm in the US.
Here in te Netherlands there a still prejudices about autism too. Even occupational health doctors keep mataining them ! What does keeping household to do with how mutch you can work in hours ??? I have a bad back, hips and knees to but that don't seems to matter ?! I am 60 yaers old and they want you to work until 67 years and 3 months till your pension ! WTF ?!
By the way I am Australian undiagnosed and I was super excited when I saw this update. I read the article and was very disappointed. I was hoping it would be more specific for me.
Yeah, it would be nice if people would educate themselves about autism, and take it seriously (at least doctors should be, and managers in workplaces, as well as teachers in the education system). It doesn't seem to work when I am the one educating them (because autistic people often aren't taken seriously and people think that we are just being sensitive, and that autism isn't a real problem (it is another way of them saying that autism isn't real, especially if you are able to drive, and are able to talk and have a conversation with somebody). And I get the impression that this is why neurotypical people often tell me to just go to therapy; because I guess they think that I can talk myself out of getting burned out or having sensory issues, and that I will suddenly stop thinking literally, when I have been to counselors throughout my life and have spent the past 38 years actively researching and asking neurotypical people what they mean when they say and do (or don't do) certain things. And tried to keep a mental list where I tell myself, okay, "If they say or do this, they actually mean this". And it's not solving my problems, because it's still a guessing game (because not all 100% of neurotypical people use the exact same phrases, and there are some here and there who actually say what they mean (and once in a while one is willing to be patient enough to answer my questions about what they mean, without getting the impression that I am being smart Alec, and then get offended). Because it is still a guessing game, I wait for more evidence, which is why my literal thinking comes into play. Furthermore, I can spend a bulk of energy explaining all of these things (and then go into more depth about my autistic traits), just to have them ask me the same things later on. I can't tell you how many times I have explained the same things to the same person (and to do that with almost every person makes me ask, why would I go back for more?). I feel quite alone in the world, and it's not from having a lack of people in my life. A lot of people make me feel more alone when they show so much misunderstanding, and start comparing themselves to me; that "Everybody has that problem once in a while". And I am just like, "Yeah, ONCE IN A WHILE, they don't have these problems all day, everyday (and they don't show to experience it at as high of an intensity, or they would be showing more signs of feeling overwhelmed). And not just overwhelmed because of how I think, but because of how my body physically responds to having to rush all day long during an 8-hour shift, 5 days a week, and end up getting let go because I get to the point where I wake up feeling exhausted and the boss starts worrying about my health. I was actually wondering if I would end up in the hospital at one point, for constantly pushing my body past it's limits, when I physically could hardly push a mop. I haven't seen neurotypical people struggle like that in a workplace before, and I have had at least 7 different jobs in the past 20 years. It all breaks my heart knowing just misunderstood we can feel by the world, even by counselors who hardly know anything about autism. I have a Minor in psychology and can tell you that there was maybe 2 paragraphs about autism, out of all of the text books I had read and studied (at least 14 text books). 💔⛓️
This isn't an action plan; it's a loosely organized list of objectives lacking a structured framework for practical application. It outlines broad goals and expectations without incorporating strategic mapping, implementation pathways, or defined mechanisms to effectively apply these practices and achieve meaningful, measurable change.
It’s nothing just them clapping each other on the back for looking like they’re taking action
Glad people are seeing through the fluff.
But on a side note,why are you an alien? 😂
@@Curiosity.did.not.kill.thecat I'm not it's just a part of my AuDHD experience when growing up that I had always felt different; like an alien in society.
@@Progressive_Alien I know, I was just curious-thought it might be some wordplay related to the name. :)
Being autstic I had the exact feeling growing up,still kinda do.
I can't imagine how autism and adhd must be like.
It sounds like it's going to be as 'successful' as the First Nations Closing the Gap strategy. Hope doesn't seem to be an option for this late diagnosed Autistic with 5 other disorders on top Australian. Thankfully I'm on the disability pension, because yes, all my disorders make me very disabled in this culture! Thanks Orion, you help me feel less alone.
@@StorytimewithDeadline yes I found it easier to access the dsp than actual support. As a late diagnosed autistic, I feel like I’ve been put out to pasture. Not fit for purpose. It’s a relief and devastating all at the same time. 🫶
@@MissBlackbird-t2j I feel exactly the same way!!!
What about ‘We will talk to autistics and other people who understand autism, then put their ideas into practice’?
For me I couldn't think of anything worse than having my own business. One of my issues is that I go into analysis paralysis really easily, I need to know what the rules and regulations are and can fit within them (don't get we wrong I will question them if they don't make sense). Within that framework I can make decisions.
That report must be the most vague and noncommittal piece of BS I have heard in many, many years. They should be ashamed of themselves.
Did I hear "the whack'm all mentality of the neurotypical world"? How splendidly said !! 👌
4:52 Yes, for some reason I was singled out by many people as a child to be an easy target.
I hate when people fake like they care or I'm right. Just be honest and do something dammit. Life in Turkey is extreme for me and other autistic people. Because I'm good at math they said I can't be Autistic and act like i was faking it. After that I cried and said my mother lets go home but my mom saved me he get a papper about my diagnosis then give that bastard they forced to accept also I'm %100 sure my dad granddad and grand graddad also same but because they good at something no one try to diagnosed them. One thing in my life was great I have a great psychiatrist who understand neurodivergent people. I used to not able to speak this days i write essays for people only way i get money sadly. Like you said Orion I want to work on lab as labour to create medicine I don't want to talk people or manage them people don't get I'm socialy disabled. 8 years ago I didn't even get being bad mean.
The sports team analogy is very good
As an American, i love hearing that my country doesn't mess up alone 😂
You know that famous saying, "It's more fun with friends".
Because America exports its brain rot, thanks guys.
When it comes to autism, are any countries actually getting this stuff right?
@@SmallSpoonBrigade Good question… very Very rarely, does this subject get touched upon.
@ I'm hoping that somebody knows of a country that is doing a decent job of it, but every time I've seen the topic come up, it's a range of terrible to just very bad. At least if one or two countries were getting it right, there'd be something to pattern policy on.
Meaningful employment, when I LOATHE money and LOATHE working under someone's rules. Working for capitalism does not feel meaningful to me whatsoever. Helping out my friends, now THAT is meaningful to me.
Having dealt with an APSC agency declaring my autism diagnosis and my fight for adjustments (and their tick box mentality) I have strong concerns about inclusion in employment in the APS.
There seems to be no interest in adult diagnosis or reference in the strategy to those undiagnosed.
We don’t need an autism strategy like they’re proposing. Each individual with Autism has a unique experience. What we need is for the NDIS to stop blocking our essential supports and services, to be participant focused and give us the control of our funds in person, and the discretion to use those funds as we see fit to improve our quality of life, and not be dictated to by bureaucrats who know nothing about us. Until we have the autonomy to do this nothings going will change. If the current government refuses to listen to us they will be ousted in the next election. All politicians need to sit up and take notice and take us seriously. More than two thirds of the Australian population are neurodivergent and we are sick to death of being shafted by politicians in favour of the t ran nees and people pretending to be indigenous when they aren’t.
Yes, as in the video about the just released autism strategy (well, one half of it), there is a fair amount of vagueness and wordiness that kind of hide any real-world action clarity. As it stands, there is also almost no capability, capacity, workforce, or partnerships to deliver any fast actions anyhow. We also have no national autism bodies capable of currently delivering a far better set of coordinated autism services across Australia. Currently, autism services cannot cope with even a tiny level of all the unmet needs of the autistic community. Also the fact that so many adults, especially over 40, are undaignosed. They are simply left in the wilderness, literally to die of loneliness and neglect.
One can only hope they utilise the right autistic people to take things forward and use a language that autistic people relate to (which is usually not government speak). Its important to take things forward in a way that actually improves lives without undue delay. The peer support commitment could be a very good thing if it is properly designed and delivered and that it has goals attached to it that make sense to autistic people. Tackling autistic loneliness is one such significant required action goal because loneliness is the biggest single predictor of poorer health, distress, isolation, low employment, depression, brain changes that increase autistic vulnerability, etc. Loneliness creates these brain changes. There is a lot of work to do to make sure things are implemented with autistic leadership and that the government really does hand over the reins to autistic people to repair all that is wrong and sad about the extent of autistic community suffering, which includes very painful loneliness and the bias against us, and horrific devaluing of autistic people
If people are going to have a national autism strategy, they have to start small and work their way up. We all have to start somewhere.
I was late diagnosed and put through the job network shit over twenty years ago
I was diagnosed with autism (level 1/high functioning/whatever) late in my life (in 2019 (I also have ADHD but that was diagnosed as a kid)) and idk I'm just getting nowhere in my life. I graduated with an honours bachelor of computer science but that took me roughly 10 years cuz I failed high school (so I had to jump through a million hoops first such as doing a college diploma first for a few years and then getting a bunch of missing high school courses done after that) and then I burned out intensely during that degree since I took a full course load for everything I've done since I've always felt behind in life (but I did graduate at least, with a good GPA). Had a bunch of internships along the way, mostly research positions, but my final internship was at a bank doing web development (the only big corporate experience I had) and that just burned me out intensely. My GPA was 0.03 away from honours; I think I woulda got honours if I didn't burn out so intensely during this whole thing (it was also during the pandemic too). Like, it was so stressful I'd just start crying (not in front of anyone mind you), and every term I went in certain I was going to fail (but I succeeded). I think it was a traumatic level of stress.
But now where I'm at is I can't find work. Finally started getting interviews but I'm just not getting picked. I did well in some of the interviews (being late diagnosed, I learned how to mask decently well). Had a technical interview though (and this was through a neurodiversity hiring initiative) and I just couldn't even answer any of their questions (my mind just goes blank, I can't think and they won't even give me the time to think cuz they keep interrupting the silence when I try to think). Mind you maybe I am just too rusty at this point to be able to answer those questions as it's been 2 years since I graduated (I've had some part time jobs since my degree, doing research projects for my professors, but those don't pay well at all and they're just too stressful for how little the pay is).
Honestly I don't even know what to do anymore. I'm stuck between considering a masters degree (I have the support of my professors and I have the grades for it, plus my name is on a number of papers by now because the only opportunities I get are research projects) or just keep looking for work, but looking for work feels futile so it's really hard to keep going with that. Going to grad school would be me continuing to follow my dreams (my dream is mind upload so I can become a robot fox) but along the way I've realized that money is extremely important for that goal (or any goal really), so I really want to get the money out of the way first (I want to work for a few years, like, 5 to 10 at the absolute maximum, and I want to invest as large a percentage of my paycheck as I can by continuing to live with my parents, so that I can achieve financial independence as soon as possible so that I can build my own safety net since if we have a safety net in Canada I really don't know where it is). But if I can't find work I can't start implementing that plan and I'm just getting older so I don't know what to do anymore.
Also extremely depressed. Honestly would've ended it a long time ago (back when I was 15 really I would've) but if I did that I can't become a robot fox, so I have no choice but to stay alive.
But having gone through all that effort and society still won't give me a chance, I just don't see what hope there is. Interviews just discourage me; what I need is I need to just be given a chance to do the actual work (i.e., give me the job for a month or two and see how I do and let me learn (I don't even need to be trained I'll figure it out myself, I just need a project and I need tangible hope and I need some time); I'd even do it for free for that initial month as long as I was made to feel like there was hope (if I felt no hope then I'm not gonna perform well; the only reason I performed during my degree was I still had hope, though by the end of my degree that hope was starting to decay which is why I couldn't achieve honours)).
Anyway I don't really know why I'm sharing all this. I just wish society would help me. I've put so much effort in. I'm 30 now and just getting nowhere. It's hard to feel like I have a future, which makes it hard to put any additional effort in. Most likely, I'll just try for grad school (because trying to become a robot fox is the only thing that's been motivating me since I was at least 15, and it's a very strong motivator) and hopefully I'll manage to take it at a sustainable pace (I need to go slow, I've gone at everyone else's pace for too long and I just can't sustainably keep up). But I'm not sure that's possible because society just pushes people to go faster and faster. Not sure what happens after grad school though if I can't find a job now with my bachelors degree, so idk anymore.
Its a strategy to make $ off the community.
Not to understand or help such.
the nation finds itself struggling to strategize itself out of a paper bag, i have no hope for them making one for us
I guess you live in the USA. Sucks
@@gothboschincarnate3931 things are looking up though.
In governmental and business sectors, adequate targeted stakeholder consultation’ is foundational in augmenting organisational and societal change. As Orion has previously highlighted, the people who staff autism disability services throughout Australia are predominantly neurotypical. How about making diversity and inclusion policies extend to the (gasp) hiring of actual autistic people to in turn create policies for autistic people by autistic people? ‘Nah that’s crazy, we can’t have halfwits with more quals than the HR Manager making Neurotypical Management look stooopid.’
Aspie aged 55, self employed, burnt out but no strings attached. Thanks for the channel Orion. Ash
THIS! 🎯 👏👏👏
I am shocked, as someone with Foetal/Sodium Valproate Syndrome in the UK due to take a gap year in Australia, I thought your government and society had more of an idea of living with Autism. It looks like I have my work cut out!
Anyway, my solution to the strategy is to talk to autistic people that are high functioning, they will have the best knowledge of coping mechanisms, insights into work ethics etc. I for instance do not need a quiet hour for shopping, if I feel uncomfortable about my surroundings, I will shop later. There are some situations such as public transport where this is not possible, which is when people just need to talk and open minds. To me, the solutions are found by trying different techniques, not evaluating. Talk to people!
They won’t listen anyway I’ve been screaming from the rooftops for more than six years and nothing but crickets
Is that how that works in Australia? In the US, a lot of the rules and protections to help the disabled come from the federal government and states may, or may not, add additional rules and protections. However, the specific way in which it's put into practice can vary, a lot, but it still has to comply with the laws.
Ha, just spent the last 15 months wrecking my physical health and mental well being in trying to navigate the system for Social Security benefits (after having spent most of my adulthood actively striving to be financially independent and avoid becoming a burden on the system, an injury means that I can no longer work in my field of expertise…paid into the system for 35 years, rejected for benefits now that I desperately need them; despite having 2 disabilities listed in the DSM-5🙄). My experience was that required appointments for evaluation by federal representatives regularly deny “reasonable requests for accommodation related to my official diagnosis as defined under the ADA (for non-US citizens, that is the “Americans with Disabilities Act)!
So, federally employed doctors performing required evaluations in pursuit of federal benefits, regularly fail to honor federal laws that would make it possible for me to jump through the governmental hoops that might give me access to the help and support I need.
Disheartening and infuriating
There are general disability protections, this is something that is specific to 'improving' the lives of autistic people. We have NDIS (national disability insurance scheme) which is how you get government funded disability services (separate to being on disability). Currently the government is in the process of changing the criteria so that early interventions are no longer covered by NDIS and are provided by the states instead.
@@SmallSpoonBrigade much the same here, except for that pesky difference between theory and practice.
@ Thanks, I definitely don't have time to not be ignorant about how other countries are set up. It was only in the last couple years that I learned that both the US and Australia have a WA State.
Obviously, it's far from perfect here.
I have 2 Bachelor degrees and I worked in FastFood and restaurants for 15yrs...
I now work in the field associated with my degrees (10yrs now)
It was ridiculous, people I worked with in fast food would ask me why I wasn't doing something greater/better and I just didn't know (I was undiagnosed). Under-employed for so long was so frustrating.
The problem is that in order for any of this to stick, the entire model of governmental function has to change. Government works by applying processes and policies to social strata to drive the country in the direction of the leaders of the day. That means standardisation, streamlining, efficiency, industrial complex type manufacturing of laws and systems. Autistic people do not fit this. We are a spectrum.
Think about this: schooling is still largely assessed by summative high-pressure assessments, especially at the end of Year 10 and 12. You go through in one end and you come out the other. There are so many hoops schools have to go through to even get funding, let alone staffing support for Autistic students.
The workplace: you complete a CV, cover letter and for higher paying jobs, responses to selection criteria. These responses require you to think in neurotypical nuance and language which is convoluted and full of conventions Autistic people will never 100% pick up, because we speak directly to an issue rather than issue + social norms in every sentence. So good luck in us getting an interview or even selected. I'm looking at you NSW Department of Education.
I could go on, and on, and on. The strategy barely touches what really needs to happen: complete government service delivery change. It won't happen because what we have, however inefficient, is the most cost-effective one we have because it forces standardisation. You won't get true Autistic inclusion while everything around us forces standardisation.
Oh and I'm high functioning too. Good luck to me any anyone else deemed high functioning Autistic in getting any consideration, accommodations or look-ins.
Hi Orion, can you please tell me why my post is not there? Had it gone “out of bounds”? 🙏👍🙂☮️🌍
41yo aussie m
Just diagnosed autistic.. says level 3 on one bit and level 2 on other bit of report... conceptual domain score of 56 extremely low functioning..
I'm so lost
The Federal Government seems pretty good at washing its hands of many things, claiming not their doing or responsibility …it’s up to the individual states and territories. So then it’s like having multiple countries/laws within the continent of Australia. Doesn’t Federal Law ultimately trump State Law?Mmm… Thanks Orion.
"It’s still going !!!!" 😂😂😂😂
I am 77 and just discovered that I am autistic. Well, this certainly explains a LOT!!! What a relief it is to know why I was never chosen, why other people keep telling me I am rude. Most other people bore me to the point of wanting to scream sometimes. I simply cannot see having Aspergers as a disability. Sorry. I have almost always been the smartest person in the room. My ability to see patterns that others can't is a superpower, not a disability. My own hypothesis is that autism is an epigenetic phenomenon. Many Gen Z'ers think systemically, i.e., see the patterns. This isn't something they learned how to do. They seem to be born with it; systemic thinking certainly isn't taught below college level.
That said, I guess I am lucky to not be on the spectrum of those who do need help. Orion, I believe one of the problems you have with employment in this arena is that most people do not understand the "spectrum" at all. When they think of autism, they think of those who are easily triggered to scream and bang their heads against the wall. It also scares away many of those who are Aspies from getting a diagnosis because they will be lumped in with those less functional. They won't change until you educate them.
In the US, some companies are realizing the value of Aspies. Here is an example of such a company, Ernst and Young. www.ey.com/en_us/services/innovation/neurodiversity-powered-transformation
It's this kind of thing that was a motivator for me to run for office. I work for a federal government contractor so I couldn't run federally. However, I did run for Brisbane City Council and Queensland parliament because my interests as a neurodivergent person aren't being represented.
Governments have plans??
Bachelor degrees can be achieved especially when related to special interests. Means nothing though when you can't deal with any workplace or selling yourself
Darn - flash to Dr.W - Delak: " Exterminate.... Exterperate... Expropriate!!!"
A lot of the verbiage in this which feels like delaying screams to me of " bike shedding".
This is a term I first learned of from a TH-camr named Zack Freedman who was referring to a facility that was being built but everything about the facility was put on hold until they could figure out how they were going to build the bike shed outside of the facility.
It feels as though they want to put a lot of work into some minutia instead of getting down to the hard part of actually putting actions into work.
This sounds like the 'goal of the strategy' is to make NTs feel better about not really doing much for the ASDs/NDs
I need your help with TH-cam bullies and now saying I'm not autistic like there a Dr or something. Theve been really harassing me and of course I put on my community page every time someone does and call them out cause I'm sick of everyone thinking they are so nice and not bullies and thinking I'm the problem cause I speak the truth, but only after I've been attacked is when I strike back, I never strike first.
Something about speaking the truth to them really, really, irritates a notable percentage of the non-autistic population, they clearly have one or more personal issues.
18:14 the requirements to be a train driver is high now, unlike in the distant past.
Ah, yes, the completely unrealistic career suggestions that disabled people are given.
A couple of facts that should be known before implementing policy. First, autistic people (in the US) is the only known demographic where unemployment increases with a college education. Thus, going to college hurts autistic peoples' job opportunities. Second, (in my case) autistic people may often start behind in education compared to neurotypical people, however, they often catch up and even surpass most neurotypical students in middle or high school. Thus, an early diagnosis may hurt autistic students education opportunities by placing them in special ed or the "slow learning" group in elementary school. When I look back in my life, I conclude that the optimum age to be diagnosed would have been just before high school. In elementary school I was at the bottom of the class, but by my first year in high school I was an above average student, and near the top of the class by my senior year.
I'm not sure what the optimal autism public policy would be, but you've got to know the facts before you can consider what policies should be put in place.
Top presentation Orion !
Autistic role models ?????
So put a spotlight on an autistic person - That's going to go well !
I’m gonna have a future action on the toilet down the road 😂
At least Australia seems to be doing more than any other country. Even if it's not the best, it's better than nothing, which is what most of us get.
it should be a'their lives'. pluralfor a plural. they don't share one life. also 'regional area' is tautological. what horrid English! my gov (UK) is just as bad
Sweden too
Okay this sunk my soul. I'm in Nazi Netherlands
Hang in there and realize even the bleached baboon will one day die. His 'party' will then implode and the next loonie will come along and need years to build a new one.
This sounds about as bad as "Autism 'Speaks.'" 🙄
3:29 yes people will experience difficulty. I didn't have trouble with learning, still don't. I'm not that rigid. And yes when you lump in high needs Autism in they won't have a uni degree. If it was separated from low needs, the number would be much higher.
Getting a uni degree is not the be all and end all. Getting a trade is good too.
Talking about the Australian government from 2008 glosses over ten years of conservative rule that don't give a shit, the current government made an effort.
The world IS neuro typical. When we're 3% of the population, you think that corporations give a flying stuff? Privatisation of services have led to low needs autists that like no change but have bad days etc, being thrown to the curb vs factory work that was nice and repetitive, or similar work that may be complex but is the same every time helps an autist.
Lots become engineers or uni professors, are undiagnosed autists too. They function just fine in life so why get tested?
Government was gutted by the lnp so of course the wheels turn slowly.
12:38 they already do pay for higher needs disabled people to work.
Hey 👋
All of this.
Thanks for making a depressing topic a good laugh.
So basically, the bureacrats will take 1 year to do some research on what could be done. Meanwhile, a newly diagnosed Autistic adult could hyperfocus and come up with something similar in 24 hours. Are they paid well, these bureaucrats? Oh yes, of course!
Oh, I'll take your countries plan over what's coming for my country 😵💫
“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’” - Ronald Reagan.
I wish everyone would understand that government is the PROBLEM, not the solution. Stop relying on government.
I wouldn’t quote Ronald Reagan.
His economic policies are a huge fact behind the growing economic inequality we see these days, and the growing problem of homelessness.
Without the government we get absolutely NO help at all. So how would it help to abolish the (albeit inept) government assistance?